TORONTO – The Toronto Blue Jays are extending the contracts of their coaching staff to align them with the tenure of manager John Gibbons, industry sources told Sportsnet.
The deals for pitching coach Pete Walker, bullpen coach Dane Johnson, hitting coach Brook Jacoby, first-base coach Tim Leiper and third base coach Luis Rivera run through the 2019 season, with club options on 2020. Gibbons agreed to an extension covering the same time period back in March.
Quality control coach Derek Shelton received a deal for the same term when he was hired in December, while bench coach DeMarlo Hale opted to continue going year-to-year with his contract.
The extensions maintain stability in a staff that’s been together through the two post-season runs in 2015 and ‘16, and underlines the club’s confidence in the group, as the deals were negotiated after the Blue Jays opened the season poorly.
Rivera, who first joined the Blue Jays as the manager at double-A New Hampshire in 2010, was promoted to the big-league staff in 2011 as an extra coach. He took over as third base coach in 2013 when Gibbons was rehired.
Walker, who pitched in four seasons for the Blue Jays, began coaching in the farm system in 2009 and was promoted to bullpen coach in 2012. He’s been the pitching coach since 2013.
Leiper, who spent the previous season as a player-development advisor with the Blue Jays, joined the staff after the 2013 season, while Jacoby followed a year later. Johnson, who began coaching in the farm system in 2000, was promoted to bullpen coach in 2015.
Hale joined the Blue Jays as bench coach in 2013 after a season as third-base coach for the Baltimore Orioles following six seasons with the Boston Red Sox, four as third-base coach and two as bench coach.
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