Bush promoted to hitting coach as A's fill out staff

OAKLAND -- The A's have promoted from within to fill out their 2015 coaching staff. Notably, Darren Bush has been chosen to replace Chili Davis as hitting coach after serving as the club's bullpen coach the past two seasons.

Scott Emerson will fill that role, his first Major League coaching assignment following more than a decade as a pitching coach and instructor in the A's Minor League system, and Marcus Jensen will work dually as an assistant hitting coach and catching coach on manager Bob Melvin's revamped staff.

Earlier this week, Mike Aldrete was named the new bench coach following the departure of Chip Hale, who became the new manager of the D-backs.

There's still familiarity, though, elsewhere, with pitching coach Curt Young, third-base coach Mike Gallego and first-base coach Tye Waller all returning in their same capacities.

The A's were expected to hire outside of the organization to replace Davis, who was granted a deal far too good to pass up with the Red Sox in the same role, but early top candidates Dave Magadan of the Rangers and Dave Hansen of the Angels opted to remain with their clubs. That paved the way for well-deserved promotions from the inside.

The well-liked Bush has spent 10 seasons in the A's organization, including two as a Minor League hitting coach with Class A Advanced Stockton and six as a manager before he joined the big league staff in 2013.

Emerson, too, has clocked many hours in the A's Minor League system. He spent each of the last two seasons as a roving pitching instructor after 10 seasons as a pitching coach with four different clubs in the A's farm system, including Triple-A Sacramento in 2012. His coaching career extends even more, going back to 2000, when he began a three-year stint as a pitching coach in the Pirates' organization.

Jensen's job as a catching coach is a new one for the A's, who had previously never hired an assistant hitting coach. Together, the duties form a coaching spot vacated by Ariel Prieto, who will likely return to a Minor League coaching job with the A's after three seasons on the big league staff as not just a coach but an interpreter for former Oakland slugger Yoenis Cespedes, traded to Boston in July.

Jensen, the former big league catcher, joined Oakland's organization in 2007 as hitting coach for the A's affiliate in the Arizona Rookie League and became manager of the club two years later, a role he filled for five seasons leading up to his 2014 promotion as A's Minor League roving hitting instructor.