LOS ANGELES -- The Dodgers on Wednesday announced their 2019 coaching staff, which includes a return to the organization of Dino Ebel as third-base coach and Robert Van Scoyoc as hitting coach.
The club also promoted assistant hitting coach Brant Brown to hitting strategist, Minor League hitting coordinator Aaron Bates to assistant hitting coach and hired former Major League catcher Chris Gimenez as game planning coach.
They join returning coaches Rick Honeycutt (pitching), Bob Geren (bench), George Lombard (first base) and Mark Prior (bullpen).
Ebel, 52, had been in the Angels' organization since 2005. He was former manager Mike Scioscia's third-base coach for nine years and his bench coach for four years. Ebel inherited the third-base coaching job from Joe Maddon, when Maddon was hired to manage the Rays by current Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman.
Before that, Ebel was a Minor League player, coach and manager in the Dodgers' organization for 17 years. He replaces Chris Woodward, who was hired to manage the Rangers.
Van Scoyoc had been a Dodgers hitting consultant until last year, when the D-backs hired him as hitting strategist. Scoyoc never played professionally, and he had been a private hitting instructor in Southern California with another Dodgers hitting consultant, Craig Wallenbrock.
Their launch-angle approach helped Chris Taylor remake his swing for his Major League breakthrough two years ago. They also worked several years ago with J.D. Martinez before his breakout.
Van Scoyoc, 32, replaces Turner Ward, who also came over from the D-backs three years ago. Van Scoyoc is the Dodgers' 14th hitting coach in the past 20 years. During that span, no hitting coach has kept the job more than three seasons.
Bates, 34, replaces assistant hitting coach Luis Ortiz, who will be Woodward's hitting coach in Texas. Bates made a big league cameo as a player with Boston, ended his playing career as a Dodgers Minor League player in 2014, and he has since been a coach and coordinator in the Dodgers' system.
Gimenez, 35, replaces Danny Lehmann. Gimenez comes right off the field, having played for the Cubs and Twins in 2018, his last of 10 seasons with seven organizations. Among those stops was Tampa Bay, where he was a catcher during Friedman's front-office tenure with the club.