The Guardians have made just a few notable modifications to their teaching workers, as relayed on X by Mandy Bell of MLB.com. Grant Fink is the brand new hitting coach, changing Chris Valaika, who departed to hitch Terry Francona in Cincinnati. Additionally, bench coach Craig Albernaz remains to be on the workers however with a promotion to assistant supervisor.
Fink, 34 subsequent month, had a quick skilled enjoying profession. He was drafted by Cleveland in 2013 and performed with them within the minors via 2015, however by no means climbed greater than Single-A. He transitioned into a training position within the minors in 2017 and has spent the previous three years as minor league hitting coordinator. With Valaika being whisked throughout the state by Francona, Fink will get an opportunity to return as much as the key league teaching workers.
Albernaz, 42, has been a preferred title in managerial searches recently. He was related to the skipper vacancies of the Marlins and White Sox and was reportedly a finalist for each jobs, however the Sox went will Will Venable and Albernaz withdrew himself from consideration for the Miami job.
As an alternative, he’ll follow the Guardians with a title change and maybe a wage bump, although that’s pure hypothesis. Albernaz spent 4 years on the workers of the Giants, working as bullpen/catching coach, earlier than coming to the Guardians a yr in the past. After one yr as bench coach in Cleveland, he had sufficient respect across the sport to be a sizzling commodity in managerial rumors, however he’ll stick round as supervisor Stephen Vogt’s prime lieutenant.
