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LAS VEGAS — The Dodgers hired former Miami Marlins hitting coach Pedro Guerrero, filling the one opening on their coaching staff.
The team announced the move Tuesday, during the first day of MLB’s general managers meetings.
Guerrero has ties to the Dodgers organization, as a minor-league player from 2006-13. He also served as the bench coach for rookie-level Ogden in 2016-17.
“Petey, we obviously have some familiarity with having been here before,” general manager Brandon Gomes said. “We know he’s an amazing person, going to fit in great culturally. Has a lot of strengths that we think will complement our group.”
GM meetings are generally the precursor to the more widely-attended winter meetings in December, but this year’s winter meetings are expected to be canceled in the face of a lockout.
The Dodgers had wanted to bring Guerrero back in some capacity, “independent” of their unexpected opening on the coaching staff, Gomes said.
Guerrero spent two seasons as the Marlins’ hitting coach before the team decided not to retain him, opting for a “new voice,” as president of baseball operations Peter Bendix put it in late September, while praising Guerrero as a person and a coach.
Then, former co-hitting coach Aaron Bates and the Dodgers reached an impasse in contract negotiations and parted ways last week.
Guerrero will work alongside longtime hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc.
“It’s really important for us, how we see things, to have a flat structure and know that it’s collaborative across the board,” Gomes said. “The main thing is trying to put people in a position to succeed. And how that looks, we’re going to continue to hammer out over the next week to month.”
Guerrero also worked as an assistant hitting coach for the Philadelphia Phillies (2018-21) and San Francisco Giants (2022-24) before joining the Marlins.
