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Changes will continue to come for the Miami Marlins.
Shortly after the dismissal of President of Baseball Operations Larry Beinfest by owner Jeffrey Loria, Loria announced that Dan Jennings would be the Marlins' new general manager and that Mike Hill was promoted to Beinfest's previous position.
Just days after the end of the season, Jennings and Hill are beginning to determine ways to improve the team. One discussion has reportedly involved the Marlins carrying two hitting coaches with them throughout the course of the season.
Manager Mike Redmond's staff doesn't have many openings, though finding a hitting coach or two is atop the list of Miami's priorities. The Marlins struggled offensively, particularly with runners in scoring position.
Miami has had a hard time finding a long-term hitting coach, something Loria thought he had when he hired former Yankees instructor Tino Martinez before the start of spring training. However, because of allegations that identified Martinez as verbally abusive, Loria was forced to release Martinez, who he personally hired himself.
John Pierson served as the interim hitting coach after Martinez's release, although he will be returning to the Marlins' minor league system. Pierson served as Miami's field coordinator before being temporarily promoted.
In 2013, the Marlins finished last in runs, batting average and home runs.
Carrying two hitting coaches is a relatively new trend, and several teams, such as the Phillies and Cardinals, have found it to be beneficial.
We've talked about all of that," Hill said in an interview with MLB.com. "You talk about a second hitting coach, it frees up your primary hitting coach to do whatever he needs to do. While someone is working in the cage, there may be a second hitting coach who may be looking at video."
MLB.com also points out that the Cardinals' success with two hitting instructors is because of perspectives from both sides of the plate. John Mabry, their primary hitting coach, batted from the left side In his professional career while his colleague, former catcher Bengie Molina, batted from the right side.
Hill didn't mention whether the Marlins would use a similar thought process if they decide to use a pair of hitting coaches.
"We don't know exactly what all of those changes are going to be, but we're going to do everything in our power to try to make things better," Hill said.
Because of the consistency of the starting rotation, the offense's inability to score runs led to many losses. With the Marlins being such a young team, adding as much experience to their coaching staff is a necessity.
"All of that stuff is on the table because we need to make changes to help us win more ballgames," Hill said.