DeMarlo Hale, ex-Blue Jays bench coach, returns in associate manager role

Longtime baseball coach DeMarlo Hale will return to the Toronto Blue Jays next season as associate manager under skipper John Schneider, the team said Monday.

Hale served as a bench coach for the Cleveland Guardians over the last three seasons.

"When the opportunity came up to return to Toronto in this role, it felt like a good fit," Hale said in a news release. "I'm excited to come back to this team and fanbase. My familiarity with the field staff and other departments will help make a smooth transition and continue to help impact this organization's success."

Hale also served as Cleveland's acting manager from July 29, 2021, through the end of the season while then-skipper Terry Francona was sidelined by health issues. The team went 30-33 with Hale in charge.

The 62-year-old Chicago native was a bench coach for the Blue Jays from 2013-18. He also coached for first base and outfield for Texas (2002-05), then was a third-base coach (2006-09) and bench coach (2010-11) with Boston and a third-base coach with Baltimore (2012).

"DeMarlo brings passion, toughness, experience, and a history of winning to our coaching staff," said Schneider. "Adding his voice and intensity to our environment is going to be beneficial for an already close-knit group of staff and players.

"We are looking forward to DeMarlo's immediate impact on this team heading into the 2024 season."

Hale also spent nine years as a manager at a variety of levels in the minor leagues.

The Blue Jays are fresh off an 89-73 campaign in Schneider's first full season as manager. Toronto was eliminated by the Minnesota Twins in the American League wild-card series.

The 2024 regular season begins March 28.

Rowson rejoins Yankees as hitting coach

James Rowson, who developed a good relationship with Aaron Judge in the minor leagues, was hired as the Yankees hitting coach after a season in which New York finished with the next-to-worst batting average in the major leagues.

Dillon Lawson was fired at the all-star break after 1 1/2 seasons as hitting coach in New York's first in-season coaching change since Nardi Contreras replaced Billy Connors as pitching coach in July 1995. Lawson was replaced by Sean Casey, who decided he didn't want to return for 2024.

Rowson, 47, was the hitting coach of Class A Tampa in 2006 and '07 and was the Yankees minor league hitting coordinator from 2008-11 and 2014-16, the last three years as Judge worked his way up the farm system.

In between, he worked for the Chicago Cubs, Minnesota Twins, Miami Marlins and Detroit Tigers, with whom he was assistant hitting coach this past season.

New York hit .227 this year, ahead of only Oakland's .223 and the third lowest in Yankees history behind .214 in 1968 and .225 in 1967.

The Yankees missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and at 82-80 narrowly avoided what would have been their first losing season since 1992.

Counsell couldn't pass up Cubs' job

Craig Counsell didn't answer the phone when the Chicago Cubs called about their manager job. Once he realized the number belonged to president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer, he quickly got in touch.

After that, things unfolded in a hurry.

The Cubs introduced Counsell as their 56th manager on Monday, one week after they lured him away from the Milwaukee Brewers with a record contract and fired David Ross in a pair of surprising moves. He became the majors' highest paid manager with a five-year deal worth more than $40 million US.

"I called him back," Counsell said. "And he indicated the Cubs had interest, discussed some generalities of what was going on, my schedule. I was interested, but cautious. I suggested we get together that day because I was going to New York the next day. My process was getting very fast, so we got together later that day."

The interview took place at Hoyer's home. The only other Cubs personnel who knew about it were chairman Tom Ricketts and general manager Carter Hawkins.

"It was a little bit of a shot in the dark and I didn't think it was very likely," Hoyer said. "And therefore, I wanted to make sure I kept a really small circle."

Counsell led the budget-conscious Brewers to five playoff appearances in the past six years, including three NL Central titles, and a 707-625 record in nine seasons. His contract expired, making him one of the biggest managerial free agents in recent years.

Counsell holds the franchise record for wins and games managed. The one mark against him was Milwaukee's inability to perform as well in the playoffs. The Brewers have lost nine of their last 10 post-season games.