By MASN Staff on Monday, November 25 2024
Category: Masn

Orioles announce 2025 major league coaching staff

The Orioles today announced their 2025 major league coaching staff, led by 2023 American League Manager of the Year BRANDON HYDE in his seventh season. The club has named CODY ASCHE as the hitting coach, ROBINSON CHIRINOS as the bench coach, TOMMY JOSEPH as the assistant hitting coach, SHERMAN JOHNSON as the assistant hitting coach/upper level hitting coordinator, and BUCK BRITTON as a major league coach. The other coaches are remaining in their same positions: GRANT ANDERS as major league development coach (2nd season), TIM COSSINS as major league field coordinator/catching instructor (7th), DREW FRENCH as pitching coach (2nd), RYAN KLIMEK as pitching strategy coach (3rd), TONY MANSOLINO as third base coach (5th), MITCH PLASSMEYER as assistant pitching coach (2nd), and ANTHONY SANDERS as first base coach (6th).

Asche, 34, spent the last two years as the offensive strategy coach. He served as the organization’s upper-level hitting coordinator in 2022. He played five years in the big leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies (2013-16) and Chicago White Sox (2017) and finished his professional playing career in 2020 following the cancellation of the minor league season. His coaching career started in 2021 with the Phillies as the hitting coach for Single-A Clearwater. In 2023, Asche helped the Orioles rank among MLB teams in home runs (2nd, 235), slugging percentage (3rd, .435), total bases (3rd, 2,424), OPS (4th, .750), runs scored (4th, 786), and triples (T-4th, 33).

Chirinos, 40, joins the Orioles after an 11-year MLB career that began in 2011 with Tampa Bay and ended in 2022 with Baltimore. He batted .226/.319/.419 (480-for-2124) with 114 doubles, five triples, 95 home runs, 275 runs scored, 306 RBI, 231 walks, 69 hit-by-pitches, and five stolen bases in 714 career games between the Tampa Bay Rays (2011), Texas Rangers (2013-18, 20), Houston Astros (2019), New York Mets (2020), Chicago Cubs (2021), and Orioles (2022). From 2013-19, he was the sixth-most valuable primary MLB catcher with a 13.0 bWAR. This will be his first professional coaching position.

Joseph, 33, completed his first season as an MLB coach in 2024 as the assistant hitting coach for the Seattle Mariners. He joined the Mariners after three seasons as a minor league hitting coach for the San Francisco Giants with High-A Eugene in 2023 and with the New York Mets for Double-A Binghamton in 2022 and Single-A St. Lucie in 2021. Joseph appeared in 249 MLB games with the Phillies from 2016-17 and slashed .247/.297/.460 (200-for-810) with 42 doubles, one triple, 43 home runs, 98 runs scored, 116 RBI, 55 walks, six hit-by-pitches, and two stolen bases. He participated in the 2012 Futures Game as a member of the Giants before being acquired by Philadelphia at the trade deadline along with two players in exchange for Hunter Pence on July 31, 2012. Joseph also appeared in the Rangers and Red Sox organizations, as well as one season with the LG Twins of the Korean Baseball Organization, and with Team Texas of the Independent Constellation Energy League as part of an 11-year professional playing career from 2010-20.

Britton, 38, joins Baltimore’s big league staff after spending the last three seasons as the manager at Triple-A Norfolk, his sixth overall managing in the O’s minor league system along with 2019-21 (Double-A Bowie) and 2018 (Single-A Delmarva). He started his coaching career as the hitting coach for Delmarva in 2017 after a nine-year minor league playing career with the Orioles (2008-14), Los Angeles Dodgers (2015), and Minnesota Twins (2016). Britton guided the Tides to the Triple-A National Championship and International League Championship in 2023 and earned International League Manager of the Year for his efforts. He also earned Eastern League Manager of the Year in 2019 after leading the Baysox to their second league Championship Series in franchise history. Britton was named the 2021 and 2023 recipient of the Orioles' Cal Ripken, Sr. Player Development Award, given annually to a minor league staff member who exemplifies Ripken’s qualities as an instructor. He is the just the third multi-time winner since the award’s inception in 2003. This will be Britton’s first coaching position at the MLB level. He is the older brother of former Orioles pitcher, two-time All-Star, and 12-year MLB veteran ZACK BRITTON.

Johnson, 34, spent last season as the O’s minor league upper-level hitting coordinator. He was the hitting coach at Triple-A Norfolk in 2023, his first professional coaching position after a nine-year playing career with the Los Angeles Angels (2012-18), Cincinnati Reds (2019), and Twins (2021). He appeared in 10 MLB games with the Angels in 2018. With the Tides in 2023, he helped the offense rank in the top five in the 20-team International League in hits (2nd, 1,384), batting average (T-2nd, .274), total bases (3rd, 2,327), runs scored (4th, 876), and OPS (T-4th, .822).

Hyde, 51, enters his seventh year as manager after leading the Orioles to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 1996-97. Last season, he guided the O’s to their third straight winning record for the first time since 2012-14. In 2023, he earned American League Manager of the Year honors after leading the Orioles to an AL-best 101-61 record, the first time since 1997 that the O’s claimed the top seed in the league. The 2023 season saw the O’s clinch their 10th AL East title and first since 2014. He’s one of two managers in franchise history to lead the team to a 100-win season, along with EARL WEAVER (6x). He was also voted the Sporting News AL Manager of the Year by fellow AL managers in two straight seasons from 2022-23. Under his leadership, the O’s have had multiple players receive votes for AL awards presented by the Baseball Writers Association of America Awards, including Most Valuable Player, including GUNNAR HENDERSON (4th in 2024 & 8th in 2023) and ADLEY RUTSCHMAN (8th in 2023 & 12th in 2022); the Cy Young Award, including CORBIN BURNES (5th in 2024), KYLE BRADISH (4th in 2023), and FÉLIX BAUTISTA (11th in 2023); and Rookie of the Year, including COLTON COWSER (2nd in 2024), Henderson (1st in 2023), and Rutschman (2nd in 2022). ANTHONY SANTANDER (2024), Henderson and Rutschman (2023), and CEDRIC MULLINS (2021) have all won Silver Sluggers, while RAMÓN URÍAS earned a Gold Glove in 2022 with Hyde at the helm.

Anders continues in his second season as major league development coach. Cossins begins his seventh season as major league field coordinator/catching instructor and his 24th as a professional manager, coach, or MLB bullpen catcher. French (pitching coach) and Plassmeyer (assistant pitching coach) both continue in their same roles for the second straight year. Klimek returns for his third season as pitching strategy coach and his ninth in the organization. Mansolino enters his fifth season as the club’s third base coach while Sanders begins his sixth season as first base coach.

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