2:57pm: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Strom, Fetters and Carlson have been fired by the Diamondbacks. John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7 adds that there are no other changes expected for the coaching staff and suggests the new pitching coach could be hired from outside the organization.
2:53pm: Changes are coming to the D-backs coaching staff in 2025. Pitching coach Brent Strom, bullpen coach Mike Fetters and assistant pitching coach Dan Carlson will not return in their current roles, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com reports. It’s not clear whether any of the three will be reassigned and hold a new position within the organization or if they’re moving on entirely.
The 75-year-old Strom’s run as Arizona’s pitching coach will draw to a close after three seasons. The longtime Astros coach hinted at retirement following the 2021 season and announced shortly thereafter that he would not return for a ninth season in Houston. At the time he stepped away from the Astros he noted “I haven’t had a summer in a long time” and quipped “I may just go lie on a beach in Mexico.”
Less than two weeks later, he was hired by the Diamondbacks. It was a move that surprised many, given his prior comments, but Strom resides in the Tucson area and felt the fresh challenge of working with a new organization near his home was too tempting to pass up.
Time will tell whether he plans to continue coaching, but he’s now spent four decades as either a major league coach (Astros, Royals, D-backs) or a minor league pitching coordinator/pitching instructor (Dodgers, Expos, Padres, Cardinals). It would certainly be understandable if he finally plans to step away from the game and enjoy retired life, though he’s among the most respected pitching minds in the game and would surely have interest from other clubs in a variety of roles — if the D-backs aren’t bringing him back in another capacity, of course.
Fetters has been with the D-backs organization for more than a decade, spending time as a scout before joining the coaching staff in 2012. He’s been Arizona’s bullpen coach for the past six seasons. Now 59 years old, he was a first-round pick by the Angels back in 1986 and went on to enjoy a 16-year career as a big league reliever, totaling more than 700 innings and piling up exactly 100 saves. The Diamondbacks are the only organization for which he has ever coached.
Carlson, 54, pitched in parts of four big league seasons and has been the team’s assistant pitching coach for three years. Prior to that role, he was a minor league pitching coach with the D-backs and also served as the organization’s minor league pitching coordinator.
Their loss with Strom. When he left Hou he had competent successors in place and yet the team and fans still all miss him.
A big Fetters-eque sigh on that comment.
Absolutely ridiculous!!He was the reason fue success! Toeey should go!
What success? Their team ERA was 4.62 – ranked 27th in the league. The two seasons before that, they ranked 20th and 23rd.
Under Strom, the pitching has been rubbish.
What success?! Before the world series last year did you see the team? Who besides gallen and Kelly was great? He helped Kelly.also! This year so many injuries! He turned bullpen guys like Ginkel and Thompson and mantiply into valuable players. Look how Houston misses him. Watch now that he’s gone
Well, I find it hard to take anyone seriously who thinks the manager should be fired. If they canned him, teams would be lined up for his services.
That’s the point – besides Gallen (who had already shown his ability at this level before Strom turned up), and Kelly (who’s now 35 years old), there’s nothing. They haven’t developed pitching talent, which is part of why they’ve consistently been near the bottom of the league.
Yeah, fire Torey after achieving 89 wins with crippled and underperforming starting pitchers. What a clown statement.
Torey also cost them several games throughout the year. He’s a good manager not a great one.
He also took them to the World Series last year.
Not saying he is a great manager but asking for him to get sacked is absolutely a clown comment.
I would say the way he instills a culture is very good, and his loyalty to players like Suarez and Carroll this year definitely proved to be right. (I’ll be the first to say I was furious with Suarez playing everyday for a long time.) But the situational decision making was more often than not terrible. How the bullpen was handled for a majority of the year was just frustrating beyond belief. He has to wear that.
Thats the reason he won’t be fired. He’s a great guy but can’t make the tough decisions. He’s like a nice boss and that don’t work!
My man I am a diehard dbacks fan since the start. Torey had this team for years! Stop the bull! He cost them a ton of games and cost them the world series with his awful managing. If not for Moreno he would have been fired last year. How little we forget Kelly was the catcher and he lost 15 in a row. Your a moron
Steve Adams said it best in his chat last week in response to a question on whether Lovullo should be fired:
“For the record, I think this now makes over half the league’s managers I’ve been asked about being fired, all in this chat alone. And all with some variation of ‘he just makes poor/indefensible/awful decisions.’
