Colorado Rockies announce Double-A Hartford coaching staff
DENVER – The Colorado Rockies announced today the coaching staff for the Double-A Harford Yard Goats. Chris Denorfia returns to the helm and is joined by Bench Coach Luis Lopez, Pitching Coach Blaine Beatty and Hitting Coach Tom Sutaris.
Denorfia enters his third season with the Rockies after being named the Yard Goats’ manager prior to the canceled 2020 Minor League season. He began his coaching career as the Chicago Cubs’ quality assurance coach in 2019 following a year as a special assistant to the president/general manager in the organization. Denorfia played 16 seasons professionally (2002-17), totaling 808 Major League games across 10 seasons with Cincinnati (2005-06), Oakland (2008-09), San Diego (2010-14), Seattle (2014) and Chicago-NL (2015). In his final season in 2017, he hit .275 across 20 games for Triple-A Albuquerque.
Lopez joins Hartford as the club’s bench coach in his first season with the Rockies organization. Previously, Lopez served as a hitting coach in the Boston Red Sox organization (2008-11), was the Minor League infield coordinator for the Atlanta Braves (2012-17) and the manager of the GCL Tigers (2018-19). The Cidra, Puerto Rico native began his career at 17 years old in the Padres organization and played professionally from 1988-2005. He appeared in parts of 11 big league seasons with San Diego (1993-94, ’96), New York-NL (1997-99), Milwaukee (2000-02), Baltimore (2002, ’04) and Cincinnati (2005).
Beatty embarks on his fourth season in the Rockies organization, his 25th season coaching, and his first as the pitching coach with the Yard Goats. He previously served in a similar role with Albuquerque (2021) and Grand Junction (2019). Prior to joining the Rockies, Beatty spent 13 seasons with the Baltimore Orioles organization, three seasons in the New York Mets organization (2003-05) and five seasons in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization (1998-2002). As a player, Beatty was drafted by the Orioles in the ninth round of the 1986 First-Year Player Draft and totaled 12 seasons in the Minor Leagues. He debuted in 1989 with the Mets and appeared in seven Major League games from 1989-91.
Sutaris enters his second season as Hartford’s hitting coach and his fifth in the Rockies organization. He spent 2018-19 with High-A Lancaster and previously served as an assistant baseball coach at the University of Incarnate Word in 2017 and a special assistant for the University of Texas baseball team from 2014-17. The New Jersey native played professionally in the independent Frontier Baseball League from 1993-96, earning All-Star nods in 1993 and 1996, while also serving as the team’s hitting coach in 1995.