The Dodgers are moving on from Aaron Bates after a long run in the organization, and the split came under unusual circumstances.
Bates had been with the club for more than a decade and was elevated to co-hitting coach before the 2023 season. Robert Van Scyoc has held the other half of that job since 2019. At the Dodgers’ postseason press conference, Andrew Friedman and Brandon Gomes said they did not expect major coaching changes this offseason, which made Friday’s news stand out even more.
Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors reported that the Dodgers will part ways with Bates. “The Dodgers offered Bates a multiyear contract to stay,” Dierkes wrote, “but the two sides couldn’t agree to terms.”
That report was backed up by Dodgers insiders Katie Woo and Fabian Ardaya, who noted that the decision came as a surprise after Friedman’s “status quo” comment. The move has been met positively by fans, though there is still an odd edge to the whole thing given the Dodgers’ resources and their decision not to keep a longtime coach they had initially planned to retain.
The exact details of the contract disagreement aren’t known, but the backdrop is obvious: the Dodgers’ offense struggled in the postseason and much of the second half, and that likely played into the club’s willingness to let Bates walk after so many years in the organization.
What comes next for the hitting staff isn’t clear. Woo and Ardaya did not report whether the Dodgers plan to replace Bates or keep Van Scyoc as the lone hitting coach. They could look outside the organization, especially with coaching staffs changing around the league, or they could make an internal promotion.
One possibility mentioned is former Dodger JD Martinez, now with the New York Mets as a special advisor in the front office starting in 2026. Martinez has been credited for Mookie Betts’ offensive turnaround in 2025 and already has a relationship with the team.
For now, though, Dodgers fans are not exactly grieving Bates’ exit. Many are already turning their attention to Van Scyoc, though that seems like a long shot.
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