Basically, every fan base thinks their manager is an idiot.”
Something have noticed over the decades.. How the worst of itchers made the best pitching coaches for the most part and yeah.. I think Strom has been a solid coach for a long time, same way felt Dick Pole was a very good pitching coach for years and my poster child for what am mentioning. Is it that those types just know what doesn’t work from their time as pitchers, or they never had the talent to do what they knew would work they themselves were taught? Never thought to ask any of the guys knew fairly close way back, wish would have what made up a solid pitching coach.
Maybe it’s a bit of selection bias, or non-selection bias?! Guys like Tom Seaver, Jim Palmer, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, etc. simply will have no interest in the grind, and no financial need of being a pitching coach. Are Gerrit Cole or Justin Verlander going to become pitching coaches? Nah. Not disagreeing though. Sometimes the most talented may not be the best coaches because they believe pitchers and hitters can do what they can. That was always said about Ted Williams, although who knows if that was true but perhaps just a media story.
More recently (last 15 years) and paraphrasing here, I remember a story when a pitcher called his catcher, Jorge Posada, out to the mound annoyed that Posada kept shaking him off. Posada said he didn’t want to call a pitch because the batter could hit it. The pitcher became more animated, “you can hit it, you can hit it, Jorge. 98% of MLB players can’t.”
So is it a question of the elite players aren’t great coaches because they can’t teach their elite skills, or they simply were too great they don’t want the grind? Maybe a little of both.
Robm- Was going to list a few really solid pitchers who had been pitching coaches, but didn’t since the post was long anyway. Will go ahead and list a couple now.. Johnny Podres, Roger Craig, Mel Stottlemyer. Sure, none of those guys played during the time of get rich quick era, but all of them were very good and Craig was responsible for pretty much bringing back the forkball to the game.
Was really more into letting out that most teams have like career milB guys, or fringy MLB players as coaches for the staff and working within the systems for most teams
Yes. Part of it also could be the analytics movement. They want players who fit into their “system.” Perhaps very experienced and successful pitchers would push back on that. I suspect the days of Podres- and Stottlemyre-level starters being pitching coaches are less likely than a few decades back.
I like the Dbacks chances for next year. There’s a very good chance that Jordy & Erod are much better next year.
Considering the comments from the owner about Monty this week, there’s a chance he gets traded.
I think there is more than a chance maybe 75% chance.. Sounds like the owner learned a lesson, let your GM build the team.
Let Mike Hazen do his thing, he’s been one of the good GMs in baseball.
@mlb fan
are the Padres & Dodgers leaving the Western division next year?
“Leaving the Western division”..Western division? The Pads & Dodgers aren’t going anywhere and in fact were there in the NL West when the Dbacks went to the World Series just last year. If you just get into the tournament anything can happen.
Oh.
Who knew?
Brent Strom started his pitching career when I was 14. I’m a senior citizen. That’s one hell of a baseball career.
Highly likely he can can another gig if he wants it, but maybe it is time for him to go enjoy that beach.
I have found it is more often the ears listening than the one delivering the message. Most pitching coaches more or less preach the same thing.
Fired? For real? Is the source legit?
When D’Back ownership increased payroll up to 175 mil and your pitching staff was 27 out of 30 in MLB and your 14 out 15 in the NL, someone is going to have to take the brunt of the disappointing season as a whole, Strom and his staff were fired. I know he could not for see the injuries to the starting staff, plus signing Montgomery (owners request) having him with no spring training, Kelly and Rodriguez another FA bust so far. with arm troubles. I had a feeling pitching was going to get the most blame and that is where the changes are going to be. This team needs a solid closer, Kelly is a question mark at 36, Gallen going into a FA 2025 season, Pfaat inconsistent, Nelson only one that had a good season that he can build on. Bullpen needs some tweaking with a stopper in the bullpen closing role, not a bullpen by committee it just does not work.
Thank you, someone gets it. Get a proven closer and get some more SP depth since Kelley is injury prone and Gallen will be a FA soon. Gotta plan for future and if Gallen doesn’t come back, plus it’s just beneficial to AZ in general especially after this season
Snakes pitching has been bottom 1/3 of the league under Strom. Philosophy seemed to be attempt pitch around the edges and rarely attack the zone. Strom will be 76 in 11 days. Nice coaching career that was faltering at the end. Time to enjoy retirement.
