LOS ANGELES -- After former hitting coach Aaron Bates’ 12-year tenure with the organization came to an end last week, the Dodgers have added a new voice to their hitting group.
The Dodgers announced on Tuesday that they’ve hired Pedro Guerrero to the Major League staff as a hitting coach. He will work alongside Robert Van Scoyoc, who has been a hitting coach for L.A. for the past eight seasons.
“He's approach-focused, understanding the mechanics and everything,” general manager Brandon Gomes told reporters, including MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince, at the GM Meetings in Las Vegas. “But being able to communicate and really build relationships, and then layering on [his] ability to speak Spanish and our familiarity with him, knowing what kind of cultural impact he'll have, was something that we felt was a really nice skill set and fit to add to our Major League group.”
Guerrero, 37, most recently spent the last two seasons as the Marlins’ hitting coach. He and Miami parted ways after the 2026 season, during which the club showed some improvement from ‘25 and ranked as follows in key offensive categories:
• Batting average: .249, seventh
• On-base percentage: .326, tied for fifth
• Slugging percentage: .400, tied for 16th
• Runs scored: 715, 18th
• Weighted runs created plus: 100, 16th
“He did a tremendous job for us,” Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix told reporters in Miami, including MLB.com's Christina De Nicola, after announcing Guerrero would not return. “He's a wonderful human being. We're going to miss having him around, and really appreciate everything that Pedro gave to us. Just time for a new voice in the hitting space.”
Before leading Miami's hitting group, Guerrero was an assistant hitting coach for the Giants (2022-24) and the Phillies (2018-21). He has previously worked in the Dodgers' organization, serving as the bench coach for Rookie-advanced Ogden from 2016-17.
Guerrero spent his professional playing career in the Dodgers' organization from 2006-13, appearing in eight Minor League seasons without reaching the Majors.
Last season, the Dodgers' offense put together a strong campaign overall, scoring the fourth-most runs (801) in the Majors and also ranking in the top five in batting average (.257, third), on-base percentage (.338) and slugging percentage (.424, second). But their production dropped off in the second half, and that inconsistency carried over to the postseason, ending with the then-back-to-back champions being swept out of the NL Championship Series by the Brewers.
The Dodgers went into this offseason expecting their coaching staff to remain intact for 2027, but they were unable to agree on a new contract with Bates. Bates, 42, coached in the organization for a dozen years and was co-hitting coach alongside Van Scoyoc the previous four seasons.