Yankees Parting Ways with Hitting Coach Dillon Lawson
The New York Yankees are parting ways with hitting coach Dillon Lawson.
Jon Heyman of the New York Post first reported the move, Sunday evening following the Yankees 7-4 loss to the Chicago Cubs.
The firing marks the first time any coach has been fired in-season under General Manager Brian Cashman.
News: Yankees are planning to change hitting coach. Dillon Lawson expected to be relieved of that job.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 9, 2023
Brendan Kuty of the Athletic also reports that the Yankees are still in the process of finding a replacement.
I'm told that the the Yankees are still in the process of deciding their next primary hitting coach, have narrowed it down to 2 candidates and could make the decision very soon — tho it's not expected today. Again, Dillon Lawson out as Yankees hitting coach. @JonHeyman 1st report
— Brendan Kuty 🧟♂️ (@BrendanKutyNJ) July 9, 2023
The Yankees have had a lot of problems in the first half of the 2023 season thus far. Some of it was out of the control of the coaching staff, specifically the toe injury to Aaron Judge that has put the reigning League MVP on the shelf for an undisclosed amount of time.
Without Judge in the lineup, the Yankees hit only .208 in the month of June, and are hitting .227 in the month of July as a team.
Yankees SVP and GM Brian Cashman has announced that hitting coach Dillon Lawson has been relieved of his duties pic.twitter.com/E540BTGBzg
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 9, 2023
Cashman says the Yankees will go outside the org for the new hitting coach job
— Brendan Kuty 🧟♂️ (@BrendanKutyNJ) July 9, 2023
Josh Donaldson has provided the most pop with nine home runs during this Judge-less stretch, but is hitting around .150.
The best news coming out of the Yankees lineup over the past two months is the maturation of short stop Anthony Volpe who has seen his batting average climb from the interstate to .216 at the break. He is hitting .265 in the month of July, and owns three homers and five RBI in July alone.
Still, though the Yankees have struggled to score for a while now. They were 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position on Sunday. They were held to just one hit on Friday against ex-Yankees Jamison Tallion.