Blue Jays part ways with hitting coach Guillermo Martinez after six seasons

Toronto Blue Jays hitting coach Guillermo Martinez, left, works with catcher Tyler Heineman prior to the start of the Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles spring training baseball game at Ed Smith Stadium on Friday March 18, 2022, in Sarasota, Fla. (Steve Helber/AP)

TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays have parted ways with hitting coach Guillermo Martinez, according to two industry sources, their first change after a season of disappointment.

Martinez was hired as the club’s hitting coach ahead of the 2019 season, promoted after a year as the minor-league hitting co-ordinator during which he helped groom Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Bo Bichette, among many others.

Eventually, he helped oversee their transition to the big leagues, too, with the offence being among the best in the game in 2021 and ’22 before taking steps back the past two seasons amid significant personnel changes.

This season, the Blue Jays ranked 23rd in the majors with 671 runs while undergoing a partial teardown. But Guerrero, with whom he worked closely, also had one of the best seasons of his career, batting .323/.396/.544 with 30 homers and 103 RBIs.

Martinez was part of a layered hitting group that also included offensive co-ordinator Don Mattingly and assistant coaches Hunter Mense and Matt Hague.

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