Red Sox invite all but two coaches back for 2021 season
While the Red Sox have a managerial vacancy, they already have a clear idea of whom they expect to be on the coaching staff next year.
Bench coach Jerry Narron, who was brought in during spring training to work alongside former manager Ron Roenicke, and bullpen coach Craig Bjornson did not have their contracts renewed for 2021. Every other member of the coaching staff has been invited to come back, with contracts offered to those whose deals ran through 2020.
Pitching coach Dave Bush and assistant pitching coach Kevin Walker, both of whom were in their roles in 2020 for the first time, were invited back. So, too, were hitting coach Tim Hyers (who joined the staff in 2018) and assistant hitting coach Peter Fatse (added to the staff last offseason), as well as third base coach Carlos Febles, first base coach Tom Goodwin, and coach Ramon Vazquez.
The Sox also invited back special assistant/catching coach Jason Varitek as part of their staff, which is notable because in the past, Varitek has more often been characterized as part of the front office than the coaching staff. Varitek spent an increasing amount of time in uniform and in the dugout with the big league team in recent years, particularly in late 2019 and throughout the 2020 season.
The status of the coaching staff had been in flux since the end of the year once the decision was made not to bring back Roenicke as manager, particularly given that the coaches who’d joined the staff in 2018 (Hyers, Febles, Goodwin, Vazquez) were on contracts that ran out at the end of this year.
But the Sox felt comfortable enough with their group to retain their services for next year.
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