Marlins add Leichman to coaching staff

MIAMI -- The Marlins continue to fill out manager Clayton McCullough's coaching staff, hiring Carson Vitale (bench coach), Pedro Guerrero (hitting coach), Daniel Moskos (pitching coach), Derek Shomon (assistant hitting coach) and Alon Leichman (assistant pitching coach).

Vitale, 36, spent the last five seasons as the Mariners' Major League field coordinator after serving as the Minor League field coordinator for two campaigns. According to MLB.com colleague Daniel Kramer, Vitale coordinated everything for on-field logistics pregame and was allowed to find more of a coaching-type voice over the past two years. He was well-liked by players and former Seattle skipper Scott Servais.

"[Vitale] complements and supports and enhances Clayton in really ideal ways," president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said, "and I'm really excited to see how that plays out over the course of the season and multiple years together. But even just observing them so far in their interactions together, you can tell there's such trust and mutual respect and appreciation and really desire for the other person to succeed.

"And that's really what you're looking for in a lot of these roles. The knowledge and the skills and all of that is very important, of course, but also the camaraderie, the trust, the support, the working together for the betterment of the players is something that is really important for us."

Before joining the Mariners, Vitale was the Dodgers' international field coordinator from 2016-17, overlapping with McCullough (Minor League field coordinator) and assistant general manager Gabe Kapler (director of player development) in the organization. Vitale also worked for four years in the Angels' Minor League system as the Dominican Summer League manager (2014-15), the Rookie-level Orem hitting coach ('13) and the Arizona League hitting coach ('12).

A native of Victoria, B.C., Canada, Vitale played two years of professional baseball after being selected in the 38th round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the Rangers out of Creighton University. A catcher, he reached as high as the Single-A level, appearing in 46 career games.

Guerrero, who turned 36 on Dec. 3, spent the last three seasons as the Giants' assistant hitting coach after serving in the same role for the Phillies from 2018-21. He began his coaching career with Rookie-level Ogden of the Dodgers' system from '16-17 following an eight-year playing career as a Dodgers farmhand.

Moskos will take over as pitching coach after serving as the Cubs' assistant pitching coach from 2022-24. Prior to that stint, the 37-year-old was the Yankees' Double-A pitching coach in '21 and the Single-A pitching coach in '20. He worked at Driveline Baseball before then. Selected fourth overall in the 2007 MLB Draft out of Clemson by the Pirates, Moskos posted a 2.96 ERA in 31 appearances in his lone MLB season in 2011.

Shomon, 34, will be joining the club as assistant hitting coach following two seasons serving in the same capacity for the Twins. Prior to his time with the big league club, Shomon was the hitting coach for Double-A Wichita in 2022 and the hitting coach for High-A Fort Myers in '21. He played nine games of independent ball from 2017-18 after catching one season at Illinois-Springfield.

"Excellent hitting coach," Bendix said. "I think he really adds a nice dimension, complements PG really well. I think he understands the swing, understands how players get better, and connects with them in a really, really strong way."

Leichman, 35, had spent the previous two seasons as the Reds' assistant pitching coach after climbing the ranks across six seasons in the Mariners' organization as coordinator of organization learning (2017), DSL pitching coach ('18), Single-A West Virginia pitching coach ('19), Double-A Arkansas pitching coach ('20-21) and Triple-A Tacoma pitching coach ('22). He also was the bullpen coach for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Though Leichman never played in professional baseball, the right-hander pitched for two years at UC San Diego and competed for Team Israel at the 2013 World Baseball Classic and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.