ESPN REPORT: The new york yankees Head Coach is Been Fired Due to….
The 2024 New York Yankees have revealed their coaching staff. Alongside Yankees Manager Aaron Boone will be Major League Field Coordinator and Director of Catching Tanner Swanson; Bench Coach Brad Ausmus; Pitching Coach Matt Blake; Bullpen Coach Mike Harkey; Assistant Pitching Coach Desi Druschel; Hitting Coach James Rowson; Assistant Hitting Coaches Casey Dykes and Pat Roessler; First Base and Infield Coach Travis Chapman; and Third Base and Outfield Coach Luis Rojas.
The 54-year-old Ausmus is starting his 34th season in the major leagues, his 11th as a manager, coach, or front office executive, and his first as the bench coach of the Yankees. In the 2022 season, he most recently worked as the bench coach for the Oakland Athletics. Before that, Ausmus was Billy Eppler’s special assistant for the 2018 season and coached the Los Angeles Angels from 72 to 90 in 2019. He was the manager of the Detroit Tigers from 2014 to 2017, leading the team to a 314-332 (.486) record, capped off by a 90-72 record and a postseason spot in his first season in charge.
After retiring from the game, Ausmus worked as a Special Assistant in Baseball Operations with the San Diego Padres for three seasons (2011–13). In addition, he served as Team Israel’s bench coach in the 2023 World Baseball Classic and as their manager in the 2013 World Baseball Classic.
Highly regarded as one of the best defensive catchers in the game, Ausmus played in 18 Major League seasons for San Diego (1993–1996), Detroit (1996, 1999–2000), Houston (1997–98, 2001–08), and Los Angeles–NL (2009–10). He batted.251 (1,579-for-6,279) with 718R, 270 doubles, 34 triples, 80HR, 607RBI, 634BB, 102SB, and a.325 on-base percentage. In addition to ranking fourth in Major League history for catcher putouts (12,839) and seventh in games played as a catcher (1,938), Ausmus won three Gold Glove Awards (2001–02, ’06).
Ausmus, a New Haven, Connecticut native, was chosen by the Yankees in the 48th round of the 1987 First-Year Player Draft after graduating from Cheshire High School. He chose to attend Dartmouth College, but instead of playing baseball there, he played in the Minor League system of the Yankees while pursuing his degree, which he eventually earned in 1991. He spent five seasons (1988–1992) in the minor league ranks of the Yankees, reaching the pinnacle of the organization at Triple-A Columbus in his last year before the Colorado Rockies took him in the expansion draft of 1992.
In his fifth season back as the Yankees’ pitching coach, Blake, 38, is back. When it came to opponents’ batting average (.234) in 2023, Yankees pitchers placed second in the American League and third in the Major League. In addition, Yankees pitchers were 10th in ERA (3.97), ninth in opponents’ on-base percentage (.308, sixth in AL), sixth in opponents’ slugging percentage (.396), and fifth in opponents’ OPS (.703, fifth in AL).
When it comes to strikeouts (4,995, second in AL), WHIP (1.19, second in AL), opponents’ on-base percentage (.298, second in AL), opponents’ batting average (.229, second in AL), and K/BB (3.10, second in AL), fifth in ERA (3.74, third in AL), second in AL in K/9.0IP (9.31), and sixth in BB/9.0IP (3.01, fourth in AL) since joining the Major League coaching staff in 2020.
Blake was a member of the Cleveland Indians for four seasons (2016–19) before joining the Yankees. In 2016, Blake started working with Cleveland as the Lower Level Pitching Coordinator. Before being elevated to the position of Director of Pitching Development, he worked for the company as Assistant Director of Player Development from 2017 to 2019.
In addition, Blake coached the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod League for seven years while working as the pitching coordinator for Cressey Sports Performance. The native of Concord, New Hampshire pitched for four seasons at the College of the Holy Cross (Mass.), earning a degree in philosophy and psychology in 2007.
57-year-old Harkey, who served as the Yankees’ bullpen coach from 2008 to 2013 before rejoining the team’s coaching staff for the 2016 campaign, is back for his 15th season in that role. The Yankees relievers finished second in the Majors in HR/9.0IP (0.86, second in AL) and opponents’ OPS (.658, first in AL), fifth in WHIP (1.23, third in AL), and sixth in opponents’ OBP (.309, third in AL) in 2023. They also posted a Major League-best 3.34 ERA (619.0IP, 230ER),.221 opponents’ batting average, and.349 opponents’ slugging percentage. Elias stated that the Yankees had the lowest bullpen ERA in the Majors for the second time in the last 42 years (since 1982), and for the 12th time in franchise history (since 1913, when ER became an official stat in both leagues) (also 1917, 1922, ’27, ’39, ’45, ’47, ’55, ’57, ’70, ’81 and ’97).
