The decisions provide a small degree of continuity for a club that has otherwise undergone considerable overhaul. The Rockies have lost a lot in recent years, which prompted them to fire manager Bud Black in May. He was replaced on an interim basis by third base coach Warren Schaeffer. Gonzalez then moved from his role as assistant hitting coach to Schaeffer’s previous gig as third base coach. Pacheco started the season as the hitting coach for Triple-A Albuquerque, but was then brought to the big league-squad as an assistant hitting coach.
When the season ended, the club parted ways with general manager Bill Schmidt. The vacuum at the top of the front office put everything else on hold. The new front office leader would ultimately have some say in whether or not Schaeffer would return. Coaching decisions would also have to wait until there was clarity on the front office and management situations.
In early November, Paul DePodesta was hired as Colorado’s new front office leader, with the title of president of baseball operations. Later that month, the club announced that Schaeffer would indeed continue as skipper.
Over the past two weeks, Schaeffer has supplemented his staff with new faces. Alon Leichman will be the pitching coach, Gabe Ribas assistant pitching coach, Matt Buschmann bullpen coach, Brett Pill hitting coach and Jeff Pickler bench coach.
This week’s recruitments mean at least a few familiar faces are returning. However, as mentioned, Gonzalez and Pacheco were both given their current titles in May as part of the shakeup when Black was fired. With Gideon now changing roles, that means every task has been pushed around in some way over the past eight months.
Gonzalez has been with the Rockies for 11 seasons, spending much of that time in the minors. In the 2022 season, he became an assistant hitting coach with the big league club. As mentioned, he changed roles before completing his fourth campaign with that title. He played in the majors from 2007 to 2009, with the White Sox, Cleveland and the Marlins.
Pacheco played in the Majors from 2011 to 2016, spending much of that time with the Rockies, plus stints with the Diamondbacks and Reds. Colorado brought him on board as a minor league hitting coach in 2022.
Gideon has been with the Rockies for thirty years, mostly in the minors, and spent the last nine seasons on the big league staff. He has served as first base coach since the 2019 season. His role change leaves the Rockies with one vacancy. They will have to find a first base coach at some point before the season starts.
Photo courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images
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