The Orioles today announced their 2026 major league coaching staff, led by first-year manager Craig Albernaz. Pitching Coach Drew French (3rd season), Assistant Pitching Coach Mitch Plassmeyer (3rd), Pitching Strategy Coach Ryan Klimek (4th), and Third Base Coach Buck Britton (2nd) return to the staff, while the club has hired 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.
Ecker, 39, spent the last four seasons with the Texas Rangers as the club’s offensive coordinator (2022-25). He also served as bench coach from 2022-24. The Rangers had at least one American League Silver Slugger Award winner in each of his first three years, and the team was selected as the winner of the inaugural team Louisville Slugger Silver Slugger Award in the AL in 2023 after Texas won the World Series behind a record-setting regular season in which the Rangers led the AL in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and OPS. He has also worked professionally for the San Francisco Giants as hitting coach (2020-21), Cincinnati Reds as assistant hitting coach (2019), Los Angeles Angels as Triple-A Salt Lake hitting coach (2018), and a hitting coach for St. Louis Cardinals’ Single-A teams in Peoria (2017) and Palm Beach (2015-16). The utility player was selected in the 22nd round of the 2007 First-Year Player Draft by the Rangers out of Lewis-Clark State College (ID) and played two professional seasons.
Lind, 37, was the assistant hitting coach for the Philadelphia Phillies from 2024-25. He spent the previous four years with the Giants as director of hitting and assistant major league hitting coach, working on the same staff all four seasons with Albernaz, and Ecker for two (2020-21). He worked as an independent hitting consultant with the Seattle Mariners from 2014-17 before joining the organization as a minor league quality assurance coach in 2018 and was promoted to director of hitting development and strategies for the major league club in 2019. The former outfielder played collegiately at Montana State University-Billings from 2007-08 and Sierra College (CA) from 2010-11.
North, 34, had been the assistant hitting coach for the Tampa Bay Rays since the start of 2022. This will be his first role outside of the Rays’ organization after serving as the hitting coach for the GCL Rays (2019) and Class-A Bowling Green (2021). He was assigned to Class-A Charlotte in the same role in 2020 before the minor league season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. North was the director of hitting and mental performance at Top Level Athletes in Orlando, Fla., among other non-professional baseball roles, prior to joining Tampa Bay. The first baseman and outfielder played with Independent Lake Erie and Washington of the Frontier League after playing collegiately at Cumberland University (TN), Jacksonville University (FL), and Hillsborough Community College (FL). The Tampa, Fla. native graduated from Gaither (FL) High School.
Bourgeois (pronounced BOOSH-wah), 43, joins the Orioles after serving as the first base and outfield coach for the Chicago White Sox for two seasons. He spent five years in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization, working as a minor league outfield and baserunning coordinator from 2021-23 and as a coach for Single-A Great Lakes in 2019. Bourgeois would have been on the coaching staff for Single-A Rancho Cucamonga in 2020 before the minor league season was canceled. The former outfielder played parts of eight major league seasons from 2008-15 with the White Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Rays, and Reds. He was originally selected by the Rangers in the second round of the 2000 First-Year Player Draft out of Forest Brook (TX) High School.
Conger, 37, spent the previous four years as a coach with the Minnesota Twins, 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. Conger played seven major league seasons with the Los Angeles Angels, Astros, and Rays from 2010-16. The catcher was originally selected by the Angels in the first round (25th overall) of the 2006 First-Year Player Draft out of Huntington Beach (CA) High School. He is one of 62 opposing players to hit a home run onto Eutaw Street, doing so on June 12, 2013.
Cairo, 51, was named the interim manager for the Washington Nationals on July 7, 2025, after being hired as the bench coach for the Nationals entering 2024. Before serving as minor league field coordinator for the New York Mets in 2023, he was the bench coach for the White Sox from 2021-22 which included a stint as acting manager at the end of 2022 after Tony La Russa took an indefinite leave due to health issues. Cairo began his post-playing career as a special assistant in the Reds front office from 2013-17 and worked in player development with the New York Yankees organization from 2018-20. A versatile infielder, Cairo played 17 major league seasons for nine teams — including the Toronto Blue Jays, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, Cardinals, Yankees, Mets, Seattle Mariners, Phillies, and Reds. The Anaco, Venezuela native originally signed as an international free agent with the Dodgers in 1990 and made his major league debut with the Blue Jays on April 17, 1996.
Singley, 28, spent the 2025 season with the Miami Marlins as catching coach and assistant catching director after serving with the Cincinnati Reds as bullpen catcher and assistant catching coach (2023-24) and as a catching intern (2022). He began his coaching career at Coastal Carolina University (SC) while completing his studies and recovering from multiple injuries that curtailed his playing career. A native of Wilmington, Del., Singley played at Indian River State College (FL) and Coastal Carolina University before transitioning to coaching. He was a two-time all-state selection at Archmere Academy (DE).
French (Pitching Coach) and Plassmeyer (Assistant Pitching Coach) continue in their same roles for the third straight season, while Klimek returns for his 10th year in the organization and fourth as pitching strategy coach. Britton becomes the full-time third base coach after serving in the same role on an interim basis in 2025 from May 17 through the end of the season. He is entering his 10th year in the organization and was originally a major league coach to begin 2025, his first MLB coaching gig.