Why Dodgers Changed Roles For Bob Geren & Danny Lehmann

The Los Angeles Dodgers did not make any additions to their coaching staff under manager Dave Roberts for the 2023 season, but Bob Geren and Danny Lehmann both took on new roles.

Danny Lehmann was promoted from game planning and communications coach to bench coach at the start of the season, which coincided with Bob Geren shifting to Major League Field Coordinator, a newly-created position within the Dodgers organization.

Geren had been Roberts’ bench coach since the 2016 season and Lehmann served as the Dodgers’ game planning and communications coach in each of the last three years. “We extended Bob’s role. He was certainly pretty much an extension of me anyway as bench coach,” Roberts explained earlier this year.

“We’re down one hitting coach — Brant Brown went to Miami — so we’re looking for Bob and Danny Lehmann to sort of pick up that bandwidth. He’s going to continue to work with the catchers, the running game, continue to work with the hitting guys and continue to be more of an extension of me.

“He’s going to have to dig in a lot on the new rules, which he knows that rulebook inside and out. It will also help the pitching coaches as well as the hitting guys and on the baserunning side of things.

“Danny Lehmann, named bench coach is more in title and also more of the idea to expand his role and not just be a run-prevention coach, but take on some of the stuff I deal with on a day-to-day. But don’t ask me if I get tossed, who is going to go out there. I don’t know that answer yet.”

Geren remained in uniform and a regular in the Dodgers dugout even with his new role.

Another minor change to the Dodgers coaching staff for 2023 was Aaron Bates formally joining Robert Van Scoyoc as a hitting coach. Bates had spent the past four seasons as an assistant hitting coach and overall completed his ninth year with the organization.

2023 Dodgers coaching staff

Manager: Dave Roberts (eighth season)
Bench coach: Danny Lehmann (sixth season; first in role)
Major League Field Coordinator: Bob Geren (eighth season; first in role)
Pitching coach: Mark Prior (sixth season)
Assistant pitching coach: Connor McGuiness (fourth season)
Bullpen coach: Josh Bard (fourth season)
Hitting coach: Robert Van Scoyoc (fifth season)
Hitting coach: Aaron Bates (fifth season; first in role)
First base coach: Clayton McCullough (third season)
Third base coach: Dino Ebel (fifth season)

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