The Reds hire Chris Valaika as hitting coach

Chris Valaika, who began his major league career with the Cincinnati Reds, is back as the team's hitting director and major league hitting coach.

Valaika, 39, comes from the Cleveland Guardians; He has been the team's hitting coach since 2022, including two years under new Reds manager Terry Francona. Before that, he was the Cubs' assistant hitting coach for one year and the team's minor league hitting coordinator for two seasons.

The Reds ranked 26th in baseball in batting average (.231), 22nd in on-base percentage (.305) and 21st in slugging percentage (.388). Valaika's Guardians placed 21st (.238), 18th (.307) and 16th (.395) in these categories.

Valaika was a third-round pick of the Reds in 2006 out of the University of California Santa Barbara. He made his debut with the Reds in 2010 and played a total of 33 games for Cincinnati in 2010 and 2011. He also played for the Marlins and Cubs. played his last big league game in 2014.

After Valaika retired from gaming, he worked for Sparta Science, a California software company that uses force plates to study movement.

In his first two years with the Guardians, Valaika emphasized using the entire field and putting the ball in play. Last season, Valaika's team placed more emphasis on power and more aggressive scoring.

After Francona was hired, the Reds announced that Joel McKeithan, the team's hitting coach the previous two seasons, would not be returning. The team also said its two assistants, Terry Bradshaw and Tim LaMont, would not be returning.

(Photo of Valaika in 2014 as a member of the Cubs: George Gojkovich / Getty Images)