Yankees Hire Tigers' James Rowson as Hitting Coach After Sean Casey Exit

The New York Yankees will have their third hitting coach in less than a year.

The Yankees have named former Detroit Tigers assistant hitting coach James Rowson to the position. Rowson will be replacing Sean Casey, who was hired at the All-Star break this past season after the firing of Dillon Lawson.

Rowson is back in the Yankees organization after serving as the franchise's minor league hitting coordinator for six seasons from 2006-11 and 2014-16. Per R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports, Rowson "is said to be close with star outfielder Aaron Judge."

After departing the Yankees, he served as the hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs and the Minnesota Twins before becoming the bench coach for the Miami Marlins. He was hired by the Tigers as an assistant hitting coach after the 2022 season.

Rowson is taking over a Yankees offense that struggled mightily in 2023 despite entering the year with hopes of competing for a World Series title. The team failed to make the playoffs after finishing with an 82-80 record and had the second-worst batting average in the majors at .227.

Anderson noted that New York hit .231/.301/.410 and averaged 4.4 runs per game under Lawson and .221/.307/.381 and with 3.8 runs per game under Casey. Lawson was the first coach to be fired by the Yankees during the season since 1995, and Casey chose to step away at the end of the year to spend more time with his family.

It remains to be seen how the Yankees plan to improve their roster this offseason. New York also still has to find a new bench coach after Carlos Mendoza accepted the manager position with the New York Mets. Fans are surely hoping the right moves are made to get the team back in contention in 2024.