The Red Sox finalized their 2023 coaching staff Wednesday, officially announcing Kyle Hudson as first base coach and outfield instructor.
Ramón Vázquez previously held the first base coach title but was promoted to bench coach alongside manager Alex Cora earlier this offseason.
Dave Bush (pitching coach), Kevin Walker (bullpen coach), Pete Fatse (hitting coach), Luis Ortiz (assistant hitting coach/interpreter), Ben Rosenthal (assistant hitting coach), Carlos Febles (third base coach/infield instructor), Andy Fox (field coordinator), and Jason Varitek (game planning coordinator/catching coach) all will resume those roles.
Hudson, 35, was a fourth-round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles in 2008. The former outfielder made his major league debut with the club in 2011 and appeared in all 14 of his career games that season.
Hudson spent the past six seasons in the Cleveland organization. He served under former Red Sox manager Terry Francona for three seasons as a major league coaching assistant. In his most recent role for Francona, he served as an outfield instructor and was responsible for advance scouting duties.
In 2015, Hudson began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at the University of Illinois, his alma mater. He spent two seasons with the Fighting Illini.
Cleveland brought Hudson aboard in 2017 as bench coach for High A Lynchburg. He held the same position for both Single A Lake County (2018) and Triple A Columbus (2019) before breaking into the majors as a coach in COVID-shortened 2020.
Hudson comes to the Red Sox as a distinguished outfield coach, and the numbers back it. The Guardians had the league’s best outfield last season, compiling 33 defensive runs saved, and he helped rookie Oscar Gonzalez transform into a solid right fielder.
The Red Sox outfield could use some of Hudson’s guidance. Despite the team’s efforts to upgrade their outfield last season, the Sox were minus-20 in defensive runs saved — the fifth-worst mark in the majors.
Center fielder Kiké Hernández was injured for a big chunk of 2022, Alex Verdugo regressed in the outfield, and even though Jackie Bradley Jr. proved to be a Gold Glove-caliber right fielder, his bat never came around, ultimately leading to his release and a huge defensive gap at the position.
Julian McWilliams can be reached at julian.mcwilliams@globe.com. Follow him @byJulianMack.