Coolbaugh hired as Dodgers' Triple-A hitting coach

LAS VEGAS - Former Orioles hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh has been hired as hitting coach with the Dodgers' Triple-A affiliate in Oklahoma City. Coolbaugh accepted the offer this week and signed his contract earlier today.

Coolbaugh replaced Jim Presley as hitting coach prior to the 2015 season. His contract ran out on Oct. 31 and he wasn't expected to return under a new manager, who's expected to be hired later this month from a field of six candidates.

I've heard that Coolbaugh also interviewed for the job of minor league hitting coordinator with the Phillies and Blue Jays. The Dodgers reached out to him and a deal was completed.

Alan Mills and Howie Clark, who served as the Orioles' bullpen and assistant hitting coaches, respectively, received minor league contracts and can stay in the organization. Coach Einar Díaz accepted a job as fourth coach at Triple-A Gwinnett.

Pitching coach Roger McDowell interviewed with the Marlins before they hired Mel Stottlemyre Jr. Third base coach Bobby Dickerson, first base coach Wayne Kirby and bench coach John Russell haven't latched on with other teams.

Kirby might retire if a major league job doesn't open up for him. He lives in Las Vegas, but hasn't ventured inside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

The Orioles still haven't hired a manager to replace Ron Johnson at Triple-A Norfolk. One option is to promote Double-A Bowie's Gary Kendall.

Meanwhile, managers at the Winter Meetings continue to say nice things about people they work with or are related to who have interviewed for the Orioles job. This isn't breaking news, but things are kind of slow around here.

Diamondbacks skipper Torey Lovullo said he's a "huge fan" of Mike Bell, the organization's director of player development.

"I'm a huge fan of anybody with the last name Bell. How can you not be?" he said.

"I know he's had a lot of history in this game, he's learned from some very important people in this game. And he's got a great baseball mind that could work in any situation in any environment. And wherever he lands, if he becomes a big league manager sooner than later, he'll be a tremendous asset to the organization."

Lovullo touched on Bell's impact in his current role with the Diamondbacks.

"Well, I know that he has a very thorough process that he believes in," Lovullo said. "He has a tremendous vision of what he wants his staff members to do to teach the players. And he feels like once our players get into player development, they're in very good hands about what it's going to take to be an Arizona Diamondback.

"He doesn't come off of that. He's a very organized leader that communicates extremely well. I feel like the baseball part of it will speak for itself. I know he hasn't been in the dugout as a manager, but that's something you can learn rather quickly. It's those other things, those other intangibles that you bring to the table that make you special.

"He's got a great personality. He's got a special way to deliver messages and a special way to communicate with guys."

Nationals manager Davey Martinez offered a glowing endorsement of bench coach Chip Hale.

"You know what? Chip's a great baseball man," Martinez said. "Very knowledgeable. He works good with veteran guys and young guys. And he gets it. He helped me out tremendously this year. We had a lot of great conversations and I think he deserves another chance. I really do.

"If I had to pick one guy out of all the guys I know, he's the perfect guy for that job. He's very patient, he's very adamant, loves what he does. Man, he could help that team, that organization grow."

What about Hale as a communicator?

"One thing about Chip is, he'll definitely come find you," Martinez said.

Rockies manager Bud Black recommended bench coach Mike Redmond.

"Mike's a very good baseball man," he said. "I think he sees the game in a way that lends itself to being very practical but, yet, I think he's creative, too. I think he has a good way with people. He has a good way with players. I think players respond to him. He's easy to be around. So, in that regard, the interaction with ownership, front office, players, media, I think he's very well schooled and all that and for me he has those qualities.

"If the Orioles go in that direction, you know I think they've made a good hire."

Cubs manager Joe Maddon was asked what advice he'd offer bench coach Brandon Hyde, considering how he took over a Rays team in a similar plight.

"You've got to build relationships from the ground up," he said. "You've got to get to know people first. And they've got to get to know you. When you do that, you start trusting each other. And once you trust each other, I promise you the ideas flow more freely. And then when you're constructively critical of one another, you're not pushing back.

"It starts right there. It's not complicated. And then after that you have to have a specific plan. When you go out to practice, I believe in simplicity. You go out and create a simple plan that's easy to follow and make sure that it's adhered to. And if there's anybody there that doesn't belong there, they need to be gone. Early. So, they're the group that's going to drag you down, drag your program down. When the program is being dragged down and they inflict these little wounds constantly, it's difficult to get this thing to fly.

"It's not complicated, it's not sexy, the explanation, but you've got to pay attention to those kind of things there before you really get your program running. And then you start playing right, you get the right dudes out there. Talking about the guys in the clubhouse, this team camaraderie and the sameness or this oneness about how you go about your business, that's what matters."

Let's also remember that Reds manager David Bell expressed his fondness yesterday for his younger brother. No verbal noogies.

"He's had so much experience leading, and leading a player development system is great preparation really for anything in this game, because there's so many people that you're in charge of," Bell said. "You have 80-plus staff and 200-plus players. The experience and the practice of creating a culture and creating a great environment for all those people to work in, he's definitely prepared. And I know he would with do great given the opportunity.

"I know he's very grateful for the job he's in, but I think he's prepared for this. And it would be another opportunity for him to grow and he's prepared."

Royals manager Ned Yost is meeting with the media as I type this final sentence and he's going to say really nice things about coach quality control/catching coach Pedro Grifol.