Dodgers Digest Los Angeles Dodgers Baseball Blog
Changes to the coaching staff aren’t always particularly notable, but the Dodgers haven’t had much turnover during this run, and when they have it’s usually been due to promotions necessitating them*. So it did seem especially notable that hitting coach Aaron Bates won’t be returning to the Dodgers in 2027, and unlike past changes it didn’t really seem like something they mutually agreed was best.
*Prior to this move, the last two coaching changes were spurred by promotions, as Danny Lehmann was promoted to bench coach after Bob Geren was promoted to major league field coordinator following 2022, while Chris Woodward returned to be the first-base coach following Clayton McCullough leaving to manage the Marlins after 2024.
Tim Dierkes was first to report that the two sides were parting ways, adding that, “The Dodgers offered Bates a multiyear contract to stay, but the two sides couldn’t agree to terms.” That seemed to indicate it was potentially just about money or security, or maybe that that Bates thought he could get a better opportunity elsewhere.
However, Maddie Lee later talked to Bates himself, and it sounded like talks didn’t progress much at all and the Dodgers abruptly initiated the breakup, with Brandon Gomes informing him negotiations would be dropped.
It had been a while since Bates, 42, had heard from the Dodgers on the status of his contract negotiations. So earlier this week, he reached out to general manager Brandon Gomes directly.
“Basically, they said, ‘I think we should go our separate ways,” Bates told The Times when reached by phone. “I was just very taken aback, in a sense, by that.”
Bates rejected the Dodgers’ first offer, which was for multiple years, as MLB Trade Rumors first reported. But Bates and his representation saw it as “not a competitive offer.” Gomes declined to comment on negotiations, as a general team policy, but wished “nothing but the best for Aaron and his family.”
Bates expected that initial back and forth to simply be a starting point. But instead, with the sides far apart, they did not exchange any more official offers.
Still, despite the unceremonious end, Bates just seemed grateful for his time with the team.
“My kids grew up Dodgers, and I grew up a Dodger, as a coach,” he said. “It’s just unfortunate the way it’s worked out towards these last few days.”
Makes sense, as he did win three rings with them and was a coach in the org for the last 12 years.
Bates’ playing career ended with the Dodgers after an injury-riddled 2014 in AA, following which he retired and became a coach with the org. Bates was hitting coach at Rookie-ball in the ACL for two seasons, then got to A-ball for a season, and then became an assistant hitting coordinator for the minors. He was then promoted to the major-league coaching staff in 2019, taking the role of assistant hitting coach for the Dodgers and director of hitting for the minors for four seasons before becoming co-hitting coach with Robert Van Scoyoc for the last four seasons.
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As mentioned, this outcome does come as a surprise because at the end-of-the-year press conference Andrew Friedman expressed the expectation that everybody on the staff would be back and the “status quo” would remain. Of course, you can never know for sure by what the Dee Gordon Is Our Second Baseman guys tell the press, but Lee reported that the rest of the staff have “contracts through at least next season“, so it seems like any outgoing moves ended with the failed negotiations with Bates. That said, Sonja Chen reported that the Dodgers will consider a replacement, so that could be interesting on the incoming side.
While many fans are celebrating the change and potential addition, as I’ve said before, I’m pretty agnostic on it.
If they feel like it makes sense then sure. I don't feel as strongly as some people on here. I'm not convinced a replacement would preach something they're not doing organizationally. https://t.co/HxtzCUYfCK
— Chad Moriyama (@ChadMoriyama) October 16, 2026
After Bates became co-hitting coach in 2023, the Dodgers have collectively posted a .256/.335/.442/.777 line with a 114 wRC+, best in baseball by a large margin. The gap in wRC+ from them to second-best is six percent down at 108, which is the same as the gap between 2nd and 17th place in offense over that time span. Regardless, the hitting coaches in particular have come under fire after the team has slumped late in the year and into the postseason for two consecutive seasons, notably posting a .222/.305/.378/.683 line with an 88 wRC+ over the last two playoffs. While the average wRC+ was suppressed in the postseason to the tune of a 93 and 78 in the 2025 and 2026 playoffs, respectively, that still left the Dodgers far short of their regular-season production even when adjusting for that environment.
In the end, my take on this is informed by the lack of information we have as fans. When they’re a top offense, it’s because of the talent, when they struggle, it’s because of the coaches. They mostly exist in the fandom space as convenient scapegoats for what is much more likely about the team with some of the best talent to ever do it not executing and/or not being healthy and/or getting older. Point being, if the team thinks they can find a better option, then so be it, but I’m not going to pretend to know if it’s a good or bad move. And if they do choose to hire somebody else, more than anything I just hope a fresh voice is somehow able to put some life back into the bats. More realistically, I hope the personnel gets improved and/or feels rejuvenated after what is likely an extended off-season so they can ramp up for another run in 2027.
