The Los Angeles Dodgers hired Pedro Guerrero as the new hitting coach to fix their offense. Hiring Pedro Guerrero brings the 37-year-old back to the organization that drafted him years ago as a player. He steps in immediately to replace Aaron Bates, who could not reach an agreement on a new contract to stay with the team. The shift happened quickly on Tuesday, after the Marlins declined to bring him back.
Guerrero arrives with a proven track record from his last two seasons with the Miami Marlins. His work there helped Miami’s offense rank in the top 10 across several key categories last year. The Marlins hit .249 as a team, which placed them seventh in batting average among all major league clubs. Per ESPN, the team also finished tied for fifth in on-base percentage at .326 and ninth in total hits with 1,347.
A Fresh Voice for the Lineup
The Dodgers needed a change after Bates left despite being offered a multi-year deal to remain. MLB Trade Rumors reported that the organization believed a fresh voice was needed to lead their young hitters. This sentiment came even after Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix praised Guerrero as a “wonderful human being” who “did a tremendous job for us”.
Guerrero will now team up with fellow hitting coach Robert Van Scoyoc to lead the attack in Los Angeles. While the hitting group receives this new spark, the remainder of the coaching staff under manager Dave Roberts is anticipated to stay intact. The move signals a clear intent to boost run production without tearing apart the entire bench.
More Than Just a Player Name
Pedro Guerrero, who won a World Series championship with the Dodgers in 1981, is someone supporters might wrongly identify as this new hire. The incoming coach is not that same player, though he has deep roots in the Dodgers system. From 2006 until 2013, he played his whole minor league career in that system, advancing to Triple-A Albuquerque by 2010. During those years, he played 411 minor league games and tallied 1,524 plate appearances.
His numbers as a player were modest, with a career batting line of .236/.287/.351. Nevertheless, a weak playing history does not preclude a flourishing coaching career in today’s baseball. He also served as a bench coach for the Rookie-Advanced Ogden team back in 2016 and 2017. After coaching Ogden in 2016–17, Guerrero became an assistant hitting coach with the Philadelphia Phillies from 2018–21, then held the same position with the San Francisco Giants from 2022–24 before joining Miami in 2025.
Building on Miami Success
The Marlins struggled with power last season, ranking in the bottom-third of the league with just 168 home runs. Despite that lack of raw power, the team managed a middle-of-the-pack run-scoring total thanks to better contact and patience. Young hitters like Liam Hicks, Otto Lopez, and Javier Sanoja had breakouts in South Florida under Guerrero’s guidance.
Of course, some youngsters like Owen Caissie and Connor Norby struggled badly during that same stretch. A team’s overall performance rarely hinges on one single coach, especially with large staffs and heavy analytics input today. The Dodgers are hoping Guerrero can bring some of the offensive approach that helped Miami rank among the league’s top 10 in batting average, on-base percentage, hits and OPS. The rest of the Dodgers’ coaching staff under manager Dave Roberts is anticipated to remain intact.
