Marlins unveil McCullough's inaugural coaching staff

MIAMI -- Marlins manager Clayton McCullough’s first coaching staff includes 10 other newcomers to the organization.

McCullough won the World Series with the Dodgers as their first-base coach on Oct. 30, and he was then named the manager of the Marlins on Nov. 11. Here is a look at the 45-year-old skipper’s staff.

Bench coach Carson Vitale: Vitale, 36, spent the past seven seasons with the Mariners, serving as Major League field coordinator (2020-24) and Minor League field coordinator (2018-19). He also served as a International field coordinator for the Dodgers (2016-17) and a manager for the Dominican Summer League Angels (2014-15).

Hitting coach Pedro Guerrero: Guerrero, 36, served as an assistant hitting coach for the Giants (2022-24 and Phillies (2018-21). He entered the professional coaching world as the bench coach for the Rookie Level Dodgers in 2016 and filled that role for two seasons. He played eight Minor League seasons, but experienced just three games above the High A level.

Pitching coach Daniel Moskos: Moskos, 38, spent the past three seasons as the Cubs’ assistant pitching coach. The former big league pitcher also previously served as a pitching coach in the Yankees’ system. He was taken by the Pirates out of Clemson University with the fourth overall selection of the 2007 MLB Draft. He posted a 2.96 ERA over 31 relief appearances for Pittsburgh in 2011, but never returned to the Majors. After retiring, he spent 2019 as a throwing trainer at Driveline Baseball.

Third base coach Blake Lalli: Lalli, 41, comes to Miami after producing six strong seasons (2019-24) as a manager and coordinator in the D-backs’ system. The former Major League infielder led Double-A Jackson to a Southern League championship in 2019 and later served as Triple-A Reno’s manager (2021, and 2023-24). He served as a field coordinator in 2022. He totaled 32 games over a big league career that included stints with the Cubs, Brewers and Braves.

First base/infield defense/baserunning coach Tyler Smarslok: Smarslok, 32, served as the manager of the 2024 Arizona Fall League champion Salt River Rafters. He previously spent five seasons with the Twins organization, serving as an infield and defensive coach and bench coach for Triple-A St. Paul.

Catching coach/assistant catching director/bullpen catcher Joe Singley: Singley, 27, spent the past two seasons as a bullpen catcher for the Reds. He joined Cincinnati’s organization as a catching intern in 2022.

Field coordinator Aaron Leanhardt: Leanhardt, 48, comes to the Marlins after spending last season as the Yankees’ Major League analyst. His primary responsibility was to integrate the use of quantitative information with on-field performance and preparation, and to serve as a conduit between the analytics department and big league coaching staff. He also filled these roles within the Yankees’ system -- assistant Minor League hitting coordinator (2022-23), hitting coach GCL Yankees East (2018), hitting coach FCL Yankees (2021). He earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Physics from MIT. He served as Physics professor at the University of Michigan for seven years (2007-14).

Assistant pitching coach and assistant pitching director Alon Leichman: Leichman, 35, held these same two positions for the Reds over the past two seasons. He served as a pitching coach within the Mariners’ system (2018-22). He spends his offseasons in his birth city of Kibbutz Gezer, Israel. He played for Team Israel during the 2013 World Baseball Classic and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

Performance and data integration strategist Bryson Nakamura: Nakamura, 36, served as director and head sports scientist at Stanford Baseball Science Core for the past three seasons. He previously served as the director of player performance, director of integrative sports performance and manager of integrative sports performance during a six-year stint with the Brewers. He interned with the Rays in 2015, while completing his doctorate in neuromechanics from the University of Oregon.

Assistant hitting coach Derek Shomon: Shomon, 34, filled this same role for the Twins over the past two seasons and previously was the hitting coach for Double-A Wichita (2022) and High-A Fort Myers (2021).