SupremeZeus;
Here’s yet another example of how statistics lie……
The addition of Brent Strom was the biggest reason the DBacks made the playoffs last year and got into the WS.
As for: “not attack(ing) the zone” – pitchers get killed throwing in the middle of the plate in MLB, and have for decades. The hitters
are simply too good.
I’m the biggest dbacks fan and you are correct!
All Strom wanted was to get all the Dbacks to throw the slider like Ginkel, Martinez, Thompson, Pfaadt, Puk. That slider is called the Roger Beshens Football Slider. Google it. click images, video.
Strom tried his best to get Cecconi to throw it but Cecconi had issues throwing it high all the time and controlling it. Strom made suggestions to Cecconi and Slade wanted nothing to do with it. That’s not Stroms fault that’s on the pitcher.
The analytic dept wanted Nelson to stop throwing the RB Football Slider. They were proven wrong,
Cecconi wasn’t ready to be brought up he should have developed more in AAA and took the losses there. Cecconi’s failure ALONE cost the Dbacks a playoff run and Stroms job.
Cecconi’s failure alone cost them? He was 5th on the team in innings pitched. Montgomery pitched 6+ ERA ball all year as well, but threw 40 more innings than Cecconi.
Pfaat led the team in innings, and that was with a 4.7 ERA. 71 pitchers threw more than 150 innings this season, and Pfaat’s ERA ranked 65th out of them.
The Diamondbacks not reaching the playoffs goes way, way further than Cecconi.
I wish the Braves and Mets had the pleasure of trying to fix Cecconi in their organization then they could have lost out by one game.
Cecconi had no business trying to improve at the ML level, let him lose at AAA and get his Sh#t together there.
By the way, Strom suggested golden information to him and Cecconi didn’t want anything to do with it.
I believe the problem with Cecconi is that he thinks he can overpower any hitter anytime, you maybe able to throw 98mph but when the ball goes right down the middle of the plate, these MLB hitters are just not going to miss a straight fastball with no movement. most of the time.
If you go to baseball savant pull up his videos and filter in just sliders there must be over 80 HIGH Sliders that got walloped.
Cecconi was 2=7 and I have no idea why they let him try to learn from his mistakes at the expense of the ML Club. Learn that stuff and take the losses at Reno.
Word is Cecconi did not want to listen to Strom’s suggestions. The Dbacks and Strom payed the price.
Strom is certainly very highly respected. Results were not there in 2024 though. The man deserves to retire in peace, but I doubt they’ll find someone better. This particular group of arms may benefit from a different approach and coach.
I remember I had a baseball card of him in a terribly painted hat due to his just joining the Padres. We called him Burnt Storm. He was like 2 13 with an ERA over 5.00 lifetime on the back of his card. Never would of guessed he would be one of the greatest pitching coaches in the game.
Roger Beshens is available to teach them the football slider.
Hopefully Strom gets a handsome offer explains the blueprint to the Owner/GM and has Roger Beshens teaching his Football Slider in some capacity. Results will be instant.
According to Roger he has already met with Strom and Lovella. They invited him. Taught them and all the pitchers his football slider. That’s how he sees it. He has the videos on YouTube having a conversation with Lovella and instructing the Arizona pitchers. I actually watched them. From that point forward I just congratulate Roger on inventing the football slider and say yep dbacks are lucky to have you. Roger desperately needs everyone’s support. It’s been around for pushing 100 years at least but no one ever gave it a name and marketed it like Roger and he does have some different takes on it.
LOL You show me where someone said Roger Beshens’s Cues, On center grip, throw like Football Stiff Wrist.
AND even if you could, EVERY pitcher in that decade would have been throwing it and it never would have went away.
Roger Beshens INFLUENCED hundreds of ML pitchers in 2018 to try his Football Slider. Notice how in 2018 MLB had more K’s than hits for the 1st time in its’ history. Brandon McCarthy proved what I’m saying when he told Roger Beshens he tried it June 2 2018 vs Nat’s. Bmac said he struck out Rendon, Turner, Pitcher Gonzalez gave up the HR to Michael Taylor but it’s going to be a weapon. Biddle struck out 8 in 3 innings, there wer 34 K’s in that game and June 1 Folty threw that Football Slider got season high 11 K’s. Then Luke Jackson threw the Roger Beshens Football Slider…. The Braves are nothing without the Roger Beshens Football Slider. Skenes is nothing without the RB Football Slider.
