MLB Rumors: Ex-Red Sox Set To Become Yankees’ New Hitting Coach

The Yankees wasted no time filling an important vacancy on their coaching staff.

New York made a significant change to Aaron Boone's group Sunday when it fired hitting coach Dillon Lawson, who was halfway through his second season in the role. It was a warranted decision, as the Bronx Bombers entered the Major League Baseball All-Star break with the second-worst team batting average (.231) in the big leagues.

Less than 24 hours after the move -- the first in-season firing of a Yankees coach under general manager Brian Cashman -- The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported Sean Casey will replace Lawson as New York's hitting coach.

This will mark the first MLB coaching role for Casey, who played 12 big league seasons between 1997 and 2008. The three-time All-Star is a career .302 hitter with 130 home runs, 735 RBIs and 1,531 total hits. Casey made his final MLB pit stop in Boston, where he batted .322 across 69 games (218 at-bats) with the Red Sox.

"The Mayor" now is tasked with recharging a Yankees offense that certainly will need to improve if New York wants to contend for a division title in the highly competitive American League East. New York entered the break eight games back of the first-place Tampa Bay Rays despite a 49-42 record.