Soon after adding Alex Avila and Cameron Maybin as studio analysts, MLB Network has announced that five more new faces are joining its on-air roster.
Ruben Amaro Jr., former Philadelphia Phillies general manager and first-base coach with the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets (with whom he was also a special advisor, will be part of the studio analyst rotation. (He’ll also continue with NBC Sports Philadelphia on its Phillies coverage and appear regularly on WIP’s morning show with Angelo Cataldi.)
Also signing on as an analyst is former Houston Astros manager Bo Porter, who previously worked as a coach with the Miami Marlins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Washington Nationals. He’ll begin on MLB Network’s Grapefruit League coverage beginning March 24. Porter isn’t new to broadcasting, having provided analysis for MLB Network (most recently on the Andre Dawson Classic in February) and MASN’s Nationals coverage.
A.J. Andrews will be the new host of MLB Network’s kids-focused program, Play Ball, taking over for Harold Reynolds. She’ll also continue as a studio analyst for SEC Network and host for BetMGM and PlayersTV. Andrews was a softball star at LSU, where she played in two Women’s College World Series, before playing professionally.
Kelana Martin will be the new regular host of Quick Pitch, MLB Network’s nightly highlights show, along with a variety of other network studio programming. She will also be a host on MLB Big Inning, the live whiparound program for MLB.TV and Apple TV+. Martin joins MLB Network from NBC Sports Bay Area, where she covered the San Francisco 49ers as a senior reporter and hosted 49ers Live.
And Siera Santos will also host across MLB Network studio programming, including Quick Pitch and MLB Big Inning. She was most recently the sports anchor at FOX 10 in Phoenix, and has also anchored at FOX 32 in Chicago and NBC Sports Chicago, where she was a reporter on Chicago White Sox telecasts.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
