SEATTLE — Gerrit Cole did not appear to appreciate being asked about the Yankees firing their hitting coach.
Cole is a pitcher, and the venue was the All-Star Game for which he earned the nod of starting pitcher.
But the Yankees did not have a hitter at the event to question — the injured Aaron Judge did not make the trip — which was symbolic.
The Yankees’ offense greatly disappointed in the first half, which led to Dillon Lawson’s ouster on Sunday.
“Brian [Cashman] made the move that he made,” Cole said Tuesday before starting the exhibition for the American League at T-Mobile Field. “Probably took a lot of thought, and it’s the only time that he’s done that I think in his career as general manager.”
Cashman had never axed a coach or manager midseason in his 26-year tenure.
But the Yankees have the second-worst batting average (.231), the fifth-worst on-base percentage (.300) and have scored the 12th-fewest runs (4.4 per game) in baseball.
Cole was not one of Lawson’s pupils but he appreciated the work of Lawson, who spent 2019-21 as the Yankees’ minor league hitting coordinator before a promotion to big-league hitting coach in 2022.
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“He put a lot of time in,” Cole said. “He was grinding very hard; was always a big advocate for his players, whether hitters or pitchers. He was a good team guy.
“I think he’s a very bright baseball mind. We obviously benefited a lot from his development in the minor leagues. I’m sure he’s going to get another job, and he’s going to make a lot of players great.”
The Yankees pivoted to Sean Casey, who has worked the past 15 years with MLB Network and has never coached.
“The Mayor,” who used all fields to hit in a 12-year career that included six seasons with now-manager Aaron Boone, could represent a different kind of hitting approach.
“We’ve figured out how to win in different ways,” Cole said of the Yankees, who sit at 49-42 and a game out of a wild-card spot. “Certainly, we played a lot of small-ball.
“We played excellent defense for the most part. And we’ve pitched really, really well. Our bullpen is coming into its own, picking each other up.
“And some of the really, really great [offensive] players that we have are just not going to perform at this level for the rest of the year. They’re going to improve. You have faith in the offense.
“You have faith in these players based on their process, how they work, what their work ethic is, the type of teammates that they all are, and what direction that you’re trying to pull the team in.”