Are they interested in Strom blueprint? I took it as they don’t think much of him.
The Strom blueprint is the Roger Beshens blueprint, teach the RB Football SL throughout the organization. Many of the pitchers were inept or unwilling to make adjustments, Like Cecconi, Henry, Walston. Even Pfaadt made some adjustments his last 6 games that was interesting.
2024 Spring Training Ryne Nelson warming up in the bullpen Drabek, Bajaneiro, Fetters, Pfaaft, Walston, Henry, Hughes and like 6 others heard Roger Beshens explain his Football Slider. Nelson wasn’t happy about nobody stopping RB from yelling his Grip, Tilt and Wrist all while he was warming up.
RB on his Twitter account said we are all waiting for you Ryne to throw the RB Football Slider.
Surprising that you didn’t post this from one of your alt accounts.
Explain why the failures of Cecconi, Castellanos, Hughes should be put on Stroms shoulders? Those guys alone LOST the one game needed to make the playoffs.
Cy Young couldn’t help those guys.
The Dbacks should have learned the Roger Beshens Football Slider in May 2018 when he introduced it MLB.
Torey Lovullo must have been driving Strom nuts with mismanaging Puk, Ginkel, Thompson, Martinez.
Not Stroms fault, Floro sucked and Monty in the bullpen. That’s not a pitching coaches job. That’s management ineptness.
Wasn’t this the 2nd guy to ever get TJ surgery? Imagine if it was called Brent strom surgery
It’s a travesty Brent Strom takes the fall for…
Monty 6.23 ERA
Cecconi 6.66
Henry 7.04
Mcgough 7.44
Floro 9.37
Hughes 7.04
AAA should have been loaded with higher tier Roger Beshens Football Slider guys. That’s not Stroms responsibility. Someone needed to be held accountable for that failure, not Strom.
Cecconi ALONE killed the Dbacks. Cecconi’s last game Sept 11 6.66. ERA.
How many times, and under how many different accounts, are you going to bang on about a slider?
The more you spam post, the less people care what you have to say.
EXACTLY!!! any morons who think it’s his fault are those awful dbacks fans
Diamondbacks pitching coach wont return as Brent Strom.
Tommy Henry and Humberto Castellanos were a combined 19-2 at AAA RENO maybe the Dbacks should look at that number and bring both of them up.
Strom took the fall for the INEPT signings of Monty and EROD. Both of them combined 11 Wins.
Any logical conversation with Hall, Kendrick, Hazen would entail, Henry, Cecconi, Hughes Castellanos, Mcgough, Floro were not going to help anyone get into the playoffs nor be used in the Playoffs. Any pitching coach including Strom can only help a pitcher so much and who’s to say some DiDNT take his advice!!!
Dbacks management is Pathetic, everything is WE are proud of them, we love them. That goes without saying, Dbacks management 100% INEPT.
The Dbacks AAA Reno didn’t have enough HIGH QUALITY Roger Beshens Football Slider guys. I wish the Mets and Braves had the pleasure losing games with Cecconi and Castellanos.
Imagine if Strom told Kendrick to get Monty and EROD for a combined 130 Million?
So the Owner looked for a fall guy and the 27th ERA was what stood out. Numbers don’t tell everything.
Tommy Henry and Castellanos are a combined 19-2 at Reno does that mean they are good enough to be called up?
H$LL NO!!!!
You must have some kind of NIL deal and get royalties for every time you mention Football Slider. For what it’s worth, if anybody had any interest in learning about it, you alone made them change their mind.
Roger Beshens was in the Dbacks clubhouse teaching his Football Slider in May 2024.
Joe Musgrove talks Football Slider, it’s on Twitter or Google Joe Musgrove Football Slider click images.
Your watching the Football Slider every playoff game, it’s the pitch that wins the World Series every year. Last year it was Jon Gray the did in the Dbacks with it.
I know if I hear “football slider” one more time, I will projectile vomit.
I think it’s more a case of this guy hangs around outside Roger Beshens house, despite the restraining order.
Slade Cecconi 2-7 ruined the Dbacks hopes of making the playoffs and that risky gamble believing in him turned out getting Strom fired.
Had no business learning at the ML level, should have learned his craft at the expense of AAA Reno.
