Winning a World Series title didn’t stop the Washington Nationals from tinkering with their coaching staff. The Nationals announced a few role changes for some of manager Dave Martinez’s top assistant coaches for the 2020 season.
Tim Bogar was moved from first base coach to bench coach, while last year’s bench coach, Chip Hale, will now take over as third base coach. Bob Henley will move over from third base to first.
MASN reported that Martinez said the decisions were about “not getting stagnant” as a staff.
The bench coach is the de facto No. 2 on the coaching staff, working from the dugout to advise managers and taking over managerial duties if the manager is ejected or unavailable. When Martinez left a game in September early due to chest pains and was transported to a hospital, Hale filled in the rest of that game plus the next three-game series in St. Louis.
Hale, the former Diamondbacks’ manager for two seasons, also took over when Martinez was ejected from Game 6 of the World Series. But now that duty belongs to Bogar.
Bogar was a finalist for the New York Mets’ managerial opening this offseason. The Mets instead hired former star player Carlos Beltran.
The rest of the Nationals’ coaching staff will remain the same, with one addition. Pat Roessler was hired as an assistant hitting coach. Roessler spent the 2018 season as the Mets’ hitting coach after serving in previous roles, but was fired and did not work in baseball in 2019.
Paul Menhart, who was promoted from minor-league pitching coordinator to pitching coach last May, retained his job as pitching coach.
• Adam Zielonka can be reached at azielonka@washingtontimes.com.
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