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The Miami Marlins today announced the club has finalized its coaching staff for the 2025 season under Manager Clayton McCullough, who was recently named the 17th manager in franchise history. The staff includes 10 new additions to the organization, including Hitting Coach Pedro Guerrero, Third Base Coach Blake Lalli, Field Coordinator Aaron Leanhardt, Assistant Pitching Coach & Assistant Pitching Director Alon Leichman, Pitching Coach Daniel Moskos, Performance and Data Integration Strategist Bryson Nakamura, Assistant Hitting Coach Derek Shomon, Catching Coach/Assistant Catching Director/Bullpen Catcher Joe Singley, First Base/Infield Defense/Baserunning Coach Tyler Smarslok, and Bench Coach Carson Vitale. After serving as Pitching Strategist last season, Brandon Mann returns to the staff as Bullpen Coach.
Guerrero, 36, joins the organization as Miami’s Hitting Coach after serving as Assistant Hitting Coach for the San Francisco Giants for the past three campaigns (2022-24). He also has experience of four-plus seasons as Assistant Hitting Coach with the Philadelphia Phillies (2018-21) and as Bench Coach for the Rookie-level Los Angeles Dodgers (2016-17), where he got his start in professional coaching. Born in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic, Guerrero played eight Minor League seasons in the Dodgers organization (2006-13) after signing as an international free agent. The former infielder hit .236 (326×1382) with 23 home runs and 163 RBI in 411 career games, including 183 games at shortstop, 111 games at third base, and 97 games at second base.
Lalli (pronounced LAW-lee), 41, has been named Third Base Coach after spending six seasons managing at three different levels in the Arizona Diamondbacks system (2019-24). His coaching stints with Arizona featured a winning season as Manager with Single-A Kane County (2018), a Southern League championship as Manager for Double-A Jackson (2019), and four years at Triple-A Reno as Manager (2021, 2023-24) and Field Coordinator (2022). Upon his hiring, Lalli became the youngest manager in Reno Aces history, leading his team to four winning seasons and a Pacific Coast League championship (2022). The former first baseman and catcher originally signed with the Chicago Cubs as a free agent (2006) and went on to play 32 games over parts of three Major League seasons with the Cubs, Brewers (2013), and Braves (2016). Born in Gibsonia, Penn., Lalli batted .285 (980×3443) in 1,047 Minor League games split between Chicago-NL (2006-12), Oakland (2012), Milwaukee (2013), Arizona (2014-15), and Atlanta (2016-17).
Leanhardt, 48, will serve as Field Coordinator after spending the 2024 season as a Major League Analyst for the New York Yankees, with his primary responsibility being to integrate the use of quantitative information with on-field performance and preparation, and serve as a conduit between the analytics department and Major League staff. He previously spent six seasons working at various levels in the Yankees system, including as Assistant Minor League Hitting Coordinator (2022-23), and as Hitting Coach for the GCL Yankees East (2018), DSL Yankees (2019), and FCL Yankees (2021). Leanhardt also served as Hitting Coach and Recruiting Coordinator at Dawson Community College (2017-18), as Volunteer Assistant Coach with the Duluth Huskies Baseball Club of the Northwoods League (2018) during the build-up to their season, and as Assistant Coach for the Jersey Pilots in the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (2017). Leanhardt earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also worked as a Physics professor at the University of Michigan for seven years (2007-14).
Leichman, 35, has been named Assistant Pitching Coach & Assistant Pitching Director after two seasons in the same position with the Cincinnati Reds (2023-24). Previously, Leichman spent six years with the Seattle Mariners player development system, beginning in 2017 as Coordinator of Organization Learning. He then served as a Pitching Coach at various levels for four seasons, including Triple-A Tacoma (2022). In 2022, he also held a role as Pitching Coach for the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League. Originally born in Kibbutz Gezer, Israel, where he resides, Leichman competed on Team Israel in the 2013 World Baseball Classic and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and also served as Bullpen Coach for the national team during the 2017 World Baseball Classic. He landed his first job as Pitching Coach with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox (2016), leading his team to a Cape Cod League championship.
Mann, 40, enters his second season with the Marlins and his first as Bullpen Coach after serving as Pitching Strategist last campaign. Previously, he spent two years working with Driveline Baseball (2022-23) and also has experience as Pitching Coordinator with the Lotte Giants of the KBO League (2021) after retiring from professional baseball in 2020. Originally selected by Tampa Bay in the 27th round of the 2002 First-Year Player Draft, the left-handed pitcher made his Major League debut with the Texas Rangers on May 13, 2018, and went 68-100 with four saves and a 4.23 ERA (689 ER/1464.1 IP) over 17 seasons at various levels in professional baseball.
