Source: Hale, Long won't return to fast-changing coaching staff

The Nationals' first offseason task appears to be a significant makeover of manager Davey Martinez's coaching staff.

One week after cutting ties with pitching coach Paul Menhart, the club has now also informed third base coach Chip Hale and hitting coach Kevin Long they will not be returning in 2021, a source familiar with the decisions confirmed.

There could be more moves coming, as well. Assistant hitting coach Pat Roessler, brought in last winter, has been Long's right-hand man with three different organizations and seems unlikely to be retained on his own. Bench coach Tim Bogar and first base coach Bobby Henley's statuses are unknown. Bullpen coach Henry Blanco, who worked with Martinez in Chicago before joining him in D.C. three years ago, would seem to be on the safest footing among the entire staff.

Though they've caught most by surprise, the changes appear to be a reflection of Martinez's desire to have more say in his staff and hire coaches he has prior relationships with.

When he was initially hired prior to the 2018, Martinez mostly inherited a coaching staff that included either holdovers from Dusty Baker's staff (Henley) or new hires made by general manager Mike Rizzo (Hale, Long, Bogar, former pitching coach Derek Lilliquist). Though that group (with Menhart replacing the fired Lilliquist in May 2019) went on to win the World Series, it was never truly Martinez's staff.

Now, in the wake of a disappointing 2020 season, Martinez appears to be using the increased influence he attained upon signing his own contract extension to make his own coaching staff hires.

Hale, who previously managed the Diamondbacks, was originally Martinez's bench coach, an experienced fill-in when the manager missed time following a cardiac scare in 2019. Following the World Series victory, the club decided to shuffle roles, with Bogar moved to the higher-profile bench coach position and Hale shifting to third base while Henley moved across the diamond to first base.

Long actually interviewed for the managerial job three years ago, but instead was offered the hitting coach position under Martinez. One of baseball's biggest proponents of the launch angle hitting philosophy that has caught on throughout the sport, he was credited with helping develop Daniel Murphy into a complete hitter with the Mets and in D.C. received praise for his work with Juan Soto.

The Nationals, though, fell to sixth in the National League in runs scored, 10th in homers and seventh in OPS this season with some wildly inconsistent offensive performances from day to day. (The loss of Anthony Rendon, injuries to Howie Kendrick and Starlin Castro and Ryan Zimmerman's opt out certainly played a role.)

The club has not publicly announced any of the changes yet. All coaches' contracts are believed to expire Oct. 31. MLB Network was first to report Hale's departure, while MLB.com first reported Long's departure.

The Nationals did announce another set of roster transactions this afternoon. Right-handers Aaron Barrett and Paolo Espino have declared for free agency after being outrighted to Triple-A on Friday. Left-hander Roenis Elías also cleared waivers and declared for free agency.

Barrett had been with the organization since he was drafted in the ninth round in 2010 from the University of Mississippi. A key member of the Nats' 2014 playoff bullpen, he needed Tommy John surgery in 2015 and then, one year later while in the final stages of rehab, broke his arm in horrific fashion. The 32-year-old returned to pitch in the majors in September 2019, making national headlines, threw out the ceremonial first pitch before the wild card game against the Brewers and appeared in two games late this season.

Espino made a late-season start for the Nationals and pitched once more in relief, the 33-year-old's first big league appearances since 2017 with the Brewers and Rangers.

Elías was highly touted upon his acquisition (along with Hunter Strickland) from the Mariners at the July 2019 trade deadline, but the left-hander's time in D.C. proved a disaster. He pulled his hamstring running out a ground ball in his Nats debut and pitched in only four games last season. He never pitched this season after suffering a flexor strain in his left elbow.

Because Elías was on the 60-day injured list, his departure does not affect the Nationals' 40-man roster, which still stands at 37.