Los Angeles Dodgers hitting coach Pedro Guerrero, who replaced former hitting coach Aaron Bates on Monday, explained his approach in helping the Dodgers improve offensively.
The Dodgers had their struggles offensively towards the end of the season, likely leading to the end of Bates’ tenure with the team. One of their biggest struggles came in the form of “situational hitting,” a term manager Dave Roberts used several times over the course of the season to describe the Dodgers coming up short in key situations.
Los Angeles left 1,165 runners on last season, which was the fourth-most in MLB.
Guerrero revealed his mentality heading into his new job, and listed the Dodgers’ situational hitting as an area of focus for the upcoming season.
“I like to think of it as building the player, not the swing,” Guerrero said. “The swings are kind of built at this point, so it’s going back to … are we having team at-bats? How do we execute [with runners in scoring position]? How are we gonna make it really tough for the starter?”
The Dodgers have many proven MLB players in their midst, so changing their swings likely isn’t the answer, as Guerrero said. LA still managed a solid year offensively, scoring the fourth-most runs in the league over the course of the season, but performing at a higher level in leverage situations could make the difference for them in 2027.
Who is Pedro Guerrero?
Guerrero, 37, spent eight years in the Dodgers’ organization from 2006-13 during his playing career, but he never broke the majors. Despite reaching Triple-A, he only ever played three games at levels higher than High-A.
He got his first job in baseball within the Dodgers’ organization in 2016, when he served as the bench coach with the Ogden Raptors, a former affiliate in rookie ball.
After two years with the Raptors, Guerrero joined the Philadelphia Phillies as an assistant hitting coach at the MLB level. He moved to the San Francisco Giants to fill the same role in 2022, and remained there through 2024.
He got his job as the Miami Marlins’ hitting coach in 2025 and was with the team for two years before the Dodgers called.
The Marlins improved almost across the board in terms of offense during Guerrero’s tenure, and the team had nothing but good things to say upon his departure.
“He did a tremendous job for us,” Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix said. “He’s a wonderful human being. We’re going to miss having him around, and really appreciate everything that Pedro gave to us. Just time for a new voice in the hitting space.”
The Dodgers will hope he can have the same effect on their team as they look to make up for a disappointing 2026 season next year.
