Wakamatsu named bench coach

[love_that_reefer]

Blue Jays hired Don Wakamatsu as bench coach.
The former Seattle skipper was interviewed for a couple of managerial vacancies this fall and was thought to be in the running for the Mets' still-open gig, but Wakamatsu will head north and join new manager John Farrell in Toronto. The Jays have also announced that Pat Hentgen will be the club's new bullpen coach and Tory Lovullo will take over as first base coach.

Not a bad bench coach to have but I love that Hentgen is on this staff. Always liked Hentgen as he was very underrated when he played. Looks like the Jays are building a good staff around first time manager Farrell.

[K-Zone]

I was hoping that Wakamatsu was going to get the Orioles bench coach job. I guess now the Orioles have to go in another direction.

[Impossibles]

I'd love to know what Mariners fans thought of Waka's time in Seattle. He reminds me of Gibbons, a strategically good manager who fails when it comes to getting the most out of his players.

Also glad they are keeping Murphy. Hard to fire a guy who helped the Jays crush the ball last year.

[ljshorty89]

Interesting. Wakamatsu was said to have been in contention for the Mets manager job, so it is quite telling that he instead chose a bench coaching job. Definitely not a bad guy to have on the bench for your team...

[Foster]

AA is gonna let Waka Waka talk to the Mets, and will allow him to take the job if it is offered to him.

[ljshorty89]

Interesting. We'll see if he gets it...