Coaches Marcus Thames, Phil Nevin, P.J. Pilittere Won’t Return to Yankees
Marcus Thames, Phil Nevin and P.J. Pilittere will not return to the Yankees’ coaching staff. The team informed the trio that their contracts will not be renewed for the 2022 season, according to The Athletic’s Lindsey Adler.
Thames, who played for the Yankees during his 10-year career, has been New York’s lead hitting coach since 2017 and has held several other hitting coach positions throughout the organization since 2013. He first joined the big-league staff as an assistant hitting coach before the 2016 season.
Pilittere, the assistant hitting coach, has been with the Yankees since they drafted him in 2004.
The Yankees’ decision not to renew Thames and Pilittere does not come as a surprise. Players have spoken highly of Thames in the past, but New York’s offense suffered through too many lulls in 2021. Among the stats in which the Yankees ranked among the bottom of the league: RBI, K%, BABIP, average and average with runners in scoring position. They were middle of the pack in plate appearances, runs, slugging and fWAR, and they led the American League by grounding into 154 double plays.
The Yankees finished first in BB%, eighth in home runs, ninth in on-base percentage and wRC+, 12th in wOBA, and 13th in OPS.
Nevin, meanwhile, has been the Yankees’ third base coach since longtime friend Aaron Boone took over the team in 2018. His sends at the hot corner have often been questioned; such an occurrence took place in the 2021 American League Wild Card game after Nevin waved Aaron Judge home. The outfielder ended up being out by several feet, and the costly decision killed New York’s chances of a rally in the eventual loss.
There could be more changes for New York’s staff in the coming days and weeks. There is still no official word on Boone, whose contract expires following the World Series. There have been reports that the Yankees are leaning toward keeping the manager, though.
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