Nats' new staff complete with hiring of Blanco as bullpen coach

By Mark Zuckerman

Nationals

November 15, 2017, 5:18am

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The Nationals announced the hiring of Henry Blanco as bullpen coach this morning, officially filling the final position on new manager Dave Martinez's staff.

Blanco is no stranger to Martinez, having served as the Cubs quality assurance coach the last three seasons while the latter was bench coach. He previously was an assistant coach and bullpen catcher for the Diamondbacks.

The 46-year-old former catcher has crossed paths with almost everyone in baseball over nearly three decades in the sport. He played for 11 different major league clubs during a 16-year career, establishing himself as a reliably defensive-minded backup.

Blanco joins a new Nationals coaching staff that includes only one holdover from this season: third base coach Bob Henley. Martinez's other previously announced hires were bench coach Chip Hale, pitching coach Derek Lilliquist, first base coach Tim Bogar, hitting coach Kevin Long and assistant hitting coach Joe Dillon.