The Orioles’ offseason coaching shakeup is underway, but at least one familiar voice in their hitting department will be sticking around.

Baltimore has promoted offensive strategy coach Cody Asche to hitting coach, a source with direct knowledge confirmed to The Baltimore Sun, filling the position that was shared by co-hitting coaches Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte the past three seasons. Fuller left the team in October before joining the Chicago White Sox as their director of hitting and the Minnesota Twins hired Borgschulte away to be the club’s new hitting coach.

According to the source, the club also also plans to hire Tommy Joseph as assistant hitting coach after he held the same title with the Seattle Mariners in 2024. The two former players were teammates with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016.

The Orioles are also promoting minor league hitting coordinator Sherman Johnson to assistant hitting coach, a source with direct knowledge of the move told The Sun.

With bench coach Fredi González and major league coach José Hernández also departing this offseason, the Orioles still have a hire or two left to make to fill out manager Brandon Hyde’s staff.

Asche, 34, joined the Orioles’ organization in 2022 as their minor league upper-level hitting coordinator before being promoted to their major league staff the following year. The 2011 fourth-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Phillies played parts of five MLB seasons from 2013 to 2017, hitting .234 with 32 home runs and a .668 OPS in 390 games.

Johnson, 34, joined the Orioles’ organization in 2023 as the hitting coach for Double-A Bowie, where he worked with then-prospects Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo and Heston Kjerstad. The Orioles moved him up to minor league upper-level hitting coordinator last season and, after only two years in the organization, have now elevated him to their MLB staff.

A 14th-round pick out of Florida State in 2012, Johnson briefly reached the majors with the Los Angeles Angels in 2018 but retired in 2022 after spending the season playing independent ball.

Asche will now be tasked with steering an offense that ranked fourth in the majors in runs scored and second in home runs last season but struggled the final three months of the campaign and into the playoffs. Injuries to Jordan Westburg and Ryan Mountcastle played a significant role, but both returned in time for the Orioles’ wild-card series against the Kansas City Royals.

Meanwhile, franchise catcher Adley Rutschman hit just .207 with three home runs in the second half and Gunnar Henderson went from American League Most Valuable Player Award candidate (.956 OPS before the All-Star Break) to merely a very good hitter (.799 OPS after). Trade deadline acquisitions Eloy Jiménez and Austin Slater did little to pick up the slack and Holliday never showed enough in the regular season to earn a spot in their starting lineup for October.

With the offseason still in its infancy stages, the Orioles have yet to make any major moves on the offensive side other than picking up Ryan O’Hearn’s $8 million team option and extending qualifying offers to free agents Anthony Santander and Corbin Burnes.

Executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias has left open the possibility of expanding payroll under first-year owner David Rubenstein, but the club has roster needs on the pitching staff to address as well.

Just how the Orioles might improve their offense remains to be seen. But when they report to spring training in February, the Orioles will look to Asche and company to guide their hitters toward more consistent success in 2025.

Around the horn

n The Orioles announced that they signed veteran infielder Vimael Machin to a minor league deal for the 2025 season. The 2015 10th-round pick of the Chicago Cubs appeared in parts of three seasons with the Athletics from 2020 to 2022 before bouncing around the minors and various Latin American leagues. Machin is coming off a strong performance in the Mexican League, where he hit .401 with seven home runs and 10 stolen bases in 85 games for Charros de Jalisco.

n Baltimore also announced a minor league deal for right-handed pitcher Robinson Martínez. The 26-year-old has yet to the reach the majors during his injury-plagued career, spending time in both the Philadelphia Phillies and Miami Marlins organizations. He’s currently pitching for the Leones del Escogido in the Dominican winter league, posting a 2.08 ERA in four appearances.

n The Chicago White Sox named Fuller, the Orioles’ departed co-hitting coach, their new director of hitting. In this position, Fuller will “oversee all aspects of hitting throughout the White Sox organization,” according to a team statement. The Boston Red Sox also named former Orioles director of pitching Chris Holt their new bullpen coach.

n The Orioles’ American League East rival Tampa Bay Rays will play their home games in 2025 at the New York Yankees’ spring training complex George M. Steinbrenner Field after Hurricane Milton destroyed the roof of their home ballpark Tropicana Field, the Rays announced. The extensive damages to Tropicana Field won’t be fully repaired until the 2025-26 offseason.

Have a news tip? Contact Matt Weyrich at mweyrich@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/ByMattWeyrich.