The Tampa Bay Rays on Friday announced that assistant hitting coach Brady North will not return to the Major League coaching staff for the 2026 season.
The announcement comes after Tuesday’s end-of-season press conference in which the sale of the team to a new ownership group led by Patrick Zalupski was finalized.
According to the Tampa Bay Times, North was offered another position within the organization. However, he may land with another MLB club.
North, 34, had served in his role for the last four seasons under hitting coach Chad Mottola. It has also been reported that the rest of manager Kevin Cash’s coaching staff is expected to return next season, barring the hiring of somewhere to a different position.
“I’m appreciative of the hard work and commitment from Brady North throughout the last four seasons,” Cash said. “We wish him and his family the best moving forward.”
The Times reported the move was made based on a matter of fit and changing the dynamic and voices within the hitting group. The Rays are expected to consider internal and external candidates to replace North.
If the organization decides to replace North from within, candidates may include minor-league hitting coordinators Will Bradley and Kyle Wilson. Another option Tampa Bay’s front office may consider is former assistant hitting coach Ozzie Timmons, who in January rejoined the Rays as a special assistant after spending 15 years within the organization before leaving for the Milwaukee Brewers following the 2021 season.
After attending Gaither High School in Tampa, North graduated with his masters in sport and exercise science from Cumberland University where he also played for the 2014 baseball National Championship team.
North joined the Rays in the 2018 offseason after serving as the Director of Hitting and Mental Performance at Top Level Athletes in Orlando. He was responsible for creating and implementing individualized Hitting programs through the use of movements, data and mental conditioning.
Under the watch of North and Mottola, the Rays posted the ninth-best batting average (.251) during the regular season and the ninth-most hits (1,374).