Marlins to hire Craig Driver as first base coach

The Marlins hire Dodgers who bring in coordinator Craig Driver as their new first base coach, reports Craig Mish of SportsGrid. He will replace Tyler Smarslok, who held that role in 2025 but is leaving the organization to become the new on-field coordinator for the division rival Nationals. per report by Andrew Golden and Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post.

The driver is intimately familiar with Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough, whom he worked with on the Dodgers’ coaching staff in 2024. The driver spent the 2024-2025 seasons as LA’s catching coordinator. McCullough served as the Dodgers’ first base coach from 2021 to 2024. Prior to his time with the Dodgers, Driver spent several seasons as the Cubs’ first base coach and catching coach. He was a bullpen catcher and receiving coach for the Phillies for a few years before leaving for Chicago.

Driver, a catcher during his NCAA days, went undrafted and jumped into the college coaching ranks after graduating. His last stint in college ball was in 2016-17, when he was the catching coach at Yale. He has been working in professional ball since 2018.

Miami’s coaching staff won’t change much in 2026. Driver is one of three notable newcomers at this point, joining newly hired assistant hitting coaches Chris Hess and Corbin Day, who came over from the Red Sox and Twins organizations, respectively, where they had been minor league coaches/instructors. Last year’s assistant hitting coach, Derek Shomon, left the Fish to take the lead hitting coach job with the White Sox.