Less than three weeks before pitchers and catchers are set to report to Sarasota, Fla., the Orioles ensured a coaching staff would be there to greet them at Spring Training. Though the bulk of manager Brandon Hyde's coaching staff had been reported prior to Wednesday, the club officially announced the group in its entirety.
Hyde will be assisted by an eight-man field staff in his first year as skipper. His will be a unit diverse in big league experience and player development backgrounds, as well as, because of the several connections to Hyde and new general manager and executive vice president Mike Elias, faces fresh to the organization. It also includes one particularly interesting wrinkle.
The Orioles' announcement of Hyde's staff does not specifically include anyone assigned to the role of bench coach. Veteran pitching coach Doug Brocail has been hired to assume his same role, as has former Reds hitting coach Don Long; Tim Cossins was given the title of Major League field coordinator/catching instructor, Jose Hernandez has been hired as a Major League coach, John Wasdin as bullpen coach, Jose Flores as third-base coach and Arnie Beyeler as first-base coach. Howie Clark, the lone holdover from Buck Showalter's staff, will return for his third season as assistant hitting coach.
Because of his close relationship with Hyde, Cossins is the leading candidate to handle duties usually assigned to a bench coach. But how exactly that dynamic will work is unclear. Cossins and Hyde grew up near one another in Northern California, before working together in both the Marlins' and Cubs' systems.
Hyde also has obvious ties to Flores, who spent five years as the Cubs' Minor League infield instructor. Flores was the Phillies' first-base coach in 2018.

Long and Brocail come with the most Major League experience. Long spent the previous five years in Cincinnati, but he was not retained by new manager David Bell this offseason. Brocail was similarly let go after Jeff Banister was replaced by Chris Woodward in Texas this offseason. Prior to his three-year stint with the Rangers, Brocail spent six seasons with Elias in the Astros' organization.
Beyelar won a World Series ring during a three-year tenure with the Red Sox earlier this decade, and he most recently spent three years managing the Marlins' Triple-A affiliate in New Orleans.
It'll be the first big league assignments for Cossins, Hernandez and Wasdin, who were promoted from the O's Minor League ranks. Hernandez has spent 10 years in the organization, mostly as a field coach for Triple-A Norfolk. Wasdin had been the O's Minor League pitching coordinator since 2017.