A.J. Hinch shakes up Tigers coaching staff as an uncertain winter looms

June 26, 2024

The reckoning is finally here. After a season in which the Tigers were shut out 22 times, in which they ranked last in runs and home runs, in which they chased pitches more than any other team and ranked 29th out of 30 teams in walk rate, a barrage of coaching changes begins with the hitting department.

Manager A.J. Hinch announced Friday the Tigers are moving on from hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh. Assistant hitting coach Mike Hessman and third-base coach Ramon Santiago have been offered reassignment to the minor leagues.

In addition to those changes, quality control coach Josh Paul did not have his contract renewed. Bench coach George Lombard, pitching coach Chris Fetter and assistant pitching coach Juan Nieves will remain in their roles for 2023.

Assistant coach Gary Jones is expected to return, either as third-base coach or perhaps in a defensive coordinator role from the bench. Alfredo Amezaga, who came from Triple-A Toledo and coached first in September, will also take over as the full-time first-base coach next season.

Hinch and new president of baseball operations Scott Harris have already started the interview process as they seek to revamp the organization going forward. Hitting instruction becomes the biggest priority.

“It’s important for everyone to know that this season is not these coaches’ fault,” Hinch said. “We are all responsible. We are all a part of this. Sometimes it’s philosophical, sometimes changing voices is important in sports and sometimes it’s time to mix up the message to the players. But it shouldn’t be positioned that our hitting woes were all Scott Coolbaugh or Mike Hessman, or Ramon or Josh did something wrong.

“It was obviously time for us to assess the staff, and we’re gonna have a different staff and a different message and a different collection of guys to hopefully push the players in a new direction.”

Scott Coolbaugh spent four seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, from 2015 to 2018. (Kim Klement / USA Today)

It’s possible the Tigers will expand their staff with hires beyond the existing vacancies. Although Hinch said he has no interest in building a staff similar to that of the San Francisco Giants, who have a 13-person coaching staff, there are other roles the Tigers could add. A more robust hitting staff, a dedicated catching coordinator and a pitching coach who focuses on game planning are among the ideas the Tigers could consider.

“We will be building a staff that may mirror what we’ve had,” Hinch said, “but it may also expand and be a touch different than what we’ve been used to.”

Coolbaugh — who previously served as the hitting coach for the Rangers (2011-12) and Orioles (2015-2018) and has worked in other organizations as well — was under pressure for much of the season as the Tigers scuffled from April onward. Hinch chose to ride out the season with his existing coaches instead of making a midseason switch. But for Coolbaugh as well as others, change long seemed imminent.

On the Tigers’ final road trip in Seattle, there were numerous emotional hugs or awkward goodbyes as the departing coaches left the clubhouse for a final time.

“I think the overall struggle of the hitting department was such a topic for such a long time that it definitely wore on them, wore on the players,” Hinch said. “And we were trying to grind through it together rather than make a midseason change. But I think we can be better in different areas within the hitting department that we didn’t display this season.”

Hinch indicated the Tigers will evaluate the medical and strength staffs next week. So a turbulent offseason begins with staffing changes, and the shuffling will not end there.

Here are a few more takeaways from Hinch’s end-of-year session with team beat reporters.

Looking ahead

This is a difficult year to reflect on. So much went wrong. So much of it was well-documented throughout the course of a disappointing and often depressing season. Hinch vented and at times showed hints of frustration. But Friday at Comerica Park, he spent more time talking about solutions.

“Once we digest the season, we have to compartmentalize the record and then get to work on the actual content,” Hinch said.

It’s highly unclear, though, what exactly to expect in terms of roster construction. The only inevitability is change.

“The current roster as we see it today, I would expect it to change,” Hinch said. “You can’t run it back.”

Last offseason, riding momentum after a 77-win season, the Tigers seemed to have a clear blueprint for taking the next step. They were going to go after a shortstop, sign a veteran pitcher, upgrade at catcher and maybe make a couple more additions on the fringes. The Tigers went into the offseason and executed what seemed like a sound plan. And then everything backfired.

This offseason, with Harris now running the show, it’s less clear what to expect. Much of that is a consequence of this year’s failings and the holes in the roster that got exposed. Some of the differences, too, may be stylistic. Harris’ Giants were known for wheeling and dealing at the back end of the 40-man roster. Harris has already stated the Tigers won’t be risk-averse. He has alluded to seeking out players who the organization will view as prime for improvement.

But will the Tigers again be aggressive in free agency? And what positions are atop the priority list?

There’s going to be some wait-and-see.

“To use my front office terms, the holistic view of the roster would be how I would expect somebody to answer, and then we’ll attack it,” Hinch said. “I think Scott has communicated to me very consistently that we’re gonna look at everything. We don’t know what our options are yet, first day of the offseason. I think we’ll have to wait and assess to see what the team looks like.”

