New York Yankees name Alan Cockrell and Marcus Thames hitting coaches

Alan Cockrell/ESPN

The New York Yankees have named Alan Cockrell and Marcus Thames hitting coaches for the 2016 season.

Cockrell, who was the assistant to Jeff Pentland in 2015 will move to the head spot and Marcus Thames will be promoted from Triple-A to the majors.

This is the second time the Yankees have stayed within the organization to fill a job of extreme importance. The Yankees have been impressed with Thames and his work with current rookies Greg Bird, Rob Refsnyder and top prospect Aaron Judge.

Cockrell, 52 was hired last year by the Yankees and worked with Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Carlos Beltran, helping them revive their past seasons. 2015 was also the first year in Yankees history that they had two hitting coaches.

Cockrell is a former pro himself, as he appeared in nine games with the Colorado Rockies in 1996. Before joining the Yankees, he had hitting coach stints with the Rockies and Mariners.

Thames is a name that all Yankees fans remember. A 30^th-round pick of the Yankees in ’96, he made his debut in 2002. He played 82-games with the Yankees in 2010, but also played for the Rangers, Dodgers and Tigers.

Thames was the hitting coach with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders for three seasons, and spent time with the Yankees in September.

Cockrell will be the Yankees third hitting coach in as many years. Kevin Long, the current Mets hitting coach was fired following 2014, and Pentland was not asked back following the 2015 season.

The Yankees batted a team .251 in 2015, which ranked 14th in all of baseball.