Speier may reunite with Baker on Nats' staff
Pair worked together with Cubs, Reds; club has not confirmed hiring
WASHINGTON -- Chris Speier will join the Nationals' staff as either a bench coach or third-base coach, a baseball source told MLB.com's Bill Ladson on Tuesday. The club has not confirmed the hiring.
Speier has a long history as a Major League player and coach, including under new Nats manager Dusty Baker. Washington has not completed Baker's staff, but Speier would join pitching coach Mike Maddux and first-base coach Davey Lopes.
Speier, 65, was Baker's third-base coach with the Cubs from 2005-06, then served as his bench coach with the Reds from '08-13, also stepping in as interim manager on multiple occasions. In 2012, when Baker suffered an irregular heartbeat and mini-stroke late in the season, Speier guided the division-winning Reds to a 7-4 record. When Baker was dismissed after the '13 season, Speier became a special assistant to Cincinnati general manager Walt Jocketty.
Previously, Speier coached third base for the Brewers in 2000, when Lopes managed Milwaukee. Speier held the same job for the World Series champion D-backs in '01, then was the A's bench coach in '04. Speier also has coached and managed in the Minor Leagues.
Drafted by the Giants in 1970, Speier debuted with San Francisco just a year later, at age 20. He enjoyed a 19-year career as a player, with the Giants, Expos, Cardinals, Twins and Cubs, hitting .246 with 112 home runs and 720 RBIs. Speier played around the infield, mostly at shortstop, and made three straight National League All-Star teams with San Francisco from 1972-74. He played 863 games at short for the Expos, a franchise record in the pre-Nationals era (before 2005).
Speier's son, Justin, was a reliever for seven Major League teams from 1998-2009.