Dodgers notes: Aaron Bates, coaching staff, Guillermo Zuniga

While the Dodgers had a relatively quiet winter meetings in San Diego, the last four days did have some news and notes worth a mention.

With Brant Brown moving on to Miami to be the Marlins hitting coach, the Dodgers will promote Aaron Bates from assistant hitting coach to co-hitting coach along with Robert Van Scoyoc, Andrew Friedman told reporters on Tuesday at the winter meetings in San Diego.

Bates has been coaching in the organization for eight years, including the last four as assistant hitting coach. Part of his previous duties included splitting time as he was also the minor league hitting coordinator.

On the day before three Dodgers were selected in the Rule 5 Draft, another former Los Angeles minor leaguer found a new home on another team’s 40-man roster. Right-handed pitcher Guillermo Zuniga inked a major league deal with the Cardinals on Wednesday.

Zuniga had a 4.77 ERA in 54⅔ innings in a repeat year at Double-A Tulsa, with 66 strikeouts (a 27.4-percent strikeout rate) and 30 walks (a 12.5-percent walk rate). The 24-year-old was a minor league free agent, after beginning his career in 2016 in the Braves system. Signed out of Colombia in 2016, he was one of a dozen Atlanta minor leaguers declared free agents by MLB after improprieties by deposed general manager John Coppollela. The Dodgers signed Zuniga in 2017.

Bill Hasselman, who was a coach in the Dodgers system from 2014-21, including the manager of Triple-A Oklahoma City from 2016-18, is now the Angels major league third base coach, per Sam Blum of The Athletic.

Hasselman was the Halos’ catching coach in 2022, and was one of a whopping dozen Angels suspended for a brawl with the Mariners on June 26.