Craig Breslow continues to put his stamp on the Red Sox organization.
After hiring both a new director of pitching and a new major league pitching coach since being named the team’s chief baseball officer, Breslow turned his focus to another area Monday, hiring Dillon Lawson as the the Red Sox’s new hitting coordinator, an industry source confirmed.
The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty was first to report the move.
Lawson was the New York Yankees hitting coach from the start of the 2022 season until last July, when he became the first coach GM Brian Cashman ever fired in the middle of the season and replaced by Sean Casey. Prior to serving in that role, Lawson had worked with the Yankees in a variety of capacities, including serving as their minor league hitting coordinator.
Lawson will replace Lance Zawadzki, who was recently hired as an assistant hitting coach on the major league staff of the Detroit Tigers.
One baseball source with knowledge of the situation said the Red Sox have thought highly of Lawson for some time. He’s expected to work mostly with the upper-level affiliates in Worcester and Portland, but he’ll also support the major league staff in spring training and could spend some time with the major league club during the season.
Lawson told The Athletic: “I’m excited to be joining a great team that’s already moving in the right direction.”
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The new coordinator has some familiarity with several instructors and coaches in the Red Sox organization, and knows assistant big league hitting coach Ben Rosenthal from their time together in the Houston Astros organization. Lawson told The Athletic that he attempted to hire away the other assistant hitting coach, Luis Ortiz, from the Red Sox to the Yankees when Lawson was in New York.
Lawson will inherit a talented group of hitting prospects in his new role, including the organization’s top three hitting prospects, all of whom are expected to contribute at the big league level by 2025: shortstop Marcelo Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony and catcher Kyle Teel. Several others at Triple A and Double A could also reach the parent club soon, including infielder Nick Yorke and slugger Blaze Jordan.
“His experience is unique,’’ said vice president of amateur scouting and player development Paul Toboni. “He’s had time running a department, but also spent time as a major league hitting coach. We think he can really add to our group. He aligns really well with how we see things offensively and he’ll provide some interesting thoughts based on his experience.”
Lawson is the third significant hire by Breslow, following the addition of major league pitching coach Andrew Bailey and director of pitching Justin Willard.
Breslow must still appoint a new third base coach to the major league staff after Carlos Febles was fired in October, before Breslow himself joined the organization. Breslow has said that he expects the third base coach to be an internal move, with first base coach Kyle Hudson and major league coach Andy Fox among the likely candidates.