His 18th season as a Major League coach will come in 2024. He also spent the 2006 season as the Florida Marlins’ bullpen coach and the 2014–15 season as the Arizona Diamondbacks’ pitching coach. In addition, he worked as a Minor League Pitching Coach for the San Diego Padres (2000-05) and Chicago Cubs (2007) for seven seasons.
In 131 Major League games (104 starts), the San Diego, California native went 36-36 with a 4.49 ERA. He was selected by the Chicago Cubs with the fourth overall pick in the 1987 First-Year Player Draft. He played for the Cubs (1988, ’90-93), Colorado Rockies (1994), Oakland Athletics (1995), California Angels (1995), and Los Angeles Dodgers (1997).
The 48-year-old Druschel is about to begin his third season as the Yankees’ assistant pitching coach and his sixth overall in the team. In addition, he spent three seasons (2019–21) as the Yankees’ Manager of Pitch Development. Druschel worked for the University of Iowa for five years before coming to the Yankees. From 2014 to 2017, he was the team’s Director of Baseball Operations, and from 2017 to 2019, he was the pitching coach.
At Vinton-Shellsburg High School, Druschel started his coaching career as an assistant coach. (Iowa) in 1998, and then attended Indiana University as a student from 1999 to 2000. He worked at Mount St. Clare College (Iowa) for five years, from 2000 to 2004, first as an assistant coach and then as head coach from 2001 to 2004. Druschel was employed at Mount Mercy University (Iowa) from 2004 to 2014. He began as an assistant coach in 2004 and was elevated to head coach in 2005.
From 1994 until 1998, the native of Vinton, Iowa, participated in baseball and basketball programs at Mount Mercy University and Upper Iowa University. Indiana University awarded him a master’s degree in athletic administration in 2001.
With 22 years of experience as a professional coach, 47-year-old Rowson is back with the Yankees. He will be in his tenth season as a Major League coach in 2024, and he will be in his first as the Yankees’ hitting coach.
Rowson was the bench coach for the Miami Marlins from 2020 to 22 before spending the previous season as the assistant hitting coach for the Detroit Tigers. He was the Minnesota Twins’ hitting coach from 2017 to 2019 before moving to Miami.
The product of Mount Vernon, New York, played for the Yankees for nine seasons between 2006 and 2016, seven of which he spent as the Minor League Hitting Coordinator (2008–11 and 2014–16). In addition, he served as Single-A Tampa’s hitting coach from 2006 to 2007. Rowson played two seasons with the Chicago Cubs (2012–13) in between stints with the Yankees. He began as the team’s Minor League Hitting Coordinator and was designated the Cubs’ Major League Hitting Coach in June 2012.
Rowson spent four years as a Minor League Hitting Coach with Single-A Rancho Cucamonga (2004–05), Single-A Cedar Rapids (2003), and Rookie-level Provo (2002) before starting his coaching career with the Los Angeles Angels organization.
Out of Mount St. Michael High School in the Bronx, he was originally drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the ninth round of the 1994 First-Year Player Draft. Before joining the Independent Heartland League in 1998, the former outfielder spent three Minor League seasons with the Mariners (1995–1996) and Yankees (1997).
Dykes, 33, is set to begin his third season as a Major League instructor with the Yankees. In 2021, he was Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s hitting coach before joining the team’s Major League coaching staff. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic canceling the 2020 season, Dykes was scheduled to be the Hitting Coach for the Yankees’ Single-A Charleston club.
Before coming to the Yankees, he was Indiana University’s hitting coach for one season (2019), during which the Hoosiers won the Big Ten regular season title and set a record for the most home runs in Division I. From 2015 to 2018, he was also Virginia Military Institute’s hitting coach and recruiting coordinator. From 2013 to 2014, Dykes worked as an assistant coach at Western Kentucky, his alma mater. Playing four seasons from 2009 to 2012, he earned a bachelor’s degree in sport management from Western Kentucky before going on to earn a master’s in athletic administration in 2014.
The 64-year-old Roessler is back with the Yankees as an assistant hitting coach. Roessler will be in his thirteenth season with the Yankees (as well as his fourth, fifth, and sixth seasons in professional baseball) in 2024. After working as the team’s Director of Player Development from September 2004 to the end of the 2014 season, he was a Player Development Advisor with the Yankees in 2019. In addition, he worked as the club’s hitting coordinator in 2005, 2012, and 2013 and as the organization’s field coordinator from September 2004 until the 2013 season. Roessler also managed Single-A Charleston for the second half of the 2006 season.
The last four seasons (2020–23) Roessler was the Washington Nationals’ assistant hitting coach. He spent four seasons with the Mets (2015–18) in between his two previous stints with the Yankees. He was elevated to hitting coach for the 2018 season after serving as assistant hitting coach from 2015–17.
