CLEVELAND -- The Guardians have filled one opening on their coaching staff.
Cleveland has hired Mariners assistant general manager Andy McKay as field coordinator, the club announced on Wednesday.
The Guardians noted after the 2025 season that they intended for their full coaching staff to be back in ‘26. However, Kai Correa, their field coordinator and director of defense, baserunning and game strategy, was hired as the Mets' bench coach last month. Associate manager Craig Albernaz also left to become Orioles manager last week.
McKay is a familiar face to Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, who served as Seattle’s bullpen coach in 2023 before Cleveland named him its manager entering ‘24. Vogt said Tuesday evening the Guardians are "very excited" to add McKay to his staff.
“He’s a mentor. He's a phenomenal coach,” Vogt said during a Zoom call after he was named the AL Manager of the Year Award winner. “I got to know him, obviously, through the hiring process in Seattle and working for him. He helped me develop as a coach.
“Andy really is going to bring some great ideas for our team, for our players to get better and for our organization as a whole.”
It's also an intriguing hire given how McKay has been a key figure in player development for a Mariners organization that has routinely had one of the game's best farm systems in recent years.
Seattle initially hired McKay in October 2015 as its director of player development. The Mariners promoted him to assistant GM in November 2022, and he was promoted to vice president, assistant GM last November.
In his previous role, McKay’s responsibilities included overseeing baseball development at all levels of the organization, including mental skills and education programs across the Mariners' organization. He also helped advise Mariners president Jerry Dipoto and general manager Justin Hollander in roster building,
Though he has spent the past 10 seasons in a front-office role, McKay has extensive coaching experience in his background. He was the head baseball coach at Sacramento City College for 14 seasons from 1999-2012, and compiled a 427-205-2 record with two league titles over that span.
In between Sacramento City College and his time with Seattle, McKay was the Rockies’ peak performance coordinator, following his hiring by Colorado in September 2012.
“He's wanted to get back into the dugout for a long time,” Vogt said. “We just couldn't be more thrilled to add Andy. He's going to add a lot to our team and to our staff.”