Orioles could eliminate title of minor league catching coordinator

As Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias makes a series of changes to the front office, player development and scouting departments, it's become clear that titles also can be altered or eliminated.

It isn't just the individuals behind them.

I've heard that the Orioles might do away with the role of minor league catching coordinator that used to be filled by Don Werner, who learned earlier this month that he wouldn't return in 2020.

Elias said the following back on Sept. 10 after news broke that 14 more employees would not be retained:

"Without getting into specifics right now, I do expect us to backfill all those numbers, if not more. It might not be the same title, location, whatever. We're going to be growing as a department and in player development, specifically. I expect an increased head count relative to what was here, for sure, but we'll be doing a lot of different stuff across all levels.

"There are going to be positions here that the Orioles have never existed before with the Orioles. There will be others that will be much more familiar and I think when we all open the media guide on Feb. 1, we'll see what exactly it will look like. We've got a lot to navigate between now and then, and these things take time to put together. There will be a lot of hiring around here."

I quipped at the time that the real breaking news pertained to Elias' claim that there would be a media guide on Feb. 1. Just trying to lighten the mood.

Getting back to my earlier point, there's a possibility that the Orioles are going to restructure how they handle minor league catching instruction.

One person I spoke with recently said it's "up in the air."

Orioles major league field coordinator and catching instructor Tim Cossins could take on a larger role with his latter responsibilities.

Cossins would have tremendous input if the Orioles decide to simply replace Werner with someone else, but I've heard that they intend to add an extra coach at each minor league affiliate and there could be catching instructors included in the group of new hires.

These instructors could bounce around to different affiliates, given the geographic layout. It wouldn't be like having a free-floating rover, which is how Werner operated. They'd be assigned to a particular team, but also given the freedom to roam.

This is still in the planning stages, along with other facets of the minor league operation.

* The Orioles are making some changes to the business side of the organization, with an announcement perhaps coming this week.

I had to chase a few rumors, including one on the baseball side that proved to be false. But I know that the Orioles hired T.J. Brightman to be in charge of revenue/sales.

Brightman used to work for the Orioles as vice president of corporate sales and sponsorships until leaving in 2005. He spent 19 months with them before joining the Bel Air-based public relations firm A Bright Idea LLC as the head of its new sports marketing division.

The firm was founded by Brightman's wife, Anita, who served as president.

The Orioles began using Brightman as a consultant in 2012. Now they've given him a title, which will be revealed later, and a new set of responsibilities.

There are a couple promotions on the business side, as well.

* I wrote yesterday that the Orioles set a club record this season by having four players register five-hit games: Trey Mancini, Renato Núñez, Hanser Alberto and Anthony Santander. They had three in 1974: Tommy Davis (twice), Rich Coggins and Mark Belanger. They had nine seasons with two players accomplishing the feat.

According to STATS, the 2019 Orioles tied the franchise record set by the 1936 St. Louis Browns.

STATS research goes back to the 1923 season and finds that the 1922 Pirates had the most players achieve five-hit games with six.

Eight teams had five players do it, most recently the 1962 White Sox. The Brewers had four this year after none reached the mark since the 2007 Phillies.