Who is going to replace Greg Colbrunn?
Talking to folks throughout baseball about the
Red Sox [1] vacant hitting coach job, three names keep coming up: Chili Davis, Bill Mueller and Dave Magadan. None of these men might be ending up with the Sox, but they are being referenced throughout the industry.
Davis’ name has gained the most steam of late, with the Oakland A’s hitting coach having worked in the same capacity with the Pawtucket Red Sox in 2011. While he is still under contract with the A’s, there was reportedly some frustration from both sides during Oakland’s offensive slide during the final two months of the season. (Note: Davis could also be drawing from
Theo Epstein [2], who hired him out of the Dodgers’ organization to work with the PawSox.)
Mueller just recently resigned from his post as hitting coach with the Cubs after the team reassigned his hand-picked assistant hitting coach, Mike Brumley. Mueller’s connection with the Red Sox is obvious — having spent three solid seasons in Boston from 2003-05.
Like Davis, Magadan is still under contract, but with a new manager slated to come in for the Rangers, Texas has given the former Red Sox hitting coach permission to look elsewhere. While it is not known if the Red Sox have formerly asked for the right to talk to Magadan, he has already drawn interest from multiple teams around the majors. It is believed he would welcome a return to Boston, particularly his wife hails from New Hampshire.
We shouldn’t forget assistant hitting coach Victor Rodriguez, who really developed a solid rapport with Yoenis Cespedes over the final few months.
Colbrunn wanted to prioritize being close to his South Carolina home, as was evidenced even before his illness this season. The former Sox hitting coach turned down a chance for a contract extension following the 2013 world championship season.
If you’re wondering how the process works when teams are interested in interviewing coaches from other teams: The potential new team contacts the other team and if the coach’s current team grants permission, there is a written form that they sign and gets submitted to MLB. So there you have it.
Also, in case you forgot, the last time the Red Sox had a hitting coach opening, four other candidates (besides Colbrunn) interviewed – Rick Schu, Rodriguez, Craig Counsell, and Scott Fletcher.
Schu is currently the hitting coach for the
Washington Nationals [3], Counsell worked on the Brewers television broadcasts in 2014, and Fletcher left
the Braves [4] after this season, having served as the team’s assistant hitting coach.
