Orioles offer look at 2026 coaching staff

The Orioles announced their 2026 coaching staff this morning, with no new hires after the most recent reported updates.

Drew French returns for his third season as pitching coach and Mitch Plassmeyer for his third season as assistant pitching coach. Ryan Klimek enters his fourth season as pitching strategy coach and his 10^th in the organization.

Buck Britton made his major league debut last season as major league coach before shifting to third base coach, the role that he’s filling in 2026.

The 11-man staff under new manager Craig Albernaz includes Donnie Ecker as bench coach, Dustin Lind as hitting coach, Brady North as assistant hitting coach, Jason Bourgeois as first base coach, Hank Conger as bullpen coach, Miguel Cairo as infield coach and Joe Singley as field coordinator and catching coach.

“I think it's going to be a great fit for everyone,” Albernaz said at the Winter Meetings. “All of our guys, our goal for our coaching staff is to have great coaches, great teachers, great communicators, but more importantly, great people. I think all the coaches that were brought in and the coaches that have been here, our pitching group and also Buck, they're great people. And so for us, we just needed great people around our players to support them.”

Ecker, 39, spent the past four seasons with the Rangers as offensive coordinator and he also served as bench coach from 2022-24. He replaces Robinson Chirinos, who had his first coaching job this year.

Ecker attended Pete Alonso’s press conference at Camden Yards.

Lind, 37, was the Phillies’ assistant hitting coach from 2024-25 after spending the previous four years with the Giants as director of hitting and assistant major league hitting coach. He was on the same staff as Albernaz.

Lind replaces Cody Asche, who joined the Tigers as assistant hitting coach.

The Orioles carried two assistant hitting coaches last season, Sherman Johnson and Tommy Joseph, but they’re only adding North, 34, who had the same responsibilities with the Rays since 2022. North also was the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast League Rays in 2019 and Class A Bowling Green in 2021.

North was assigned to Class A Charlotte in 2020 before the minor league season was canceled due to the pandemic.

Bourgeois, 43, replaces Anthony Sanders, who will serve as Tigers' first base coach. Bourgeois was the White Sox’s first base and outfield coach the past two seasons and spent five years in the Dodgers organization, working as a minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator from 2021-23 and as a Class A Great Lakes coach in 2019.

The Orioles are adding major league playing experience with Bourgeois, who was an outfielder for parts of eight seasons with the White Sox, Brewers, Astros, Royals, Rays, and Reds. The Rangers drafted him in the second round in 2000.

Conger, 37, spent the previous four years with the Twins, working as first base coach from 2022-24 and assistant bench/catching coach in 2025. He began his coaching career with the Korean Baseball Organization’s Lotte Giants as catching/bench coach from 2020-21.

There’s also major league playing experience with Conger, who caught for seven seasons with the Angels, Astros and Rays from 2010-16. The Angels made him the 25^th overall pick in the 2006 draft.

Tim Cossins was stationed in the bullpen before his dismissal, along with manager Brandon Hyde, on May 17. Plassmeyer relocated to the ‘pen.

Cairo, 51, was named Nationals' interim manager on July 7 after serving as bench coach since 2024. He also was White Sox bench coach, Mets minor league field coordinator, Reds front office special assistant and member of the Yankees player development staff.

Most of Cairo’s recognition comes from his 17 seasons as a major league infielder with nine teams – the Blue Jays, Cubs, Devil Rays, Cardinals, Yankees, Mets, Mariners, Phillies and Reds.

Singley is the youngest hire at age 28. Cossins was the catching instructor before his departure.

Singley, a Delaware native, spent the 2025 season with the Marlins as catching coach and assistant catching director after serving with the Reds as bullpen catcher and assistant catching coach and earlier as a catching intern.

“We went out and hired, in my opinion, the best technical coach on the market in Joe Singley,” Albernaz said earlier this month on the “Orioles Hot Stove Show.”

“He’s young, but the dude can coach. And he gets catchers better no matter where he’s at. And to me, that hire was awesome for us. And then to supplement that with Hank Conger, with his experience and his knowledge, too. So our catchers are going to be highly supported in every aspect of the game.”

All of these hires and returns were previously reported.