Diamondbacks hire J.R. House from Reds as 3rd base coach

The Arizona Diamondbacks have hired J.R. House to be the club’s next third base coach, the club confirmed to Arizona Sports on Wednesday.

House had been the third base coach for the Cincinnati Reds from 2019-25, and he is returning to a familiar organization. House spent seven years with the Diamondbacks in player development roles before landing the job in Cincinnati.

He was Arizona’s minor league coordinator in 2018 after spending four years managing minor league clubs, including the 2017 Double-A Jackson Generals. Diamondbacks assistant hitting coach Travis Denker was on that team, along with future major leaguers Alex Young, Gabe Speier and Brad Keller.

The Reds hired House to coach under manager David Bell, brother of then-Diamondbacks farm director Mike Bell, and he kept his role after Terry Francona took over after the 2024 season. The Reds reached the 2025 postseason as the third National League Wild Card team but were swept in the opening round by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

House, who was a catcher, played professional baseball from 1999-2011, suiting up in 32 major league games for the Pirates, Orioles and Astros.

Arizona went into the 2025 campaign with Shaun Larkin taking over as third base coach after Tony Perezchica departed for the Houston Astros. Larkin had a difficult time in the role, as the Diamondbacks made 18 outs at home plate under his watch, the third most in Major League Baseball.

The Diamondbacks opted to make a change, as manager Torey Lovullo announced on Aug. 20 that Larkin would remain the infielders coach but be pulled off third base duties.

Tim Bogar filled in for the final stretch of the season, and he will remain with the organization coaching minor leaguers, according to Nick Piecoro of AZCentral.com.

Lovullo told Arizona Sports’ Burns & Gambo after the season the coaching staff would remain intact, but he left the door open for tweaks. It turns out Bogar was a short-term solution, while House will take over a key role for the 2026 Diamondbacks.

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