BOSTON — The Red Sox on Friday completed the modifications to their coaching staff, promoting José Flores from the Minor Leagues to be the new first base coach/infield instructor and adding Parker Quinn to the organization as the catching instructor/bullpen catcher.
Earlier in the offseason, Dillon Lawson was installed as assistant hitting coach and Chris Holt was hired as the bullpen coach.
Given the struggles the Sox have had with infield defense the last two years, the addition of Flores to the Major League staff is one the organization put a lot of thought into.
The 53-year-old already has solid relationships with several members of the young core, having served as bench coach for Triple-A Worcester the last three years.
This is the third time Flores has been on a Major League coaching staff. He was first base coach for the Phillies in ’18 and was third base coach for the Orioles in 2019-20, while simultaneously serving as infield instructor in both of those stints.
Flores, who is from Puerto Rico, has an extensive background in teaching defense, starting with his five years serving as infield coordinator for the Cubs from 2013-17.
The addition of Quinn will take a load off Jason Varitek, who has done the bulk of catching instruction for the club in recent years, in addition to his many other roles on the coaching staff.
After serving as game planning coordinator the last several years, Varitek’s new title is game planning and run prevention coach.
The 31-year-old Guinn joins the Red Sox from the rival Yankees, where he was the manager of New York’s Dominican Summer League club. Quinn’s move to pro baseball happened after he worked in several different roles in college baseball, including assistant coach at the University of Washington, head coach at Everett Community College, assistant coach at the University of Utah, graduate assistant coach at the University of Washington and assistant coach at Southern Illinois Edwardsville University.
By adding Flores, Quinn, Holt and Lawson, the Red Sox look to become a more cohesive and fundamentally sound club after missing the playoffs the last three years.
The rest of manager Alex Cora’s staff remains intact from last season, including Ramón Vázquez (bench coach), Andrew Bailey (pitching coach), Pete Fatse (hitting coach), Ben Rosenthal (assistant hitting coach), Kyle Hudson (third base coach/infield instructor and Charlie Madden (bullpen catcher).
Be the first to comment