The Tigers’ offseason turnover has started on the coaching side, and the first moves are aimed at two familiar names: first base coach Anthony Sanders and assistant pitching coach Juan Nieves.
Per Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic, Sanders will be a one-and-done in Detroit. Nieves is out as well, and neither coach will return in 2027.
Nieves’ exit stands out the most. The Tigers clearly value Chris Fetter, so a wholesale change on the pitching side was never the likeliest outcome, even after the bullpen’s collapse this season. That made Nieves the most obvious person to absorb the hit.
He had been in the organization since 2018, when he spent two years as the Mud Hens’ pitching coach. Before the 2021 season, he was promoted to the major league staff.
Stavenhagen also noted an important detail: he wrote that “at least two” coaches had been fired. That leaves open the possibility of more changes to come as Detroit sorts through another staff reset.
The Tigers did not completely remake the coaching group a year ago, but they did move on from first base coach Anthony Iapoce and hitting coach Keith Beauregard, replacing them with Sanders and promoting assistant hitting coach Lance Zawadzki to share duties with Michael Brdar.
This time, the club is again making early offseason cuts, and the list could still grow. Detroit already parted ways with bench coach Joey Cora during the season after a stretch of questionable sends home and gifted outs for opponents. For now, though, George Lombard, Fetter and new third base coach Billy Boyer appear to be safe.
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