Josh Bard interviews for a spot on Yankees coaching staff

SAN DIEGO - JULY 02: Catcher Josh Bard
SAN DIEGO - JULY 02: Catcher Josh Bard

In an effort to round out the Yankees coaching staff, Josh Bard, a former teammate of Aaron Boone, has interviewed for a spot.

With news of National League MVP Giancarlo Stanton adding the Yankees to the list of teams he would now accept a trade to, it’s understandable that Josh Bard interviewing for a coaching position with the Bombers, went mostly unnoticed.

Bard, 39, is a former backup catcher that played for six different clubs over the extent of his 10-year career.

Back in 2005, Aaron Boone and Bard were teammates on the Cleveland Indians — hence the connection to the job. The New York Post, which first reported the story, didn’t detail any findings as to which spot on Boone’s coaching staff Bard would potentially fit.

However, smart money would point to Bard, who has spent the past five years working in the Dodgers’ organization, including the last two as the big league bullpen coach, taking over for Rob Thomson as bench coach.

Doing so would also fill a need for someone to work with catchers during spring training and beyond since it’s highly unlikely that Tony Pena returns to the organization as first-base coach/catching instructor.

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With the increased pressure on Gary Sanchez, due to a slew of underwhelming performances behind the plate in 2017, perhaps bringing in another fresh face will aid The Kraken’s development, donning the tools of ignorance.

Bard, a career .254 hitter, stuck around in the majors as long as he did because he was an excellent defensive backstop.

During his 4225-inning career, Bard only allowed 26 passed balls, made 31 errors and amassed a .992 fielding percentage while throwing out 21 percent of base stealers.

At Boone’s introductory press conference, the 33rd manager in Yankees’ team history, explicitly expressed what he would like in a bench coach.

"“I want smart sitting next to me,” Boone said at the news conference to announce his hiring. “I want confidence sitting next to me. I want a guy who can walk out into that room and as I talk about relationships I expect to have with my players, I expect that even to be more so with my coaching staff. … Whether that is guys with all kinds of experience or little experience, I am not concerned about that.’’"

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General manager Brian Cashman let it be known that he is open to recommendations from Boone as to who he would prefer to work with. Perhaps Bard was the first name Boone thrown out.

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