CLEVELAND — As the offseason begins, the Guardians anticipated that some of their successful coaches might move on to other teams. Chris Valaika was the first to make that leap.
The Guardians announced that Valaika, who served as Cleveland’s hitting coach for the past three seasons, has been hired by the Reds as their director of hitting and Major League hitting coach. This means the Guardians now need to start the search for his replacement.
Valaika will reunite with Terry Francona in Cincinnati. There’s also speculation surrounding the future of Guardians pitching coach Carl Willis, especially given his close ties to Francona. However, the Reds already have a pitching coach and a director of pitching, making it unlikely for Willis to join them. If Willis decides to retire, that would create another opening on the coaching staff.
The Guardians can begin the process of filling the hitting coach position. Potential candidates include Dan Puente, Valaika’s assistant, and Junior Betances, the hitting coach for Triple-A Columbus, who has a strong rapport with José Ramírez from their time together in the Home Run Derby.
This could be a chance for Guardians manager Stephen Vogt to build his own staff. When he took the job last offseason, much of the coaching staff was already in place. Now, he might leverage his network to select coaches for the 2025 season.
Currently, Valaika is the only confirmed departure this offseason, but there are rumors about bench coach Craig Albernaz potentially pursuing a managerial position elsewhere. The Guardians are aware that more changes may be on the horizon, but they’ll have to wait to see how things unfold.
