Yankees Move Espada to 3rd, Thomson To Bench

The Yankees have made a lot of new decisions regarding filling out their coaching staff this week. Aside from finally hiring a hitting coach, the Yankees have upgraded at third base. Joe Espada, the team’s new infield coach, will be manning third while longtime third base coach Rob Thomson will become the Yankees’ new bench coach.

Yankees announce 2015 coaches: Jeff Pentland (hitting), Joe Espada (3B) and Alan Cockrell (assistant hitting) added to staff
— Yankees PR Dept. (@YankeesPR) January 12, 2015

I make it no secret how excited I am for this move. As I wrote about last summer, Thomson was among the worst third base coaches in all of baseball. At the All-Star break, the Yankees had been thrown out 16 times. The Yankees weren’t able to take the extra base turning singles into doubles or going from first to third on a single, but Thomson was sending people home like the Yankees were part of the Olympic sprinting team. He was too loose at third and the team lost games because of it. The team finished with the worst hit advancement runs (HAR) in baseball at -10.35. Only five teams in baseball finished worse than -2.00.

More from Yankees News

Espada was the third base coach for the Miami Marlins from 2010-2013. In 2010, the Marlins actually had the best HAR in baseball and were right around league average the years after. His first great year may have been a fluke, but time has shown that he will not hurt the team on the bases. Espada served as the team’s professional scout this past season. At 39, he will inject some youth into the coaching staff.

The Yankees are gearing up for a strong 2015 campaign. They have bolstered their bullpen and are getting younger in the middle infield. Removing Thomson and sliding in Espada is definitely an upgrade that may fly under the radar for most, but not here at Yanks Go Yard.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Schedule