Former Yankees instructor fills vacancy in Toronto
By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com

The Blue Jays announced on Tuesday that they have hired Gary Denbo to be their new hitting coach for the 2008 season, filling the only remaining vacancy on their coaching staff.

Denbo replaces Mickey Brantley, who did not have his contract renewed after Toronto turned in a dismal offensive showing in the wake of multiple injuries during this past season. Denbo, 47, heads to Toronto after spending the past two seasons as the roving hitting instructor in the Yankees organization.

The job with the Jays marks Denbo's second position held at the big league level -- the other coming in 2001, when he was the Yankees' hitting coach. He was selected by the Red in the 17th round of the 1983 free-agent draft and spent four seasons in the Minors, though Denbo never cracked a Major League squad.

After hanging up his spikes, Denbo split time as a coach and as a manager for Class A Greensboro in Cincinnati's system from 1986-89. He left the Reds for the Yankees in 1990, and went on to serve as a manager, coach and assistant director of player development before being named New York's hitting coach for one season.

Between 2002-05, Denbo spent time as a scout for the Cleveland Indians and also as a coach for the Nippon Ham Fighters in the Japanese Pacific League. Now, Denbo will aim to help get Toronto's offense back on track after a disappointing 2007 campaign.

The Jays experienced a significant offensive drop-off from 2006, when they boasted one of the most potent group of hitters in the American League. That season, Toronto ranked second in the league in slugging percentage (.463), third in average (.284) and fourth in home runs (199) and on-base percentage (.348).

This past season, with Brantley at the helm for his second full season as Toronto's hitting coach, the injury-riddled Jays ranked eighth in the AL in slugging percentage (.419), ninth in home runs (165), and 12th in batting average (.259) and on-base percentage (.327). Toronto also finished ninth in the league in RBIs (719), 10th in runs scored (753) and 12th in hits (1,434).