The Blue Jays made a noteworthy addition to their coaching ranks Monday, hiring Jaime Vieira as a minor league hitting coach per Sportsnet’s Shi Davidi. Vieira, a former softball standout and coach, is no stranger to the Toronto organization after spending the past two seasons with the club in various roles. Most recently she occupied a baseball operations research and development role last year, assisting the club with its 2021 draft among other tasks. The bump up to hitting coach reflects success in Vieira’s previously held roles as well as the continuation of an encouraging industry trend to seek out talented personnel regardless of gender. While Vieira is set to serve as the first female coach in the Toronto organization, this news comes in the wake of several other firsts this past week, including Rachel Balkovec’s ascension to manager in the Yankees organization and Genevieve Beacom becoming Australia’s first professional female baseball player.
Some other personnel notes from baseball’s eastern divisions…
- The Mets search for a bench coach under new skipper Buck Showalter continues, as Jon Heyman reports (via Twitter) that the team “checked in on” but was ultimately rebuffed by Grand Canyon University head coach Andy Stankiewicz. Showalter and Stankiewicz have some history, as the latter served as a utility man for Showalter’s Yankees in 1992 and 1993. This cordial refusal is the latest in a string of recent rejections for the Mets organization, who were denied a chance to speak with San Francisco pitching coach Andrew Bailey for their bench coach vacancy earlier today.
- The Nationals have made a smattering of recent hires, per Brittany Ghiroli and Maria Torres of The Athletic. Joe Dillon has returned to the organization as a minor league hitting coordinator after a few years as the Phillies’ major league hitting coach. The club has also hired Michael Schatz away from the Reds to serve as the organization’s lead research and development analyst. Lastly, GM Mike Rizzo has also welcomed three new special assistants to his front office: Willie Fraser and Mike Pagliarulo, recently with the Marlins, and Greg Hunter, who last served as a scout for the Mariners.
Stanky turned down the Mets?
He’s coached at Grand Canyon for ten years. If he doesn’t want to lose a job with that kind of tenure for a revolving-door job like a coaching post in Queens, can you blame him? Rojas only lasted a season and a half as manager.
He’d prob make more in 1.5 years than 10 years at GCU
Money isn’t always top priority.
I doubt that, Dusty. Mickey Callaway made $900,000 in 2019, and Alex Cora made $900,000, and they were managers, not coaches. Look up the USA Today article “Top college baseball coaches make major-league money; at least nine at $1 million or more.”
Grand Canyon U. is obviously not a top-tier baseball college, but it is an NCAA Division I school with almost 7,000 employees and 25,000 students on campus. It claims to be the largest Christian school in the world by enrollment. I’d be very surprised if the Mets offered him more in a year and a half than he’s made in ten years with the school. Grand Canyon’s basketball coach for seven years was three-time NBA All-Star Dan Majerle. I doubt he worked cheap.
Well, maybe he’s actually doing what he’s doing, enjoys working with the kids, liked being home every night, the shorter schedule or had no interest in being in NY or a big spotlight? Heck, maybe he’s just happy doing what he’s doing? I can only imagine how exhausting it must be make the commitment to fly around the country for 8 months a year and be away from family and home life.
GCU has a beautiful stadium and is in Phoenix so he is building a good program that doesn’t have a football team. GCU’s program will only improve and he loves it there. I would stay there instead of being thrown into the pressure cooker of Queens.
There’s probably a good Stanky/stinky joke here but its just getting sad already…
Doing Buck is in dire need of a beach coach.
They’ve got 99 coaches but a bench ain’t one.
I guess the Mets have been Shot Down in Flames.
The Mets are looking in wrong spots, they’ll figure it out.
Bobby V ??
The Mets are such a meme lol
I can put in my 2 week notice…
I don’t need 2 weeks! I’m in
LOL
Too late… I ran into Cohen at 7-11 last night, and we made a deal that he announces he hired Bobby Valentine and I get to wear the fake ‘stache all season.
bengie molina would be a fine manager or coach.
“Reports out of Puerto Rico have revealed that while Molina has expressed interest in managing a major league club in the future, he ‘wouldn’t touch the Mets organization with a……..39 1/2 foot pole.’”
As long as he’s not the baserunning coach.
Andy Stankiewicz. That’s a name I haven’t heard of in a while.
John Russell.
I always liked Pags I hope he does well with the Nats. I am happy more attention is being payed to the player development of the organization this off season. One of the best ways to control payroll on a successful team is to keep the farm stocked
I don’t understand why Edgardo “Fonzi” Alfonso is not being considered by Alderson and Eppler, to be there bench coach? Guy is popular, classy and won a title for them in the minor’s two or three years ago? He would make a splashy move with the organization and especially the fans! I’m pulling for the guy,so hopefully he does well in another ball club!
@Dallas
Maybe Edgardo isn’t intersected?
Would have liked Stankiewicz as Jay Johnson’s successor at the University of Arizona instead of that lazy alumnus hire in Chip Hale.
Stank has had his share of offers from P5 college baseball programs but decided to stayed put at GCU. If he’d be about the money, he could have accepted one of those jobs that pay a lot more than a MLB bench coach.
I guess the question is, what does Buck want sitting next to him? An old school set of eyes offering game time feedback? An analytics guy offering statistical input? Someone to groom? Or a right hand man type to handle things he’d rather not? Someone who specializes in aspects of the game better than he does? Only Buck knows what he wants.
If it were me, I’d be looking for someone I trust, can bounce things off of during games, someone who is 100% on board with my own beliefs who is definitely on the same page.
Who is still around in the game that either played for him who he connected with or someone else who coached with him?
Detroit pitching coordinator Dan Hubbs was replaced by younger Dodger coach Stroop. Is he available? Did a pretty good job with Tigers, former college head coach.
They should hire Ronald McDonald.