Yankees News: Sean Casey Won’t Return as Hitting Coach for 2024, Cites Family Reasons
New York Yankees hitting coach Sean Casey will not return for the 2024 season due to family reasons, he announced on his The Mayor’s Office podcast.
“It was a tough decision for me,” Casey said. “There was no offer made, but I do think I could have come back had I wanted to. That time right now is not perfect for me. We’ll see what happens in the next few years here.”
Casey joined the Yankees at the All-Star break after the club fired Dillon Lawson. The team saw a slight uptick in its offensive performance under Casey, but less than a half-season sample size was not enough to evaluate whether he’d thrive in a full-time role.
Casey is close friends with Yankees manager Aaron Boone, who approached him about potentially returning. However, Casey said his desire to spend time with his two teenage daughters led to him declining to return.
“Boonie and I had talked about coming back next year and what that would look like,” Casey said on his podcast. “Before any offer could be exchanged between both of us, I just told him that I’m not going to be able to come back next year, just because I got my two daughters at home. My daughter Jillian is 13, my daughter Carlie is 17. I think also too, getting divorced a few years ago, I had those girls 50 percent of the time.
“I just can’t imagine being away for eight months, in New York, while they’re here in Pittsburgh. For me, I just decided to get back to what I was doing before I joined the Yankees.”
Casey made three All-Star appearances over 12 MLB seasons, most of which was spent with the Cincinnati Reds. He retired after the 2008 season and spent time in broadcasting in his post-baseball career before landing his first coaching gig with the Yankees in July.
New York will look to revamp its offense this offseason after a dreadful 2023. The Yankees finished the regular season 29th in batting average, behind only the woeful Oakland Athletics, and ranked near the bottom of the sport in nearly every other major category besides home runs and walks.
While injuries played a factor, the Yankees’ roster construction left a ton to be desired. After a disappointing 82-80 campaign, odds are major changes will be happening ahead of the 2024 season.