There are a few different routes the Tigers could take this offseason. One path might consist of plugging holes with players on short-term deals, basically hoping to make 2023 presentable while planning a bigger organizational overhaul in the background. A more aggressive path, though, could involve again targeting a shortstop this offseason — whether that means a creative trade or again courting the likes of Carlos Correa, Trea Turner or Dansby Swanson in free agency.

Interesting, then, how Hinch answered when asked if the Tigers are committed to Javier Báez remaining at shortstop.

“That’s a good question,” Hinch said. “I think Javy’s interested in winning.”

Hinch went on to talk about how Báez loves being in the middle of the diamond and relishes the chance to cover second base and apply his quick-handed tags.

Báez just completed the first of a six-year deal (with an opt-out after 2023). He is going to be on this team going forward. But he made 26 errors and was worth -5 defensive runs saved at shortstop.

The most aggressive offseason route could involve moving Báez, most likely to second or maybe even third, and adding another shortstop to the mix.

“I think Javy, the overall numbers suggest that we should be open to a change, or if we found a different option,” Hinch said. “I don’t think that has to be the case. Anything that will help us get closer to actual winning, I think everybody will be on board. That’s not to say he’s not a good shortstop or he shouldn’t stay at shortstop.

“He definitely made a lot of errors and made some difficult plays. So I don’t know. It all depends on how a team is built. But if Javy Báez is our shortstop, that’s still a good outcome.”

Jonathan Schoop will likely exercise a $7.5 million player option, and it will be interesting to see how the Tigers handle him. (Douglas P. DeFelice / Getty Images)

Other priorities?

Hinch gave few hints at what else the Tigers consider priorities this offseason. Odds are Harris and existing members of the front office are still figuring all this out, too. In theory, though, the Tigers need to add a right-handed outfield bat to go along with left-handers Riley Greene and Austin Meadows. The Tigers currently feel good about their pitching depth but could benefit from at least one more proven piece in both the rotation and the bullpen.

Tucker Barnhart’s one-year deal is up at catcher, and the Tigers will have to decide whether they feel comfortable rolling with Eric Haase and Jake Rogers (who missed all of 2022 recovering from Tommy John surgery) or if they will seek additional help.

Jeimer Candelario is a strong candidate to be non-tendered, which would make third base wide open. It will also be interesting to see how the Tigers handle Jonathan Schoop, who will likely exercise a $7.5 million player option. Schoop could return as the primary second baseman or maybe work instead as a utility player.

“I think he’s gonna get Gold Glove votes at second base, and so it would behoove us to continue with him at second base, provided that we can get him back in the strike zone,” Hinch said. “I think that’s gonna be a common theme across all of our players, to get more production out of Jonathan, he’s got to control the strike zone a lot better.”

Worth keeping in mind with all this: Don’t be surprised if Harris pursues creative trade talks, especially with the construction of the infield.

“I think Scott said this — one thing that resonated with me in his press conference, positioning yourself with that exact blueprint or a one-year, plan, a three-year plan, a five-year plan, is probably unhealthy for the organization and I can appreciate that he said that,” Hinch said. “We’re gonna have to react to a lot of different things and a lot of different needs. I think that’s for Scott to map out.”

A few more nuggets

• The idea of moving the outfield fences in at Comerica Park continues to be discussed at the corporate level. “I think, first off, it is a hot topic,” Hinch said. “I get asked about it, and I think we should always look at ways to enhance the player performance, fan approval, organizational approval, the organizational progressiveness. But I don’t know where it lands. I think if we can build a better experience for all of those people, then we obviously would support it. That’s obviously something that Chris (Ilitch) and Scott … it’s not a clubhouse topic to navigate.”

• Adam Melhuse, the Triple-A hitting coach who spent September with the Tigers, will likely interview for some role in the new hitting department. Melhuse, who worked with Spencer Torkelson in both Erie and Toledo, is also expected to spend the offseason working with Torkelson in Phoenix.

• Harris has been hard at work behind closed doors since he was hired, but he was not seen publicly after his introductory press conference. Assistant GM Sam Menzin continued as the major league team’s point of contact for the remainder of the regular season. Harris officially took control of day-to-day operations starting Thursday. Harris and Hinch have nonetheless had dinners and daily conversations. Here’s what Hinch has learned about Harris so far: “We have some mutual friends, mutual people in the business that I’ve worked for,” Hinch said. “One of the things that I was told is how impressed I was gonna be with how his mind works. I didn’t quite know what that meant. The way he thinks about different things, the way he responds to different things, the way he articulates his reactions, he’s a very intellectually curious person. I guess that should be expected given his background and where he’s come from and who he’s worked for. But his intellectual curiosity is an 80 on a scouting scale. It is one of the best attributes that I’ve seen so far, kind of the think-tank. It’s not a cookie-cutter program. He asks a lot of questions, and he’s a good listener.”

(Top photo: Stan Szeto / USA Today)

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