The Dodgers are parting ways with co-hitting coach Aaron Bates this offseason, a source with knowledge of the situation confirmed to the California Post, marking an unexpected shake-up to a coaching staff the club had been planning to keep intact this winter.

Bates, 42, had been in the Dodgers’ organization for 12 years, first as a minor-league hitting coach before being promoted to the big-league staff in 2019 in an assistant hitting coach role. He was promoted again before the 2023 season to co-hitting coach alongside Robert Van Scoyoc, playing a key role in the club’s back-to-back World Series championships in 2024 and 2025.

Helmets rest in the Los Angeles Dodgers dugout before game four of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026, in Los Angeles. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

At the start of the offseason, the Dodgers had been hoping to bring back their entire coaching staff, including Bates.

Last month, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said the team was “still working through things” with some of their staff members but expected things to remain “status quo.”

However, Bates and the Dodgers could not come to an agreement on a new multi-year contract to keep him in the organization, as MLB Trade Rumors first reported.

It now creates a vacancy on the hitting staff that the Dodgers will have to address over the rest of the winter.

This is a developing story and will be updated.