Cincinnati Reds: Another coach added to David Bell’s staff

The Cincinnati Reds added another coach to David Bell’s staff this week. J.R. House, a former catcher, will take over Billy Hatcher’s duties as the new third base coach.

The Cincinnati Reds have yet another coach slated to join David Bell’s staff. J.R. House will take over Billy Hatcher’s duties as the new third base coach of the Reds. He will also be the team’s catching coach. There’s no word yet on Hatcher’s future with the club.

House comes to the Cincinnati Reds organization after spending the last several seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks organization. He was part of player development, a field coordinator, and spent four seasons as a minor league manager.

House is the third addition to Bell’s coaching staff, joining new pitching coach Derek Johnson and new hitting coach Turner Ward. Dick Williams has said previously that he hopes for the Reds to fill out the remainder of their coaching staff by the end of November.

The interesting question that arrises from this hire is the future of both Billy Hatcher and now former catching coach Mike Stefanski. Hatcher has been part of the Reds organization since 2005 and was a big part of the 1990 World Championship team that swept the Oakland Athletics.

Hatcher has been the first base coach and third base coach during his time on the Reds coaching staff. He’s also helped coach the outfielders and worked with the players on the base running skills. He previously worked as a coach for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Stefanski was a 40th round pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1991 and spent his entire professional career in the minor leagues. Stefanski joined the Reds coaching staff in 2004 as the bullpen catcher and eventually promoted to the catching coordinator in 2013. Stefanksi helped oversee Tucker Barnhart’s Gold Glove winning season in 2017.