In addition to the changes the Nationals made to their front office and scouting department earlier this offseason, manager Davey Martinez has decided to shake up Washington’s Major League coaching staff.
Tim Boger, who took over as first base coach and served as Martinez’s bench coach, assistant hitting coach Pat Rosler, third base coach Gary DiSarcina and first base coach Eric Young Jr. were absent. His contract with the club has been renewed.
Ricky Gutierrez, who served as run prevention coordinator last season, has been promoted to third base coach.
Heraldo Parra, world series He was added to the championship roster in 2019 and joined the Nats’ front office in 2022, accepting the job as Martinez’s first base coach.
Fellow former major leaguer Miguel Cairo served as Chicago’s Tony La Russa’s bench coach from 2021 to 2022. white sockswas. new york metsThe 2023 minor league infield coordinator and former teammate of Martinez has earned the job as the Skippers’ new bench coach.
Former major league infielder Chris Johnson has been hired as the Nationals’ new assistant hitting coach.
Martinez’s full 2023 coaching staff:
- Bench coach – Miguel Cairo
- Hitting coach – Darnell Coles
- Pitching coach – jim hickey
- First base coach – herald para
- Third base coach – Ricky Gutierrez
- Catching/strategy coach – henry blanco
- Bullpen Coach – Ricky Bones
- Assistant Hitting Coach – chris johnson
It wasn’t an easy choice for the manager, who signed a multi-year extension with the Nationals late in the 2023 season, considering his personal history with many of the coaches he ultimately replaced, but Martinez We decided that some changes made sense.
“Well, it was obviously a difficult decision,” Martinez explained while speaking to reporters at the recently concluded 2023 Winter Meetings.
“I’m very close to all of those guys. I’m going to miss them. But where we’re headed, we have some fresh players and players with great coaching ability and the ability to coach young players. I thought it was an opportunity to bring in certain players, so I decided to create one. [those changes]”
“Miguel Cairo will be the bench coach,” Martinez continued. “I’ve known him for many years.
“He was a bench coach with Tony.” [LaRussa]. So he learned a lot with them there. I can’t say enough about him. He’s a baseball rat. He knows the game well. He knows every aspect of the game. He has accomplished a lot in his career.
“You know, we all know about Parra. It’s just a question of whether Parra wants to do it or not, and he has committed to being a full-time coach.
“But he’s going to bring a lot to our outfield and our base running, which we want to improve.
“Ricky, who was with us last year, did a great job with CJ Abrams. [Jeimer Candelario] — He got the opportunity to coach third base because Kande loved him. ”
“So the other two,” Martinez added. “…The two main players are… [Pitching Coach Jim] Hickey and DC [Hitting Coach Darnell Coles] The people I wanted to keep, I love them. They worked really hard and the players really bought into what we wanted to do. They’ve gotten better and will be back. ”
Managers said having some familiar faces in the new roles will make the transition smoother for everyone involved.
Nationals general manager and team president Mike Rizzo also spoke glowingly about Parra when discussing the decision to move the former special assistant to the general manager to a new role on the major league staff.
“He’s going to be full of energy and run 160 miles an hour,” Rizzo said. “But people forget that he was a Gold Glove outfielder, that he was a base stealer, that he had a cannon for an arm, that he had great throwing mechanics. I believe we can really teach, especially this group of young players, to ultimately be in the big leagues for us. Routes, angles, basics, cutoff man, this type of thing, you put your foot down when you throw. And on the base running side, he’s always been a good base runner and he’s good at stealing bases, but I think he’ll teach us base running that we need to improve on and improve on. ”
Parra’s familiarity with big league players is a bonus, Martinez said. Same goes for Gutierrez.
“One, I think Parra has been around for quite some time,” he explained. “I mean, he knows these guys. Ricky knows them, too. Miguel, our new employee, and I talked to Miguel on Zoom the other day. He’s a business owner in Venezuela. He wants to get to know the guys a little bit before he comes to spring training. So he’s going to start reaching out to the guys and introducing himself. Masu.
“But I think they’re more than capable of doing the job. You know, I don’t micromanage them. These guys are going to coach. They’re an extension of my voice, but they will be forgiven for what they’re doing. I’ve known them for years. I know them as players, I know them as people, and they’re all participating. They’re eager to get going. And we’ve already been on Zoom about different things, and they’re ready to go.”
Johnson, who retired from his playing career in 2016, transitioned to coaching in 2021-22 and served as the White Sox’ assistant hitting coach in 2023. Although Mr. Johnson is new to D.C., Mr. Martinez and his family have a history.
“I know his father [former MLB player and coach Ron Johnson]” Martinez said, “But he’s brought a lot to the table so far in his young career. I’ve heard nothing but great things about him.”
“I’ve interviewed him and talked to him. He knows a lot about hitting. I think he’ll complement our team really well and help our kids a lot.”