James Rowson named the Yankees' new hitting coach

In need of their third hitting coach of the year, the Yankees are turning to an organizationally familiar face: James Rowson.

They announced the hiring of Rowson on Monday, making official what had appeared likely since at least last week.

This is Rowson’s fourth stint with the club following runs as a minor-leaguer (1997) and Single-A hitting coach and minor-league hitting coordinator (2006-11) and another stint as the hitting coordinator (2014-16). During that last stretch, he worked closely with Aaron Judge and other then-prospects in the farm system.

Born in Mount Vernon, Rowson graduated from Mount St. Michael High in the Bronx. Next year will mark his 10th on a major-league coaching staff. He previously served as the Tigers assistant hitting coach (2023), Marlins bench coach (20202-22) and Twins hitting coach (2017-19).

The Yankees’ hitting coach position has turned over a couple of times in recent months. In July, they fired Dillon Lawson amid his second season with the big-league team. Manager Aaron Boone recruited Sean Casey, his friend and former teammate, to serve in that role for the rest of the season. But Casey, citing family considerations, announced in October that he would not return in 2024.

The Yankees still need to hire a bench coach to replace Carlos Mendoza, now the Mets’ manager.

By Tim Healey

timothy.healey@newsday.com@timbhealey

Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.