{"id":87351,"date":"2024-10-08T13:47:23","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T17:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=87351"},"modified":"2024-10-08T13:53:22","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T17:53:22","slug":"reds-fire-hitting-coach-trio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/10\/08\/reds-fire-hitting-coach-trio\/","title":{"rendered":"Reds Fire Hitting Coaches Amid Offseason Overhaul Under Francona"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Reds are leaving no stone unturned in their quest for improvement. The latest shake-up sees the departure of the team&#8217;s hitting coach trio. MLB.com&#8217;s Mark Sheldon reports that Joel McKeithan, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bradste01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Terry Bradshaw<\/a> and Tim LaMonte have been fired with <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/10\/03\/report-reds-hire-terry-francona-new-manager\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">newly appointed<\/a> manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/francte01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Terry Francona<\/a> spearheading the overhaul. As the Reds seek to reclaim relevance in the National League Central, Francona&#8217;s stamp on the organization is taking shape.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Some Reds news:<\/p>\n<p>All three hitting coaches &#8212; Joel McKeithan, Terry Bradshaw and Tim LaMont have been fired.<\/p>\n<p>RHP Julian Aguiar had TJ surgery and will be out for 2025.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mark Sheldon (@m_sheldon) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/m_sheldon\/status\/1843687988569706863?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 8, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In addition to the coaching shake-up, Reds right-hander <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/aguiaju01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Julian Aguiar<\/a> suffered a significant setback. According to Sheldon, Aguiar underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss the entire 2025 season.<\/p>\n<h2>Reds Revamp Hitting Staff Under Terry Francona<\/h2>\n<div class=\"html-div xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"x1yztbdb\">All three had been named to their roles in November of 2022, with McKeithan taking the role of lead-hitting coach. Bradshaw and LaMonte were each named assistant coaches under McKeithan. The latter joined the Reds organization in 2021 after spending time as the Detroit Tigers minor league hitting coordinator. Bradshaw served as the hitting coach for the Kansas City Royals from 2018-22 before coming to Cincinnati. LaMonte served as a private hitting instructor before spending time in the Houston Astros minor league system.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"html-div xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"x1yztbdb\"><span class=\"x1lliihq x1plvlek xryxfnj x1n2onr6 x1ff1cvt xatrb82 x193iq5w xeuugli x1fj9vlw x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xt4736n x1havqas x1f0sm9e x12qp5cl xzsf02u x1yc453h xudqn12 x3x7a5m\">According to Charlie Clifford of NBC 5 Cincinnati, Terry Francona may already have a top candidate in mind for the vacant hitting coach position. Notably, Francona previously interviewed <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/y\/youklke01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevin Youkilis<\/a> for the same role in Cleveland ahead of the 2022 season, ultimately opting for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/v\/valaich01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-10-08_br\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Chris Valaika<\/a>.<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"html-div xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n<div class=\"x1yztbdb\"><span class=\"x1lliihq x1plvlek xryxfnj x1n2onr6 x1ff1cvt xatrb82 x193iq5w xeuugli x1fj9vlw x13faqbe x1vvkbs x1s928wv xhkezso x1gmr53x x1cpjm7i x1fgarty x1943h6x xt4736n x1havqas x1f0sm9e x12qp5cl xzsf02u x1yc453h xudqn12 x3x7a5m\">However, Clifford suggests that Youkilis, a Cincinnati native, could receive another consideration for the job. Youkilis&#8217;s local ties and familiarity with Francona&#8217;s coaching style may make him an attractive candidate.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Reds Hitting Coach Joel McKeithan will not return in 2025 per source.<\/p>\n<p>Ahead of the 2022 season, Terry Francona interviewed Kevin Youkilis for the same position in Cleveland before going with Chris Valaika. The Cincinnati native could get another look.<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Charlie Clifford (@char_cliff) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/char_cliff\/status\/1843698659940291056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 8, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>The Reds struggled with consistency on offence, finishing among the NL&#8217;s worst in several key categories. The numbers tell the story:<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"html-div xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div class=\"x1e56ztr\"><span class=\"x193iq5w xeuugli x1fj9vlw x13faqbe x1vvkbs xt0psk2 xt4736n x1havqas x1f0sm9e x12qp5cl xzsf02u x1yc453h\">Batting Average: .231 (15th in NL)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"html-div xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div class=\"x1e56ztr\"><span class=\"x193iq5w xeuugli x1fj9vlw x13faqbe x1vvkbs xt0psk2 xt4736n x1havqas x1f0sm9e x12qp5cl xzsf02u x1yc453h\">On-Base Percentage (OBP): .305 (11th in NL)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"html-div xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd\" tabindex=\"-1\">\n<ul>\n<li>\n<div class=\"x1e56ztr\"><span class=\"x193iq5w xeuugli x1fj9vlw x13faqbe x1vvkbs xt0psk2 xt4736n x1havqas x1f0sm9e x12qp5cl xzsf02u x1yc453h\">Slugging Percentage (SLG): .388 (12th in NL)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The Reds have scuffled offensively, ranking 9th-worst in MLB with a .240 batting average and 2,601 hits (9th-fewest) over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo: \u00a9 Kareem Elgazzar-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a disappointing season, the Cincinnati Reds are leaving no stone unturned in their quest for improvement. The latest shake-up sees the departure of the team&#8217;s hitting coach trio. MLB.com&#8217;s Mark Sheldon reports that Joel McKeithan, Terry Bradshaw and Tim LaMonte have been fired with newly appointed manager Terry Francona spearheading the overhaul. As the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3686,"featured_media":87353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[28,1071,35],"tags":[4408,462],"class_list":["post-87351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reds","category-mlb","category-news","tag-kevin-youkilis","tag-terry-francona"],"modified_by":"Matt Graves","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3686"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87351"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87351\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87353"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}