The Reds announced today that Chris Valaika has been hired as director of hitting and major league hitting coach. He had previously been with the Guardians as that club’s hitting coach but will now move to the other side of Ohio.
Valaika, 39, was originally a third-round draft pick of the Reds back in 2006. He played in the majors from 2010 to 2014, for the Reds, Marlins and Cubs, and then pivoted to coaching after his playing days. He started in the minor league system of the Cubs, eventually working his way up to the major league staff with that club. He was hired by the Guardians going into 2022, working under then-manager Terry Francona.
Francona stepped away after 2023 to focus on his health, with Stephen Vogt taking over as Cleveland’s skipper. Francona is ready to return to a managerial role, as it was reported earlier this month than he’ll be leading the Reds starting with the 2025 season, replacing David Bell.
A few days after Francona’s hiring became public, it was reported that Cincinnati was moving on from hitting coach Joel McKeithan as well as assistant hitting coaches Terry Bradshaw and Tim LaMonte. One of those positions has now been filled with a familiar face for Francona.
In 2022, the Guardians hit .254/.316/.383 for a wRC+ of 100. That indicates they were exactly league average, though their 18.2% strikeout rate was the lowest in the majors by a notable margin, with the Astros second at 19.5%. The Cleveland offense dipped a bit in 2023, with a .250/.313/.381 line and 91 wRC+, but again with the best strikeout rate in the league. Here in 2024, they dropped to fifth-lowest in terms of strikeout rate but added some more power, getting to a .238/.307/.395 line and 100 wRC+ as they pushed as far as the ALCS.
It’s always difficult to separate the contributions of a coach from the performances of the players on the team, but Francona presumably had a good relationship with Valaika during their two years together, as he has now plucked him away and brought him to Cincinnati.