Athletics showing interest in Dave Hansen for vacant hitting coach position - MLB

With the Athletics having lost hitting coach Chili Davis to the Red Sox earlier, Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that the club now considers former major leaguer Dave Hansen a candidate for the vacant position.

Hansen is currently the interim hitting coach for the Angels and was formerly the assistant hitting coach under Don Baylor, who suffered an injury on Opening Day. If the Angels don’t make Hansen the full-time hitting coach, he will likely seek out the full-time role elsewhere, which could come with the A’s.

Hansen, 45, has previously served as a hitting coach and minor league hitting coordinator in the Diamondbacks’ minor league system, the interim and then full-time hitting coach for the Dodgers, and the hitting coach for the Mariners before joining the Angels this past season.

Hansen made a career for himself by being a reliable bench bat. He took only 2,101 plate appearances in 1,230 games across 15 seasons. He retired with a .260/.360/.369 slash line with 35 home runs and 222 RBI.

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SEATTLE – The Mariners acquired infielder/outfielder Nick Solak from the Cincinnati Reds on Friday for cash.

Solak was designated for assignment by the Reds on Thursday. Seattle had an open spot on its 40-man roster and assigned Solak to Triple-A Tacoma.

Before this season, the 28-year-old Solak spent his entire big league career with Texas. He appeared in 253 games over parts of the past four seasons with the Rangers. Solak’s most productive season came in 2021 when he appeared in 127 games and hit .242 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs. Solak spent almost all of that season at second base but also played left field, center field and third base in his time with the Rangers.

Solak was a second-round pick by the New York Yankees in the 2016 amateur draft. His acquisition is likely a depth move for Seattle to stash a player with experience in the majors at Triple-A in case injuries arise.