Filling out the remainder of the Yankees coaching staff
As Aaron Boone is introduced as the newest manager of the Yankees, the rest of his coaching staff still needs to be decided.
According to George A. King III of the NY Post, the Yankees are currently considering Carlos Mendoza and Reggie Willits to fill in a few of the remaining pieces to Aaron Boone’s coaching staff.
Whether or not Boone actually has any say as to who he works alongside remains to be seen, as it was noted during the managerial hiring process that the front office would take much of the lead in regards to hirings, while the manager would focus on player interaction.
Mendoza, 38, recently completed his fifth year as the Yankees’ minor league infield field coordinator and could be Joe Espada’s replacement as the third-base coach.
Mendoza spent 12 years in the minor leagues, appearing in just 28 big league games where he hit .182 for the Mets and Rockies in 1997 and 2000, respectively.
Since his retirement as a player, Mendoza has spent time as a coach at Low-A Charleston and managed the Gulf Coast Yankees in 2011 before being promoted to manager of Charleston one year later.
Over the past few seasons, Mendoza has worked with top prospects such as Gleyber Torres, Miguel Andujar and Thairo Estrada.
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As for Willits, 36, he is a highly regarded outfield/baserunning instructor that currently acts as the Yankees’ specialty hitting coach.
Willits spent parts of six seasons with the Angels, hitting .258 with 58 RBI. He did, however, steal 40 bases in 57 career attempts.
Though it was recently announced that Larry Rothschild will return for his eighth season as pitching coach, and many believe Mike Harkey will also return to his stead as bullpen coach, the Yanks are still without a bench coach, hitting coach, first base coach and third base coach.
It’s still entirely possible that Alan Cockrell and/or Marcus Thames return as hitting coaches and Tony Pena comes back to man the first base box, but remember that the organization granted Joe Girardi’s entire coaching staff permission to seek employment elsewhere, following the disappointing ALCS loss to the Astros.
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Individuals who have personal ties to Boone, that could come up in talks to coach include Jason Giambi, who was a spring training hitting instructor with the Indians in 2017; John Flaherty, whom Boone played with on the 2003 Yankees and has expressed an interest in getting back on the field; Robin Ventura, another ex-teammate of Boone, who managed the White Sox for four seasons and Eric Wedge, who Boone played for with the Indians from 2005-06.