Colorado Rockies: Five potential assistant hitting coach candidates for 2022

Chris Denorfia has also made an impression on the Colorado Rockies

Chris Denorfia was the manager for the Colorado Rockies at Double-A Hartford in 2021 after he joined the organization in 2020, when he was supposed to manage Hartford before the pandemic. He joined the Rockies from the Cubs organization when he was a special assistant in 2018 and a quality control coach for them in 2019.

Before that, Denorfia, 40, was with the Rockies as a minor league player in 2017 before retiring. Before he came to the Rockies, he was with a few other teams in the minors after he spent time in the majors as an outfielder from 2005 through 2015.

During that playing career, he spent most of his playing time with San Diego (2010-2014). His manager for that time? Current Rockies manager Bud Black.

Eric Hinske has a lot of MLB experience as a coach and player

Eric Hinske, 44, spent part of 12 seasons in the majors as a player, winning the 2002 AL Rookie of the Year Award and he won two World Series as a player.

But since he last played in the majors in 2013, Hinske has bounced around to a few different teams in a coaching capacity. In 2014, he became an MLB coach the season after he played as he became the first base coach for the Chicago Cubs. Before the 2016 season, he changed his position with the Cubs as he became their assistant hitting coach (where he was part of a third team to win the World Series in less than a decade).

Before 2018, he became the head hitting coach for the Angels, and for the 2019 season, he became the assistant hitting coach for the Diamondbacks before he was fired mid-season in 2021.

Among those World Series-winning teams that he was on, the first one was with the 2007 Boston Red Sox, who defeated the Colorado Rockies in the World Series. His hitting coach for that team? Current Rockies hitting coach Dave Magadan.

Tim Laker could be another candidate for the Colorado Rockies

Tim Laker was a backup catcher for most of his career as he played in parts of 12 seasons in the majors from 1992 through 2006 for five different teams. But in those 12 seasons, he only played in 281 games.

Starting in 2007, Laker, who will turn 52 in less than two weeks, started coaching and managing in the minors with Cleveland. Between Cleveland, Seattle, and the White Sox, he managed for two seasons and was a hitting coach, coordinator, or catching coordinator for eight more seasons.

He made it back to the majors in 2017 as Arizona’s assistant hitting coach before he went back to Seattle to become their head hitting coach before 2019.

However, on Monday, it was announced that Laker would not be returning to the Mariners as he and the Mariners could not come to an agreement on a contract.

But the thing that could tip the scale in favor for him? Who was the head-hitting coach for the Diamondbacks when he was the assistant hitting coach? Current Rockies hitting coach Dave Magadan. His ties to the then-named Cleveland Indians could also be a factor as many former Cleveland front office personnel (Bill Schmidt and Bud Black to name two but both were there when Laker wasn’t) are with the Rockies.

Vinny Castilla is the biggest name on the list … and the one Colorado Rockies fans would love to have

Make no mistake about it, if Colorado Rockies legend Vinny Castilla wants to become a full-time hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies, he has the job.

The thing is that the former Blake Street Bomber, 54, is a special assistant to Bill Schmidt currently and he doesn’t have to travel with the team.

Would he want to travel and work, essentially, more than full-time for seven to eight months of the year? When we spoke with him in an exclusive conversation in 2019, he said that he would definitely consider it, especially if he liked managing in Mexico in the winter. But he was officially fired as manager in May of 2020.

He would be a huge help to the full-time coaching staff as he would be another native Spanish speaker on the staff and he would obviously be someone who knows how to play at altitude.

Also, in addition to his time as a special assistant, he has worked with hitting coach Dave Magadan before as Magadan was Castilla’s hitting coach on the San Diego Padres in 2006, which was Castilla’s final season in the majors.

Vinny Castilla would be the ultimate guy for Colorado Rockies fans if he wanted to become a full-time coach.

There will, undoubtedly, be other people that the Rockies consider both internally and externally but there are five potential guys that the Rockies will consider for at least one and potentially more openings this offseason.

Which of these would like to see join the Rockies coaching staff in 2022? Are there any others you’d like to see join? Let us know what you think on our Twitter (@RoxPileFS).