NEW YORK – One day after firing hitting coach Dillon Lawson, the Yankees turned to a former teammate of manager Aaron Boone in hiring Sean Casey as a midseason replacement.
“I’m just really excited about having this opportunity in the second half to impact the guys in the lineup,” Casey said, in part of statement released by the Yankees.
Exactly how much of an impact Casey might have on an expensive, underachieving lineup – with superstar Aaron Judge still sidelined indefinitely due to a toe injury – remains an open question.
The affable Casey, a .302 hitter in the majors, is parachuting in from an MLB Network analyst position, while the Yankees are retaining assistant hitting coaches Brad Wilkerson and Casey Dykes.
New York Yankees: Gerrit Cole will be the AL starter for the All-Star Game on Tuesday
“As far as our hitters go, I think every guy is different,” Casey said. “There’s no way to cookie cut hitters,and if you start doing that, you get into trouble and underutilize strengths they may have.
“I’m going to get to know each player and their approach at the plate,” said Casey, adding that he’d stress “controlling the zone and hunting in the zone.
“I want them to control their process and stick to their approach with the goal of winning every pitch.”
After dismissing Lawson, his batting coach since 2022 on Sunday, Yankees GM Brian Cashman said he expected to have a new hitting coach in place before the Yankees’ season resumed Thursday at Colorado following the All-Star break.
Cashman added that Boone would have input in the hiring of the next batting coach; Casey and Boone were Cincinnati Reds teammates.
“Anyone who knows Sean knows he is a very well-respected former baseball player with a big personality full of positive energy,” said Cashman in the release. “We feel his abilities to connect with people with his experience will serve him well in his new role as our head hitting coach.”
Via the club’s statement, Boone said that Casey’s “passion for hitting is infectious,” and there is “no doubt in my mind that he will have a tremendous impact on our team.”
