Cincinnati Reds: David Bell finalizes his coaching staff

The Cincinnati Reds and new manager David Bell have finalized next year’s coaching staff. While there are some new faces, one will be familiar as well.

New Cincinnati Reds manager David Bell has been hard at work over the last several weeks. Not only has Bell been getting acclimated to the organization, but he’s had to put together a new coaching staff. Bell and the Reds finalized the 2019 coaching staff yesterday. Let’s see who will be joining the new skipper in the dugout.

Freddie Benavides will be Bell’s right hand man in the Cincinnati dugout. He was named the Cincinnati Reds bench coach on Wednesday. Benavides is the only holdover from there Bryan Price/ Jim Riggleman era. He had served on the Reds staff for the last five seasons, including the last three as the Reds’ first base coach.

Turner Ward (hitting coach), Derek Johnson (pitching coach), J.R. House (third base coach), and Donnie Ecker (assistant hitting coach) had already been named to their respective positions earlier this month. Ward and Johnson were the biggest additions due to their success with the two teams that competed for the National League Championship just last month.

Also joining David Bell’s staff will be a familiar face from the Cincinnati Reds minor league system. Delino DeShields will be the new first base coach for the team. DeShields, also known as “Bop”, had a successful Major League career and was second in the 1990 race for NL Rookie of the Year.

DeShields spent over a decade in the big leagues before joining the Reds minor league coaching ranks as manager of the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in 2012. He then was promoted to manager of the Reds’ Triple-A affiliate Louisville Bats following Jim Riggleman’s advancement to the Reds bench in 2014. His son, Delino DeShields Jr., is currently part of the Texas Rangers organization.

Filling out the Reds coaching staff are Lee Tunnell (bullpen coach) and Jeff Pickler (outfield and game planning coach). Tunnell comes from the Milwaukee Brewers staff, where he’d been the bullpen coach for the last six years. His familiarity with pitching coach Derek Johnson will no doubt be a plus for the Reds moving forward.

We’ve yet to see the Cincinnati Reds take the field or acquire a new pitcher, but Reds fans have to be excited with what they’re seeing. One thing is for sure, the old ways of the organization appear to be fading and the Reds seem ready to make the necessary improvements to make this team into a contender.