The ever-frantic carousel of MLB coaches has finally calmed down.
Most big league clubs have now announced their coaching staffs for 2026. And the November frenzy, with its exhausting game of musical chairs, has completely reshaped the big league coaching landscape.
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Manager hires tend to grab headlines, and that was especially true this offseason, when eight teams brought in new skippers. But let’s dig a little deeper and look at nine of the most interesting coaching changes that happened this winter.
Don Mattingly, bench coach, Philadelphia Phillies
Donny Baseball’s hiring has not yet been announced, but several reports have linked the six-time All-Star to Phillies‘ bench coach job. After leading the Dodgers And MarlinsMattingly spent the last three seasons as TorontoThe bench coach. That tenure included the former Yankee’s first trip to the Fall Classic in his long and storied career, an accomplishment that earned Mattingly some well-deserved headlines.
In 2026, he will be one of two new names on the Phillies staff (assistant hitting coach Edwar Gonzalez, who replaced new Orioles hitting coach Dustin Lind, is the other). Mike Calitri spent the last few years as Rob Thomson’s right-hand man, but was moved to the role of on-field coordinator earlier this winter. That opened up the spot for Mattingly, who will now work alongside his son, Preston, who is Philadelphia’s general manager under president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski. Mattingly’s presence should be helpful on a club with so many veterans and stars. Big dogs listen to big dogs, and Mattingly is as respected a voice as there is in all of sports.
Kai Correa, bench coach, New York Mets
After two seasons with the Guardiansthe former Division III infielder is taking on a new challenge under Carlos Mendoza in Queens. In Cleveland, Correa was the proud owner of MLB’s longest coaching title: major league field coordinator/director of defense, strategy and baserunning. Considered one of the game’s best minds on the field, both in terms of positioning and fundamentals, Correa fits perfectly with New York’s offseason statement that “we need to get better at run prevention.”
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And he’s not the only new figure in blue and orange, as the Mets’ disastrous 2025 precipitated quite the shake-up. Only two coaches besides Mendoza — assistant hitting coach Rafael Fernandez and strategy coach Danny Barnes — survived president of baseball operations David Stearns’ cleaning house.
Andy McKay, MLB Field Coordinator, Cleveland Guardians
McKay, the man hired to replace Correa, has been in professional football for more than a decade, but this will be his first role that requires wearing baseball pants in a big league dugout. Previously assistant general manager and director of player development for the SailorsMcKay has played a huge role in the recent wave of local talent in Seattle.
It should be noted that McKay has extensive experience in the dugout; he spent 14 years as head coach at Sacramento City College and held various leadership roles in college summer leagues. Still, it’s a fascinating leap. It’s not often we see someone trade in a laptop and a zipper for a stopwatch and lawn shoes.
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Jeremy Hefner, pitching coach, Atlanta Braves
By the end of May 2025, Hefner was something of a minor New York celebrity, the face of an improbably good character. Dishes launch staff. The fact that Hefner has been with the team since 2019, under four different managers, has only added to the aura. Then it all fell apart, with the Mets rotation collapsing into an unusable puddle of goo as the team spent the month of October at home. And Hefner found himself on the chopping block.
In truth, Hefner probably received too much credit when things were good and too much blame when things were bad. Such is life in the Big Apple. Fortunately, he wasn’t out of work for long. The Braves quickly got Hefner back to serve under new manager Walt Weiss. Get Spencer Strider getting back to his best will be a big part of Hefner’s job. Notably, most of Brian Snitker’s guys have left town, with Eddie Peréz being the only surviving manager (besides Weiss) from the Braves’ last playoff team.
Alon Leichman, pitching coach, Colorado Rockies
Leichman has a simple but extraordinarily daunting task: Solving the Coors Field. That burden isn’t the only one to bear — Colorado’s new regime has completely overhauled its pitching corps — but as big league pitching coach, Leichman will be the public voice of the operation.
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Born and raised in Israel by American parents, Leichman took a circuitous path to the Mile High City that included mandatory military service, six years of college baseball and an appearance in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He spent the last two seasons Miamihelping to modernize the Marlins’ pitcher development apparatus.
Simon Mathews, pitching coach, Washington Nationals
It’s a new day in DC, and you should be This young people to go around. The Washington Youth Organizational Movement Strikesled by Paul Toboni, 35-year-old president of baseball operations, who was just hired. The new general director, Ani Kilambi, is 31 years old. Blake Butera, the new skipper, is 33 years old.
And Mathews, hired at Cincinnati to manage the pitchers, is 30 years old. He reached Triple-A in the Angels‘, but has never appeared in the big leagues and has been coaching for less than six years. Still, Reds people love Mathews, who is fluent in modern pitching and Spanish. It should be noted that Mathews has a pre-existing relationship with Sean Doolittlethe only member of the Nats 2025 staff who was retained.
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Brady Anderson, hitting coach, Los Angeles Angels
This will be the first coaching position for the former Orioles outfielder, who is best known for throwing 50 long balls in 1996 and never coming close to that mark again during his 15-year career. After hanging up his cleats in 2002, Anderson joined Baltimore’s front office for a time in the 2010s, becoming vice president of baseball operations under former general manager Dan Duquette.
Anderson’s lack of hands-on coaching experience makes him a very odd hire under first-year head coach Kurt Suzuki. Maybe that’s going well, but Anderson probably doesn’t have the mastery of modern baseball needed to turn this Angels lineup into a juggernaut.
Derek Shomon, hitting coach, Chicago White Sox
It’s a homecoming for Shomon, who grew up a huge White Sox fan in suburban Chicago. And now Shomon, who spent 2025 as Miami’s assistant hitting coach, has one of the most crucial responsibilities in recent franchise history: turning Munetaka Murakami into a force.
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The Sox shocked the baseball world by landing the Japanese slugger. The amount was much lower than the industry had anticipated, because Murakami’s swing-and-miss concerns scared other teams. Shomon and Chicago hitting director Ryan Fuller will be the main characters tasked with proving that signing Murakami was worth it.
Ron Washington, on-field coach, San Francisco Giants
Tony Vitello’s move from head coach at the University of Tennessee to manager of the San Francisco Giants was the most shocking MLB coaching news of the winter. – maybe even the decade. This is an unprecedented leap, and how Vitello adapts to big-league play will be fascinating to watch. He put together a fairly experienced staff with names like Jayce Tingler (former Padres manager) and Hunter Mense (former Blue Jays assistant hitting coach).
But Washington, one of the game’s most colorful characters, is undeniably the headliner here. “Wash” spent the last two years as a manager in Anaheim, but was on medical leave for most of the 2025 season. Apparently, he is healthy enough to return to work, which is a huge win in itself. Baseball is a more interesting world when Wash tears up cigarettes in the tunnel before games.
