Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez is continuing the overhaul of his coaching staff. Hitting coach Kevin Long and third base coach Chip Hale have been informed they will not be retained by the Nationals, according to Mark Zuckerman of MASN Sports.
Last week, pitching coach Paul Menhart was told he was not being brought back once his contract expires on Oct. 30.
Martinez is being allowed to choose his coaching staff after signing a three-year extension last month. He was not given the luxury when he was initially hired in 2017 as the Nationals manager.
More changes could come, according to Zuckerman.
Long spent three seasons with the Nationals, winning a World Series in 2019 in the process. He was instrumental in the development of young slugger Juan Soto. The 21-year old has often spoke highly of Long.
This season, Washington finished fourth in MLB in batting average and 10th in OPS. Soto became the youngest player to win the NL batting title. Soto also led all of MLB in on-base and slugging percentage.
Hale also spent the previous three seasons with Nationals being hired shortly after Martinez was named manager. The club was looking to surround Martinez, who had not managed in the majors before, with an experienced staff. Hale had managed the Arizona Diamondbacks for two seasons.
Hale served as bench coach his first two seasons, and filled in as manager of Game 6 of the World Series following Martinez’s ejection. But, Hale was moved to third base coach in 2020 as part of a coaching staff shuffle Martinez contend was to keep his staff sharp following their World Series title. Tim Bogar, who also managed in the big leagues, replaced Hale as bench coach this season.
After failing to repeat as champions in a disappointing season, changes were expected. Now with Martinez becoming the first to manage the Nationals a fourth year, he has been given more control in putting together his staff.