Roessler worked as the Houston Astros’ Minor League Hitting Coordinator from 2002 to 2004 before coming to the Yankees. He was the Montreal Expos’ Minor League Hitting Coordinator from 1995 to 1997 before taking on the role of Major League Hitting Coach in 2000–01. Roessler worked as the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Minor League Hitting Coordinator from 1998 to 1999 in between stints with the Expos.
From 1988 to 1994, he was employed by the Chicago White Sox organization as well. Prior to taking on the roles of Hitting Coach for Single-A Sarasota in 1989 and 1993, Double-A Birmingham in 1990–1992, and Single-A South Bend in 1994, Roessler was the organization’s Roving Hitting Instructor in 1988.
From 1983 to 1988, Roessler was the assistant baseball coach at Old Dominion University (Va.), where he started his coaching career.
The native of Phoenix, Arizona, graduated from the University of Arizona with a bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1983 and Old Dominion University with a master’s degree in sport management in 1987. He was a part of the University of Arizona baseball team that won the 1980 College World Series.
Rojas, forty-two, is about to begin his third season as the Yankees’ outfield and third base coach. Before he signed with the Yankees. Rojas worked with the New York Mets organization for 16 years, from 2006 to 21. During two of those years, he managed the team (2020–21). In 222 games over that time, the Mets were 103-119 (.464).
In Major League Baseball history, Rojas was the sixth manager of Dominican descent. After a 17-season Major League career, his father Felipe Alou became the first manager of the Montreal Expos (1992–2001) and San Francisco Giants (2003–06). After Buddy and David Bell, Aaron and Bob Boone, Connie and Earle Mack, George and Dick Sisler, and Bob and Joel Skinner, Luis and Felipe became the sixth father-son team to manage a major league team. Moises Alou, his brother, spent 17 seasons in the Major League Baseball with seven different organizations.
Rojas was the team’s Major League Quality Control Coach in 2019. Rojas managed Double-A Binghamton (2017–18), Single-A St. Lucie (2015–16), Single-A Savannah (2012–14), and the Gulf Coast League Mets (2011) before coming to work for the Mets in the Major League. Rojas was also a Minor League Coach for the Single-A Savannah team in 2010 and the Gulf Coast League Mets team in 2008–09. After signing with the organization in 2006, he played his first full season with the Dominican Summer League squad in 2007.
In 2019, Rojas also served as manager of the Dominican Republic National Team for the WBSC Premier12 competition. The Dominican Republic native also captained Leones del Escogido to a Dominican Winter League title in 2015–16.
Rojas played with the Baltimore Orioles (2000), Florida Marlins (2001–02), and Montreal Expos/Washington Nationals (2003–05) in their Minor League systems.
Chapman, 45, is starting his third season in the Yankees organization as the first base and infield coach. This will be his 12th season overall. Additionally, he is about to begin his third season as the company’s Director of Infield. He spent the 2020 season coaching at the Alternate Site as the Assistant Infield Coordinator before taking a job as the Yankees’ Minor League Infield Coordinator in 2021, just before he joined the Major League coaching staff. Before the COVID-19 epidemic forced the 2020 season to be canceled, Chapman was scheduled to manage the GCL Yankees. Before that, he worked as a defensive coach with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (2018) and Single-A Charleston (2015–16, ’19) for four seasons. He oversaw the DSL Yankees in 2017. After making his professional coaching debut in 2013 as a coach for the GCL Yankees 2, Chapman made his Minor League managerial debut in 2014 with the GCL Yankees 1. Additionally, in 2012, he served as an assistant coach for the 18U USA National team in Seoul, South Korea, which took home a gold medal.
The product of Jacksonville, Florida, was first chosen by the Phillies from Mississippi State University in the 17th round of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. He joined the team in 2003 and made his Major League debut. With the Philadelphia (2000-03), Kansas City (2004), Cincinnati (2005), and Pittsburgh (2006) organizations, he participated in 506 Minor League games in seven seasons. During that time, he hit.286 (507-for-1,771) with 227 doubles, 117 triples, 41 home runs, 286 RBI, and 185 walks.
In his sixth season as the Yankees’ director of catching and first as the team’s major league field coordinator, Swanson, 41, is about to embark on his career. From 2020 until 2023, he was the team’s Director of Catching and Quality Control/Catching Coach. He worked as the Minor League Catching Coordinator for the Minnesota Twins for two seasons (2018–19) before joining the Yankees.
The native of Seattle, Washington, played collegiate baseball for nine seasons at various levels. During his five years as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Washington (2013–17), he also held the position of director of baseball operations for a single season (2012). Three of his catchers were selected to the All-Pac-12 Conference while he was the coach at Washington, and two of them were also chosen in the first three rounds of the First-Year Player Draft. In 2011, he was also the head coach of Green River Community College in Washington.
In 2010 Swanson was an assistant coach at Central Washington University, his alma school, and a lecturer in the School of Physical Education and School Health. In 2008, he taught and coached baseball at Sultan High School. In 2009, he worked as an assistant at Everett Community College in Washington.
