The Yankees made it official on Monday, announcing the hiring of James Rowson as the club's new hitting coach.
Rowson joins Aaron Boone's coaching staff after spending last season as the Detroit Tigers’ assistant hitting coach. He served as the bench coach for the Miami Marlins from 2020-22. The 2024 season will be his 10th season on an MLB staff.
A 47-year-old Mount Vernon, N.Y. native, Rowson spent nine years with the Yanks organization, with two stints as the club's minor league hitting coordinator from 2008-11 and then again from 2014-16, working with players like Aaron Judge, among many others. He was also the hitting coach for Single-A Tampa from 2006-07.
Additionally, Rowson has been a big league coach with the Chicago Cubs, Marlins, Minnesota Twins, and Tigers.
In 1994, Rowson was selected by the Seattle Mariners in the ninth round out of Mount St. Michael High School in the Bronx. He played three minor league seasons with the Mariners (1995-96) and Yankees (1997).
The Yankees were in search of a new hitting coach after Sean Casey announced that he would not be returning to the club. Casey was hired in July after the Bombers moved on from Dillon Lawson at the All-Star break.