The Marlins will hire Chris Hess and Corbin Day as assistant hitting coaches. WEEI’s Rob Bradford first reported the Hess hiring, while Christina De Nicola of MLB.com was first on the Day addition. Derek Shoman, their assistant hitting coach from this past season, is leaving the organization to take the lead hitting coach job with the White Sox.
The 30-year-old Hess is a University of Rhode Island product who was drafted by the Yankees in 2017. He played a couple seasons in A-ball before retuning to URI as an assistant coach. Hess joined the professional ranks with the Red Sox organization in 2021. He spent the last two years as the hitting instructor with Boston’s Double-A affiliate, where he worked with the likes of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kristian Campbell. This is his first job on an MLB staff.
It’s also the first MLB coaching opportunity for Day. He played two seasons of NAIA college ball at Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa between 2018-19. Day then spent a few seasons coaching JUCO ball in his home state. His first professional opportunity also came in Cedar Rapids, as the Twins hired him as hitting coach with their High-A affiliate in that city. Day moved up to the Double-A Wichita coaching staff in 2024 and worked for Minnesota’s big league team in an advance scouting /game-planning role this year.
Pedro Guerrero was Miami’s lead hitting coach this year. Assuming he returns for a second season under skipper Clayton McCullough, he’ll lead what is now a three-person hitting staff.