The Devil “Devin” Cecconi’s last game Sept 11 ERA 6.66
The Dbacks pitching is going to be exceptional in 2025 and Kendrick an incompetent baseball person fires a Future Hall of Fame Pitching coach. Huge strides were made with Nelson and Martinez. They picked up PUK. Everything was going great, Strom was just ready to get management to implement something newly learned and they fire him. If AAA Reno still has Castellanos and 5 more pitchers that have no future with the Dbacks same problem will happen next year.
Slade Devin Cecconi aka “Devil” last game September 11, ERA 6.66,
Slade 2-7, SEVEN LOSSES.
He”s the Devil that did Strommy in and the Dbacks.
Jordan Montgomery – ERA 6.23, IP 117, WHIP 1.65
Slade Ceconni – ERA 6.66, IP 77, WHIP 1.42.
Montgomery was as bad as Ceconni, but in 40 more IP so why is Ceconni solely responsible for the Dbacks missing the playoffs?
With ERod, Kelly, Gallen and Montgomery missing one to four months, someone – Ceconni, Henry, Walston, Diaz, etc – had to come up and eat innings. The young guys were predictably inconsistent as were Pfaadt and Nelson last year.
Developing young players is a process. Few come up and have immediate success like Skenes.
Strom didn’t input what’s being taught in the minors. That’s a fact and turned out to be a huge problem.
Diaz, Mena, Walston were the only legit guys to take a chance on.
There is no way Cecconi should have been allowed to have 7 losses!
That ALONE is the reason the Dbacks didn’t make the playoffs and cost Strom his job. THAT MISTAKE ALONE did them in.
Skenes throws the Roger Beshens Football Slider that’s why he is where he is. That football slider needed to be taught years ago but the Dbacks obviously didn’t know about it.
… and yet Ceconni didn’t pitch in the Dbacks 10-9 loss to the Brewers when they led 8-0 after 2 and 1/2 innings.
Cecconi didn’t pitch in that game cause thank God he already was sent down.
Cecconi’s last game was Sept 11 and ended with 6.66. TIED FOR SECOND in TEAM losses with 7 which is AMAZING proof if he was never called up the Dbacks would have been in the playoffs. Even the inept analytic dept and upper management that wanted Cecconi, not Strom realized he was a mistake but much too late baby..
Cecconi’s last game he was so oblivious and uninterested the lone runner on first ended up on third with one pitch cause of a pitch clock violation and then not checking the runner on second. That was pathetic, he was sent down for the season.
Why are you so hung up on Ceconni when Montgomery’s numbers were equally bad, if not worse, and he pitched 40 more innings? As a side note, due to injuries, if Ceconni didn’t pitch the Dbacks would have had to go with Walston, Henry or someone equivalent.
He thinks he’s seen something no one else has, and he’s pretty desperate to tell everyone about it. I think the best thing to do is just put him on ignore at this point
It was reported some dback pitchers didn’t listen or want Strom’s advice.
Strom can bring them to water but can’t make them drink. Not his fault.
Pitchers that failed miserably, Cecconi, Henry, Hughes, Floro, Mcgough, Castellanos, Cecconi lacks consistent EVERYTHING. The funny thing with Henry is when he was up with the big club he refused to throw the Roger Beshens Football Slider. When Henry got sent down his second time he threw mostly RB Football SLiders and did well, then as he saw everyone like Hughes and Walston get called up he kinda threw in the towel. Floro lost too much velo, Mcgough like his split so much, doesn’t realize the team wants him and everyone else to throw the RB Football Slider, he refuses so he can keep failing until DFA.
It’s not Stroms fault the Dbacks development and strategic depts failed miserably. Is that Dan Harens job? FIRE HIM.
From what I understand, if Cecconi would have moved to the Right Side of Rubber, Ryne Nelson would have just thrown the Roger Beshens Football Slider, Tommy Henry would have thrown the RBFS when he was up with the big club, McNough would have thrown more RBFS and ditch the cutter, and Hughes moved to the middle right of rubber the Dbacks might have won one more game?
I think that’s legit. I would say probably another 10 wins minumum.
Dbacks had 26 blown saves this season and STILL won as many games as the Braves and Mets. If just one of those BS had been converted to a win, they would have been in the playoffs and possibly the NLCS now. Bullpen pitchers like Sewald, Thompson, Multiply (Mantiply’s new nickname), Ginkel, Frias, Castro, and others need to be re-evaluated and/or sent packing. Team needs to find some good pitching coaches now and spend $$$ on the bullpen.