TORONTO — The Toronto Blue Jays have added two new coaches — Graham Johnson in the bullpen and Lou Ionnatti as a hitting assistant — and are interviewing for a new pitching assistant, GM Ross Atkins said Tuesday.
Johnson replaces Jeff Ware as bullpen coach and comes over after spending the past three seasons as pitching coach for triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the New York Yankees system. Before that, he served as pitching coach with double-A Corpus Christi in the Houston Astros organization during the 2019 and 2021 seasons.
The pitching assistant the Blue Jays intend to hire will serve under pitching coach Pete Walker and Johnson.
Ionnatti comes over from the Los Angeles Dodgers farm system, where he served as a hitting co-ordinator, to join the returning Hunter Mense as assistant hitting coaches under new hitting coach David Popkins.
The Blue Jays are still considering whether to hire a new field co-ordinator to replace Gil Kim, whose contract expired after the season but will remain with the organization in a dual role, managing low-A Dunedin during the season and serving as a co-ordinator for 40-man roster players during the off-season.
David Howell, who last year served as the club’s assistant pitching coach – strategy, has been offered a front-office job but is also considering other options, while Ware, who is under contract for one more year, is working through other job possibilities with the team.
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