A’s name bench coach, add 2 hitting coaches
A’s manager Mark Kotsay’s first coaching staff includes a new bench coach and two new hitting coaches, along with several holdovers from the Bob Melvin era.
The team announced its coaches for 2022 on Friday, and the A’s offensive woes in 2021 prompted the hiring of hitting coach Tommy Everidge and assistant hitting coach Chris Cron.
Brad Ausmus is the new bench coach.
Everidge and Cron replaced Darren Bush and Eric Martins, who will remain on the staff in other roles, Bush as the third-base coach and Martins as the first-base coach.
Bush also will serve as the run prevention coach while Martins will double up as the infield coach.
Kotsay, who was named manager last month after Melvin moved to the Padres, was last year’s third-base coach. Former first-base coach Mike Aldrete will take over as the quality control coach.
Scott Emerson will remain the pitching coach, and Marcus Jensen will be back as the bullpen coach. Last year’s bench coach, Ryan Christenson, accompanied Melvin to San Diego.
Kotsay inherits a team coming off four straight winning seasons, but the 2021 team, which was a season-high 19 games above .500 on Aug. 15, finished 18-27. The team ranked 22nd in batting average, 19th in slugging percentage and 17th in OPS while having issues hitting with runners in scoring position.
Many of the core players could be dealt as the front office considers a rebuild.
Everidge, 38, who played one season in the majors, with the 2009 A’s (who drafted him in 2004 out of Sonoma State), served as hitting coach for eight seasons in Oakland’s farm system including last year with Triple-A Las Vegas.
Cron, 57, who played two seasons in the early 1990s with the Angels and White Sox, has managed in the minors for 20 years (mostly in the White Sox’s system) and last year was the Diamondbacks’ minor-league field coordinator. He’s the father of big-leaguers C.J. Cron and Kevin Cron.
Ausmus, 52, provides experience on the bench to complement the rookie manager. Ausmus managed the Tigers (2014-17) and Angels (2019), posting a 314-332 record, and was a three-time Gold Glove catcher who played 18 seasons for four teams.
Kotsay has known Ausmus over the years, playing against him (their careers paralleled) and training with him during offseasons in San Diego. Kotsay also was familiar with Everidge, having worked with him in the A’s system including when Everidge joined the big-league staff in September, and Cron through mutual acquaintances.
The A’s also hired a bullpen catcher, Wilkin Castillo, a native of the Dominican Republic who had a long minorleague playing career with brief stops with the Reds and Marlins. He replaces Phil Pohl, who will manage Class A Lansing.