The Los Angeles Dodgers officially lost two more coaches from the 2015 staff on Friday as the Miami Marlins announced the hires of Lorenzo Bundy and Tim Wallach.
Bundy will serve as the Marlins’ outfield/base running coach, and Wallach continues his role as Don Mattingly’s bench coach.
Wallach was on the Dodgers’ Major League coaching staff the last five seasons; the first three as third base coach, then bench coach in 2014 and 2015.
Coaching turnover was expected with Dave Roberts taking over as manager of the Dodgers. Former New York Mets bench coach Bob Geren is expected to be one addition to Roberts’ staff.
Geren, who interviewed for the Dodgers’ managerial vacancy, is reported to replace Wallach as bench coach. According to ESPN’s Adam Rubin, Geren explained his decision to leave the 2015 National League champions as one tied to family reasons:
“It was a very tough decision, but I am headed to L.A.,” Geren said. “Both my wife and I have aging parents and extended family in Southern California. It’s not often you get a chance in baseball to work that close to home and to your family. I’m going to miss everything about New York and the Mets. It was a wonderful four years.”
Geren spent the last four seasons as Mets bench coach. Prior to that he was manager of the Oakland Athletics for parts of five seasons. Oakland fired Geren 63 games into the 2011 season.
He brings plenty of experience to the bench, which should be of aid to Roberts, a rookie manager. Moreover, Geren is said to have a strong background in the use of advanced stats.
Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler is expected to also join Roberts’ staff, and so too is former Arizona Diamondbacks hitting coach Turner Ward in the same role he held with Arizona.
