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Dodgers inability to hit leads to front office shakeup after 12 years
The Los Angeles Dodgers are parting ways with co-hitting coach Aaron Bates after 12 years in the organisation. The move is an unexpected change for a club that had hoped to retain its coaching staff, and leaves a vacancy on the hitting staff ahead of the new season.
Bates, 42, joined the Dodgers as a minor-league hitting coach and moved to the big-league staff as an assistant in 2019. He became co-hitting coach alongside Robert Van Scoyoc before the 2023 season and was part of the staff for the team’s back-to-back World Series wins in 2024 and 2025. The two sides could not agree on a new multi-year contract.
In short
- Aaron Bates is leaving the Dodgers after 12 years.
- The move creates a vacancy on the hitting staff.
- Bates was part of the staff for two World Series wins.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The Dodgers can reasonably seek a change if they believe the hitting staff has not delivered consistently enough, even after recent championships. A coaching vacancy gives the club a chance to bring in new ideas and align the staff with its plans for the coming seasons.
The case against
Parting ways with Bates may be difficult to justify given his 12 years with the organisation and his role in a staff that won consecutive World Series titles. If the disagreement was over contract length, replacing an experienced coach could create avoidable disruption when the club had hoped to retain its staff.