SAN FRANCISCO — With Chili Davis taking the Red Sox job and the Yankees’ brass deciding Dave Magadan wasn’t a good fit, the Yankees reached out to Eric Hinske to gauge his interest in replacing Kevin Long as hitting coach.
However, the former Yankee opted to remain with the Cubs, where he will be the assistant hitting coach after serving as their first base coach this past season.
Hinske, who has never been a hitting coach, played for the Yankees in 2009. In 39 games, Hinske hit .226 (19-for-84) with seven homers and 14 RBIs.
The Yankees let Long go Oct. 10 after eight years — he landed with the Mets — and haven’t filled the position.
Yankees minor league hitting coordinator James Rowson, who was the Cubs’ hitting coach two years ago, has been mentioned as a possibility.
Reaching out to Hinske is an indication the Yankees aren’t shying away from people with limited or no big league hitting coach experience. And Rowson has more than Hinske, who played 12 years in the big leagues.
Dante Bichette, who was the Rockies’ hitting coach in 2013 and is a very close friend of Joe Girardi, is another name floating around.