Dustin Garneau has a new job with the Rockies. After spending the past two seasons as the organization’s catching and game planning coordinator, he will take on the role of bullpen coach in 2025. The team announced the news on Thursday.
The Rockies selected Garneau with the 571st overall pick in the 2009 draft. After five years in the club’s minor league system, he made his MLB debut at Coors Field in 2015. Over the next eight seasons, Garneau caught for the Rockies, Athletics, White Sox, Angels, Astros, and Tigers, playing a total of 168 big league games. He announced his decision to retire following the 2022 season.
During his playing career, Garneau appeared in far more games for the Rockies than any other team: 68 contests over parts of three seasons from 2015-17. He even returned to Colorado on a minor league deal in his penultimate season, although he was traded less than a month later and did not play another game with the big league club. After he hung up his catching gear, it wasn’t long before he returned to the Rockies. Indeed, the organization was so pleased to bring him back that they created the position of catching and game planning coordinator (specifically the “game planning” part) just for him (per Jack Etkin of the Rockies Blog).
While Garneau was not a pitcher himself, the Rockies must believe his experience handling pitchers and calling games will help him succeed as a bullpen coach. He will replace veteran bullpen coach Reid Cornelius, who was relieved of his duties at the end of the season. The team also parted ways with assistant hitting coach P.J. Pilittere earlier this month, though it’s unclear if they plan to replace him. With hitting coach Hensley Meulens and assistant hitting coach Andy González still in the organization, the Rockies don’t necessarily need to add another assistant hitting coach to the staff.
Not Justin Morenau
no, their names are both spelt and pronounced differently
Why did Humpty dump on JRam?
Hummer should be the one guy giving a thumbs up to JRam with his user name a combo of Humphrey Bogarts and Xander Bogaerts. If this was eHarmony, you two would be a perfect match.
Wooo San Pedro, CA finest! Good for you Dust!
Pedro Pirates!!
Huh. I remember him,but barely. Its interesting baseball-reference has a photo of him wearing an Angels uniform.. he barely played for the team, and didn’t finish off his career with them..
How many other former catchers are current pitching or bullpen coaches?
Catchers are not pitchers, but they understand pitching because they get pitches thrown in their faces and they are expected to be conversant in pitching. Nobody understands baseball more than catchers.
Men are not women, but we understand women because we get the women’s perspective told to us constantly and we are expected to be conversant in feminism. Men understand gender far more deeply than women.
Back when Dave Duncan was the pitching coach for STL, the broadcasters for the teams I watched would always mention that he was a catcher when he played, not a pitcher.
There have been a handful that have converted from catching to pitching or the other way around. Some that I can think of off hand are Kenley Jansen, Jason Motte, Paul Skenes, Buster Posey, Christian Betancourt, Matt Wieters, Chris Hatcher, and a far stretch of Tom Brady :), I’m sure people can think of others.
Is this guy like the opposite of Justin morneau
I’m glad they didn’t make him the third base coach. The only real memory I have of him on the Rockies is when I went to a game in Cincinnati and he was called out for missing third base running home from second base on a single. Cost the Rockies the game.
Rockies will break the 100 loss curse with this big move!
You could’ve told me he was in AAA for the Rockies as a depth catcher and I would’ve believed it.