Ex-Red Sox Alex Cora Assistant Hired As Newest Marlins Coach

The first of the "Cora Six" to land a full-time gig, as far as we can tell

Oct 20, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; New York Yankees hitting coach Dillon Lawson takes notes before game two of the ALCS against the New York Yankees for the 2022 MLB Playoffs at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas Shea-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Red Sox took a bold swing when they fired seven coaches back in April. But while the season eventually turned down at Fenway Park, those coaches still had stories playing out on the side.

In addition to manager Alex Cora, the Red Sox parted ways with bench coach Ramón Vázquez, hitting coach Peter Fatse, third-base coach Kyle Hudson, assistant hitting coach Dillon Lawson, and strategy coach Joe Cronin. Game-planning and run prevention coach Jason Varitek was not officially fired, but has not worked for the organization in any capacity since.

Lawson, though he wasn't the man in charge of the team's offense, has seen his fair share of ribbing over the past few years due to the fact that he also got fired as the primary hitting coach for the New York Yankees in 2023. But this week, he's back in charge of a major league team's offense — the Miami Marlins.

Marlins hire Lawson six months after Red Sox departure

On Tuesday, the Marlins officially announced they had hired Lawson to be their new hitting coach. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald was the first we could find with a report verifying the addition.

Lawson and Fatse were scapegoats at times when the Red Sox's lineup produced inconsistent results over the last three seasons. There also seemed to be a battle brewing within the organization over the viability of Driveline Baseball training methods.

The replacement hitting coach, John Soteropulos, was a former coach at Driveline. Yet, Lawson preached most of the same analytically-driven methods Driveline is known for during his time with the Yankees, so scapegoating a training facility likely isn't foolproof.

Miami's young core of hitters may not contain a group of household names, but there's some talent there. Shortstop Otto Lopez put up 6.1 bWAR and made his first All-Star team, while Javier Sanoja, Heriberto Hernandez, and Griffin Conine all took big steps forward.

Lawson also became the first member of the so-called "Cora Six" to secure a new full-time gig with a major league team. Fatse has been consulting for the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays, who evened up the American League Championship Series on Tuesday night with a win over the Cleveland Guardians.

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