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Yankees: 3 coaches who definitely won’t be back in 2022

By Adam Weinrib |
DUNEDIN, FLORIDA - APRIL 12: Marcus Thames #72 and Brett Gardner #11 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
DUNEDIN, FLORIDA - APRIL 12: Marcus Thames #72 and Brett Gardner #11 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
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Gio Urshela #29 of the New York Yankees celebrates his two RBI home run in the third inning with third base coach Phil Nevin #88 (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Gio Urshela #29 of the New York Yankees celebrates his two RBI home run in the third inning with third base coach Phil Nevin #88 (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

Something has to change within the New York Yankees’ locker room. Unfortunately, the most prominent possible things seem destined to stay the same.

Brian Cashman will be remaining in place as the team’s general manager. Randomness of the postseason aside, he should have been able to secure a second title since 2000 by now. But that’s neither here nor there, we guess. He’s coming back.

All indications are Aaron Boone is returning as well. Considering nobody wants a lame-duck manager, it seems likely he’ll earn a two-year contract extension, at the very least. Boone can pilot a great roster to the postseason, and he can win a round or two — 2019 stands out as the only Boone Team that had the right feel — but once the chips are in, can the Yanks ever overcome the managerial disadvantage he brings to the table? They haven’t yet.

But, again, neither here nor there. He’s back. Perhaps the Yankees will spend so heartily this offseason that Boone’s existence becomes a drop in the bucket. Shrug. We’ll see.

So, Boone returns. Cashman remains. Who goes? Does anybody leave?

It’s looking likelier by the day that at least a solid chunk of Boone’s coaching staff is no longer with the team on Opening Day 2022 — which, due to the pending work stoppage, may never come anyway. Fun! We’ve seen turnover under Boone before; sneakily, bench coach Josh Bard departed for a job closer to home after the 2019 season, and was silently replaced by Carlos Mendoza.

Special advisor Carlos Beltran also left after the 2019 season. Both departures seemed to … definitely hurt the team, now that you mention it?

This time around, something’s rotten, and it’s apparently not the man in charge (per the other men in charge). In order to restore some order in clubhouse, expect the following deck chairs to be rearranged.

These 3 Yankees coaches will be gone before the 2022 season.

3. Phil Nevin, Third Base Coach

Said as nicely as possible … you simply cannot welcome Phil Nevin back after the havoc he caused in 2021.

In many ways, this Yankees team did not pass the eye test. Often, they played people out of position, simply hoping for the best! Spoiler alert, they never received the best.

Perhaps most depressingly, they made more outs on the base paths than we ever thought possible.

Coaching third base is a thankless task — it seems so easy that mistakes are magnified. On a double, send everybody home. On a single? Send the runner on second to the plate, baby. Wave, wave, wave. Everybody is pretty fast at the major-league level, right? So, what are you waiting for? Score!

Sometimes, it takes seeing someone genuinely bad at this to make you realize what that even looks like. We’re not sure if Nevin just needs a refresh or recharge after an extremely difficult year (he battled COVID early and lost significant weight in the harrowing process), but he’s not at the peak of his powers right now.

22 Yankees were thrown out at home plate in 2021, tying them with the Royals for the top spot in MLB. One of the least-athletic teams in the game was the most aggressive. Yup, that should do it.

Reggie Willits #75 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
Reggie Willits #75 of the New York Yankees (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /

2. Reggie Willits, First Base Coach/OF Instructor

If one base coach goes, the other one has to as well, right? Reggie Willits, an outfield/base running coach in the Yankees organization since 2015, has coached first base since 2018, too.

While Nevin gets the lion’s share of the blame for getting a league-leading number of runners chopped down at the plate, Willits’ base running work wasn’t exactly fruitful, either. New York made 50 outs on the bases in total, ranking eighth in MLB — although … maybe ranking eighth after overcoming a league-worst number of outs at home … is actually good?

No. No it’s not. Not getting fooled again here. Eye test.

Additionally, we can’t exactly laud Willits’ work as an outfield instructor, either, though in his defense he was certainly given an odd crop of crammed-in players to work with. Clint Frazier, who turned into a Gold Glove finalist in 2020, was banged up to begin 2021 and never recovered his old form. Joey Gallo, a Gold Glove right fielder, was crammed into left, where he predictably struggled. Aaron Judge played center sometimes, though we’re not sure why. Something tells us Willits didn’t really prepare for that all offseason.

And then there’s Giancarlo Stanton, who looked … legitimately very good in his return to the field! For this, we have to give Willits some credit. For the other backslides and base running issues, we can’t give him a pass. If one corner goes, so does the other. Tough business.

Brett Gardner #11 of the New York Yankees is held back by coach Marcus Thames #62 (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
Brett Gardner #11 of the New York Yankees is held back by coach Marcus Thames #62 (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images) /

1. Marcus Thames, Hitting Coach

And expect assistant hitting instructor P.J. Pilittere to be reassigned, too. Both Marcus Thames and Pilittere are long-time, revered company men, but … at a certain point, things need to change. The Yankees didn’t want this to occur. They didn’t want to interrupt their own philosophy. But this team, stacked with superstar-level hitters, simply cannot hit.

You’ll never see anything like this lineup — this lineup, with these big names — perform this poorly ever again.

One regression is understandable. Two is unfortunate. But (clears throat) Miguel Andújar, DJ LeMahieu, Gio Urshela, Gleyber Torres, Gary Sánchez, Joey Gallo (who arrived and immediately accentuated all his faults) … hell, everyone on the roster not named Judge or Stanton? As much as the team might’ve liked Thames in the past, it’s impossible to stick by him with this recent track record of backtracking.

Plus, look at what the Red Sox have done since 2018 with a less-complete lineup. Just look at it. Look at it and hurl.

In 2021, the Yankees finished:

  • 23rd in batting average
  • 19th in runs per game
  • 23rd in hits per game
  • 30th in doubles per game (!!!)

With runners in scoring position, they hit just .238. They hit 136 solo home runs and just 86 with men on base.

This was a winning offense two years ago, with myriad players injured throughout the campaign. What … happened? There’s really no justification for keeping Thames’ formula in place, as much as you might like him.

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