Yankees officially replace Sean Casey with a coach

James Rowson has been appointed as the new hitting coach by the Yankees. Because he was Aaron Judge’s minor league coach, he has ties to the player.

James Rowson has been named the hitting coach of the New York Yankees, the team announced.

Dillon Lawson and Sean Casey were the hitting coaches for the Yankees in the previous campaign. After a poor offensive first half, they benched Dillon Lawson at the all-star break and replaced him with Sean Casey. The offense was still having trouble. The Yankees are bringing back James Rowson, who was a part of their minor league system when Aaron Judge was just starting out.

Rowson has played for the Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, Minnesota Twins, and Chicago Cubs. Prior to working in the minor leagues for the Yankees, he was employed by the Cubs. He was the hitting coach for the 2019 team that hit the most home runs in a single season in MLB history (307), and he was with the Twins from 2017 through 2019. He is often credited with helping Byron Buxton hit well in the majors. This season, the Braves tied that record. Rowson spent the previous season with the Tigers after playing for the Marlins from 2020 to 2022.

Rowson and Aaron Judge have been friends since their time together in the Yankees minor leagues. It will be interesting to see if Rowson improves the lineup after the Yankees struggled last season, especially with players like DJ LeMahieu and Giancarlo Stanton, who the Yankees need to turn things around next season.

Nevertheless, in order to strengthen their roster, the Yankees must add some players this offseason. Even with Rowson included, there are important questions that remain unanswered.