Cleveland Baseball Insider

Guardians Hitting Coach Hired By Cincinnati Reds

Cleveland Hitting Coach Chris Valaika has joined former Guardians Manager Terry Francona's staff in Cincinnati as Director of Hitting & Hitting Coach.

Logan Potosky

Feb 23, 2023; Goodyear, AZ, USA; Cleveland Guardians hitting coach Chris Valaika (13) during photo day in Goodyear, AZ. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Feb 23, 2023; Goodyear, AZ, USA; Cleveland Guardians hitting coach Chris Valaika (13) during photo day in Goodyear, AZ. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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The Cleveland Guardians had a productive offensive season in 2024, tallying a +87 run differential en route to 92 wins and the second seed in the American League postseason.

However, Cleveland will now seek a new hitting coach for the 2025 season and beyond.

On Thursday, the Cincinnati Reds announced that they have hired Guardians Hitting Coach Chris Valaika as their Director of Hitting & Major League Hitting Coach.

The 39-year-old now joins former Guardians manager Terry Francona in Cincinnati after the pair worked together in Cleveland for two seasons.

Valaika had served as Cleveland's hitting coach since 2022, helping lead the Guardians to a pair of American League Central titles during his tenure.

A baseball coach wearing a white jersey and a navy and red hat.
Feb 23, 2023; Goodyear, AZ, USA; Cleveland Guardians hitting coach Chris Valaika (13) during photo day in Goodyear, AZ. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Under Valaika's direction, Cleveland's offense ranked in the top half of MLB in: fewest strikeouts (1,196, fourth), stolen bases (148, tied for fifth), runs (708, 14th), and RBI (670, 15th).

But perhaps one of Cleveland's strongest offensive improvements during Valaika's time as the team's hitting coach was its power. After hitting the second-fewest home runs (127) in MLB in 2022 and fewest home runs (124) a season ago, the Guardians hit 185 home runs this year, which ranked tied for 12th in MLB.

One player to show a significant power stride this year under Valaika was All-Star left fielder Steven Kwan. After hitting a combined 11 home runs in his first two seasons, the 27-year-old hit 14 home runs, despite missing most of May with a left hamstring strain.

Cleveland's coaching staff currently has Dan Puente, whom the team hired this past offseason, as Assistant Hitting Coach.

Valaika being hired by the Reds not the first significant staff change for Cleveland this offseason. The St. Louis Cardinals hired former Cleveland Director of Player Development Rob Cerfolio this past Tuesday.

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Logan Potosky
LOGAN POTOSKY

Logan Potosky is an aspiring play-by-play sports broadcaster who, to date, has called approximately 350+ hours of professional, college, and high school sporting events. He is currently the Play-by-Play Broadcaster for the Lake County Captains, the High-A Affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. He graduated from John Carroll University in May of 2023 with a degree in Communication, with a concentration in Digital Media, and a minor in Entrepreneurship.

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