Yankees to appoint Sean Casey as Hitting Coach
Heyman notes in a tweet that Casey has consented to take on the position until the rest of the 2023 campaign. The short-term nature of Casey's deal also raises the prospect that another search could be performed in the offseason. It is likely that these next months will act as a trial run for a possible lengthier tenure in the post.
According to a source,Yankees to appoint Sean Casey as Hitting Coach.
The Yankees parted ways with hitting coach Dillon Lawson over the course of the weekend, and they did not waste any time in replacing him. According to a tweet sent by Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, Sean Casey, a current presenter for MLB Network and a former first baseman who was selected to the All-Star team, will be taking over for Lawson. Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of the New York Post (links to Twitter) were the ones who first brought up the fact that Casey was getting "strong" consideration for the post.
Casey, who is now 49 years old and retired from playing baseball in 2008, has never had a coaching position in either the minor league or the major league, which makes him somewhat of an unlikely choice for this position. This three-time All-Star has been working as a pundit and analyst for the MLB Network for the better part of the previous several years. He was employed in a manner quite similar to that of the manager Aaron Boone, who was also a former player and went on to shift into broadcasting before becoming a manager in the big leagues. Casey and Boone were teammates on the Reds from 1998 to 2003, when Boone was moved to the Yankees. During that time, Casey was a member of the Reds. This familiarity probably had a role in the decision to consider Casey for the position, which ultimately led to his appointment, despite the fact that Casey lacked prior experience as a coach.
Casey may be a novice in the field of education, but he has a wealth of expertise in the game of baseball. The former second-round pick had a batting line of just.302/.367/.447 throughout 5644 at-bats in the big leagues, and his strikeout-to-walk ratio was only 8.5% to 10.2%. Casey had a total of 130 home runs, 322 doubles, and 12 triples by the time his career was through. In 1999, 2001, and 2004, he was one of the players chosen to represent the National League in the All-Star Game.
It is quite improbable that Casey's history will be much different from that of his predecessor. Lawson did not have a career as a professional baseball player; rather, he moved directly from playing baseball in college to the ranks of coaching at the collegiate level before getting a position with the Yankees. After holding the position of minor league hitting coordinator for the club for a number of years, Lawson was given the opportunity to train hitters in the major leagues after the conclusion of the '21 season. However, he was only in that position for one and a half seasons total throughout his time there.
In addition to his twelve years of experience playing at the big league level, Casey has spent a significant amount of time interacting with current players and forming connections with them as part of his role as an analyst for MLB Network. The person known as "The Mayor" is noted for having a kind and positive attitude. At the very least, he should have very little trouble connecting to the Yankees' players and integrating in from a clubhouse perspective. The balance of the season will be used to evaluate his effectiveness as a coach, his willingness to remain in the dugout permanently, and whether or not the management of the Yankees feels he is qualified to continue in the post beyond 2024.
Low levels last period for the team
The Yankees started play on Sunday with a collective batting line of.230/.300/.409. They have a batting average that is 29th best, an on-base percentage that is 27th best, and a slugging percentage that is 14th best. The New York Mets are scoring 4.40 runs per game on average, which places them 19th in MLB. The offensive seasons that some veterans, notably Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu, are now experiencing are the worst of their entire careers.
Aaron Judge, the reigning American League Most Valuable Player, has not played since June 2, when he crashed into the wall at Dodger Stadium and tore a ligament in his big toe. Since Judge went down with his injury, the Yankees have a batting average of.215, a slash line of.285/.383, and an average of 3.84 runs scored per game. Since Judge was injured, they have a record of 15-17 through 32 games. Although it is difficult to replace a player of Judge's level, his absence is not the only factor contributing to the team's bad performance.
The Yankees are now 49-42 on the season after suffering a defeat on Sunday. They will enter the All-Star break behind the third and final wild-card slot in the American League by one game, but they will be one game ahead of the team in last place in the AL East.
