Sean Casey named Yankees' new hitting coach

The Yankees have underperformed with a bat in their hands. The price tag for failure was hitting coach Dillon Lawson losing his job.

So now it’s Sean Casey’s job to try to help jump-start these hitters and make the offense hum without imminent help from Aaron Judge.

The Yankees announced Casey’s hiring on Monday. The 49-year-old former three-time All-Star first baseman will take over after serving for 15 years as an MLB Network analyst.

“I’m just really excited about having this opportunity in the second half to impact the guys in the lineup,” Casey said via the team. “The Yankees have a lot of professional hitters, and I’m looking forward to connecting with them and getting on the same page.”

Lawson, who was in his second season in this role, was fired after Sunday’s loss to the Chicago Cubs. The Yankees are 49-42 at the All-Star break, good for only fourth in the AL East, eight games behind first-place Tampa Bay. They’re one game back in the race to draw a wild card.

Judge’s big bat has been missing since he tore a toe ligament on June 3. The team owns a collective average of just .231.

So enter Casey. It was the first time general manager Brian Cashman has fired a coach during a season, and his reign began in 1998.

“We feel [Casey’s] abilities to connect with people with his experience will serve him well in his new role as our head hitting coach,” Cashman said.

Casey certainly is familiar with manager Aaron Boone. They played together from 1998-2003 with Cincinnati and have known each other for a lot longer.

“I’ve had the great pleasure of knowing Sean for close to 30 years, and his passion for hitting is infectious,” Boone said. “For anyone that’s ever come in contact with him, his ability to inspire is one of his greatest gifts, and I can’t wait for him to tap into our players and help them reach their potential.”

Lawson had not been a major-league player, but Casey played 12 years in the majors, spending time with Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Boston.

And this lefty batter could hit.

Casey’s career average was .302 across 1,405 games and he finished with 1,531 hits. He hit a career-best .332 in 1999, fourth in the National League, with a career-high 25 home runs and 99 RBIs.

“Anyone who knows Sean knows he is a very well-respected former baseball player with a big personality full of positive energy,” Cashman said.

The Yankees are 19th in runs and 28th in batting average. But Casey has a plan.

“One thing I will stress is controlling the zone and hunting in the zone,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re going to focus on making sure each hitter has a process that brings out the best version of himself.”