The New York Yankees are planning to promote Alan Cockrell to hitting coach and make Marcus Thames a part of their big league staff, according to the New York Post.
Earlier this winter, the Yankees did not renew the contract of hitting coach Jeff Pentland. Cockrell had served as the assistant hitting coach during Pentland's one year on the job. Thames has been a Yankees minor league hitting instructor.
Cockrell is a former University of Tennessee starting quarterback. He had been the hitting coach with the Colorado Rockies and Seattle Mariners in the past.