The Kansas City Royals have added veteran former Yankees hitting coach Marcus Thames to their major league staff, the team announced today.
Thames will join Alec Zumwalt, Kansas City’s senior director of hitting performance and hitting coach, and Connor Dawson, who was hired as hitting coach last week.
Thames, 48, brings 10 seasons of major league coaching experience to Kansas City. He most recently spent 2024-25 with the Chicago White Sox, where the team’s offense showed improvement after the All-Star break in 2025, ranking fifth in the American League in runs per game (4.85), home runs (89), and batting average (.250).
His coaching tenure includes six seasons with the Yankees from 2016-21, during which the team led the majors with 1,313 home runs. In 2020, Thames worked with batting champion DJ LeMahieu, who hit .364, and home run leader Luke Voit, who hit 22.
Thames also coached with the Miami Marlins in 2022 and the Los Angeles Angels in 2023. With the Angels, the offense ranked third in the American League in home runs (231), fifth in slugging percentage (.426), and seventh in OPS (.743). During that season, Shohei Ohtani led the American League in home runs (44), on-base percentage (.412), slugging percentage (.654), and OPS (1.066), earning his second Most Valuable Player Award.
Thames began his coaching career with three seasons in the Yankees organization from 2013-15, working as a hitting coach at various levels.
As a player, Thames was selected by the Yankees in the 30th round in 1996 and played 10 seasons in the majors from 2002-11 with the Yankees, Rangers, Tigers, and Dodgers. He hit a career-best 26 home runs in 110 games with Detroit in 2006 and was part of the Tigers’ American League championship team that season.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.