Moskos, 38, joins as Pitching Coach after spending the last three seasons as Assistant Pitching Coach with the Chicago Cubs (2022-24). Previously, Moskos served as Pitching Coach in the Yankees organization, working with Double-A Somerset (2021) and Single-A Charleston (2020). The Greenville, S.C., native was originally selected fourth overall by Pittsburgh in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft out of Clemson University, making his Major League debut with the Pirates in 2011 and posting a 2.96 ERA (8 ER/24.1 IP) over 31 relief appearances. He went 32-30 with 29 saves and a 4.34 ERA (246 ER/509.2 IP) in 269 games (45 starts) over parts of nine Minor League seasons with Pittsburgh (2007-2012), Chicago-AL (2012), Los Angeles-NL (2014), and San Diego (2016). After finishing his playing career, Moskos worked as a Throwing Trainer at Driveline Baseball in 2019.
Nakamura, 36, begins his first year as Performance & Data Integration Strategist after serving as Director & Head Sports Scientist at Stanford Baseball Science Core for the last three years (2021-24). He also has experience of over six years in various positions with the Milwaukee Brewers, including Director of Player Performance (2020-21), Director of Integrative Sports Performance (2018-2020), Manager of Integrative Sports Performance (2017-18), and Coordinator of Medical/Performance (2016-17). Prior to joining the Brewers, Nakamura was a Sport Science Intern with the Tampa Bay Rays (2015) while completing his doctorate in neuromechanics at the University of Oregon. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Puget Sound in 2012 and is a member of the American Society of Biomechanics, International Society of Biomechanics in Sport, and American College of Sports Medicine.
Shomon, 34, becomes Assistant Hitting Coach after coaching for the past four seasons in the Twins organization. He served as Major League Assistant Hitting Coach for the last two campaigns (2023-24) and also held positions as Hitting Coach for Double-A Wichita (2022) and High-A Fort Myers (2021). Before his affiliate coaching experience, the Glenview, Ill., native spent nine years playing and coaching in various capacities in independent leagues (2012-20), including one season playing baseball with Lake Erie of the Frontier League (2017) and one campaign with Cleburne of the American Association (2018). Shomon played four years of collegiate baseball and is a graduate of Indiana Wesleyan University.
Singley, 27, begins as Catching Coach/Assistant Catching Director/Bullpen Catcher after spending the past two seasons as Bullpen Catcher with the Cincinnati Reds (2023-24) and as Catching Intern for one campaign (2022). Singley began his coaching career at Coastal Carolina University while recovering from various injuries as a student-athlete, working with pitchers and catchers as a Student Assistant after the conclusion of his playing career. The Wilmington, Del., native was a two-time All-Star selection at catcher at Archmere Academy (Claymont, Del.) and received scholarships to play baseball at Tulane University and Coastal Carolina.
Smarslok, 32, joins as First Base/Infield Defense/Baserunning Coach after spending this past offseason as Manager of the Arizona Fall League champion Salt River Rafters. He spent the first five years of his coaching career with the Minnesota Twins organization, working as Infield Coach and Defensive Coach with Triple-A St. Paul (2021-23) before serving as Bench Coach last season. The Jackson, N.J, native spent five seasons coaching collegiate baseball, including the 2019 season at Seton Hall University, where he helped the Pirates improve their fielding percentage from .958 to .977 and produce multiple All-Big East selections. He also worked as Assistant Coach between 2015-18 at Heidelberg University (Tiffin, Ohio), Claremont-Mudd Scripps (Claremont, Calif.), and his alma mater Kean University (Union, N.J.). Smarslok was a National Rawlings Golden Glove recipient as a four-year starter at Kean University (2011-14), as the Cougars made three trips to the Division III College World Series.
Vitale, 36, joins as Bench Coach after completing seven seasons with the Seattle Mariners organization (2018-24), including five as Major League Field Coordinator (2020-24) and two as Minor League Field Coordinator (2018-19). He also has experience as International Field Coordinator for the Los Angeles Dodgers (2016-17), Dominican Summer League Angels Manager (2014-15), and Hitting Coach at two Rookie levels with the Angels organization (2012-13). Originally from Victoria, British Columbia, he played two Minor League seasons in the Rangers system (2010-11) after being selected in the 38th round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft out of Creighton University.
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