Blue Jays return '21 coaching staff, bolster leadership with additional roles

DUNEDIN, Fla. -- The Blue Jays announced their 2022 Major League coaching staff on Sunday, a group that’s expanding with several core members taking on new roles.

Manager Charlie Montoyo will have his full ’21 staff back in the dugout, including John Schneider, who moves to the role of bench coach after spending three years under the title of Major League coach.

Pete Walker (pitching coach), Guillermo Martinez (hitting coach), Mark Budzinski (first-base coach), Luis Rivera (third-base coach), Matt Buschmann (bullpen coach and director of pitching development) and Alex Andreopolous (Major League bullpen catcher) will all remain in their roles. Beyond those titles, Rivera works heavily with infielders on defense while Budzinski focuses on outfielders.

Gil Kim will be moving into a new role as field coordinator, in which he’ll oversee daily scheduling, practice designs, individual development plans and player communication. Kim had been the club’s director of player development, a role held now by Joe Sclafani, and Kim even held that role while part of the Major League coaching staff in ’21. Just like Buschmann, whose work with Toronto’s pitching prospects continues through the season, it's clear the Blue Jays are moving more in the direction of flexible coaching roles.

Dave Hudgens will serve as a hitting strategist, working with Martinez to develop the club’s offensive approach. Hudgens had been the club’s bench coach; Hudgens and Martinez will be joined by Hunter Mense, the Blue Jays’ new assistant hitting coach and Minor League hitting coordinator. Mense has been the organization’s Minor League hitting coordinator for three seasons and he spent 2018 as the Double-A hitting coach, so he’s very familiar with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette and the rest of the club’s young core.

David Howell joins the club as a Major League pitching strategist, a role involving research and analysis. Howell, who spent ’21 working with young Blue Jays pitchers at the club’s complex, and ’20 working at the club’s alternate training site, comes with a background from Driveline Baseball.

Adam Yudelman will also join the Major League staff after six years with the organization, previously as the coordinator of baseball research. Yudelman will now work under the title of Major League coach, a role the Blue Jays describe as developing consistency between the MLB staff’s gamely routines. A major point of emphasis for modern staffs is communicating analytics and data-based recommendations to players in a way they’ll embrace, which Yudelman will be part of.

Luis Hurtado will also join the MLB staff as a Major League bullpen catcher alongside Andreopoulos, working to develop catchers. Hurtado managed the Dunedin Blue Jays in ’21 and previously spent seven years in the Blue Jays’ system as a player, reaching Triple-A in ’11.

There is a clear emphasis on analytics for the Blue Jays as they look to continue development at the Major League level and communicate information more effectively to players.