Former Orioles pitching director Chris Holt has reached an agreement to become the Red Sox’ new bullpen coach, reports Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Holt has already received a formal offer, and the hiring could become official next week, per Kubatko.
Holt departed Baltimore’s staff at the end of the season as the organization underwent a coaching overhaul in the wake of a limp to the finish line and a second consecutive quick postseason exit. He was one of several coaches/instructors to be replaced, joining hitting coaches Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte.
Baltimore general manager Mike Elias was familiar with Holt from the pair’s time together in the Astros organization. He hired Holt away as the Orioles’ new minor league pitching coordinator in 2019. Holt rose to the title of major league pitching coach and was eventually bumped up even further, being tasked with overseeing the entire organization’s pitching practice. Holt held those roles concurrently in an effort to form a cohesive top-down vision throughout the team’s big league staff and pitching development efforts.
Holt will join the Red Sox staff with a narrower focus in his responsibilities. He’ll join a revamped pitching practice in Boston that began when Craig Breslow, a former big league reliever who’s entering his second season as the team’s chief baseball officer, hired former Sox reliever Andrew Bailey away from the Giants to serve as the club’s new pitching coach. Holt will also work closely with another Breslow hire from last offseason: Red Sox director of pitching Justin Willard (the same role Holt held in Baltimore and that Breslow himself held with the Cubs before landing the top job in Boston).
Holt fills a role that was vacated when the Sox dismissed six coaches, including bullpen coach Kevin Walker, at season’s end. Walker had been in place since being hired by former chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom back in 2020.
jbigz12
Big demotion.
swagsuperawesomeepiccoolman123
yeah, I’m pretty confused on why he would take on a lesser job
DirtyWater04
That happens pretty frequently when guys get fired.
jbigz12
Yeah. Director of Minor league pitching—-pitching coach——Org pitching coordinator
Then a big downward slide one year later to a bullpen coach. He fell out of favor pretty quick here in Baltimore after that rise.
Fever Pitch Guy
Dirty – Exactly! They basically have to rebuild their value.
Anyone remember Rubén Amaro Jr.? He was fired from his job as GM of the Phillies (back when GM was HOBO) and then became the Red Sox first base coach. Talk about a fall from grace!
Inside Out
Well Amaro took the job hoping to become a manager but once that ship sailed he has become a really boring overpaid tv analyst.
The biggest tr0ll
It also happens frequently when a franchise is trying to get the most for their money
Joemo
Maybe he likes being a coach more than a director? It does sound like a big demotion, but it says he was the pitching coach and director which sounds like a lot.
Being the director versus the pitching coach is two different skill sets, and just because you’re a great coach doesn’t mean you’ll succeed as a director.
This sounds like a bounce back role though, as in he comes here does well as the BP coach and then moves on to a pitching coach role when a good one opens up.
jbigz12
He was the minor league pitching director before he was the ML pitching coach. He obviously just fell out of favor here.
all in the suit that you wear
What makes it obvious he fell out of favor? It may have been his decision to leave or a mutual decision.
jbigz12
I can’t imagine he chose to step down from an org pitching director role that requires significantly less travel (& I’d imagine pays better) to be a bullpen coach in Boston. Just context clues here.
all in the suit that you wear
I doubt he would do too. However, he may have decided he wanted to leave Baltimore or he and Elias were finding they differed in philosophy or he got fired…and then he looked at his options and got hired by Boston. Holt is from Maine. He might want to move back that way. He did great work in Baltimore.
pressboxonline.com/2023/12/13/stan-the-fan-charles…
jbigz12
Hard to say. Seems like an odd move if it wasn’t due to Elias wanting a change or Holt having some personal reason to be in the northeast
spitfire
Money income
mlb fan
He must have felt he was on thin ice and didn’t have a long term future with the Orioles.
all in the suit that you wear
Maybe. All we know is that he is not returning to the O’s.
Kidding Right?
The commentariat is letting me down!
Where are the hysterically clever and original “FULL THROTTLE” remarks?
This has to be good for at least a “This is what’s wrong with John Henry – prioritizing a bullpen coach over a right handed power bat!”
How about “Just like Breslow! I’d bet this is their only plan to fill out the back end of the bullpen!”
Or here’s an original one: “Tyler O’Neill is the fastest runner to ever play baseball, he plays right at Fenway better than Dewey ever did, and he’s good for 45 home runs next year. Why not let him coach the bullpen, too, because he’s a pitching whiz and right field is right next to the pen at Fenway! Even more reasons to resign him for $125m/5!!!”
Help me out here. These golden nuggets get me through the day.
DirtyWater04
Sam Kennedy, is that you?
Fever Pitch Guy
Kid – This is an example of how apathy sets in.
It’s sad, but expected after 5 out of 6 years of bad baseball decisions, lies and arrogance from the front office.
just_thinkin
Odd trajectory.
EHenderson
Good move to go along with the upcoming Red Sox Soto signing.
The biggest tr0ll
If you think that’s true, you’re a bigger troll than I am.
Digdugler
Chris Holt!
EHenderson
Better than Liberal Lester.
Bart Harley Jarvis
Yeah, I hate him.
Fever Pitch Guy
Dig – In Boston we call him “The Chris Star”.
One Bite Hotdog
They don’t get the Arrested reference
differentbears
He’s the understudy for Andrew Bailey?
geotheo
This does seem like a backwards step. After the 2023 season Holt appeared to have been promoted to pitching coordinator for the entire system. There was no explanation from the front office so it was assumed that this was done so he could cut back on travel and influence the pitching staff at all levels. The announcement that he was leaving the organization “to pursue other opportunities
“ didn’t specify if he resigned or was fired. Perhaps he missed living out of a suitcase and wanted to get back in uniform. Maybe he was kicked upstairs after last season and his position was not as consequential as we were led to believe. Elias doesn’t elaborate on coaching changes. We still don’t know if the co hitting coaches were fired or left voluntarily. Possibly a combination of both
Old York
Why do you need a bullpen coach? What’s so hard about warming up and getting yourself in to pitch. Way too much bureaucracy in Baseball.
Steinbrenner2728
It needs to be the manager, bench coach, pitching, hitting, and bullpen coaches, and a first base/third base coach on-field.
Old York
@Steinbrenner2728
Far too many. Just make one of the players the manager as well, just like it used to be in the good ol’days.
The biggest tr0ll
When your bullpen has cost you several seasons, maybe it’s a good thing
Old York
@The biggest tr0ll
But during those seasons, they’ve had a bullpen coach, so I think the problem is that the coach exists in the first place that is causing the problems.
The biggest tr0ll
You could be right
KingKen
Generally the pitching coach focuses more on the starters and the bullpen coach more on the relievers.
Old York
@KingKen
I see no value in either of those coaches.
Poolhalljunkies
Someone needs to lead the band
SewaldSwansonSwoon
Another stupid Old York comment.
Old York
@SewaldSwansonSwoon
And yet again, you’re here to read them. I must be one your must read list. I’m glad I’m famous enough for you to want to read my posts.
Non Roster Invitee
I remember Jim Holt on the Twins back in the early 70’s.
Dorothy_Mantooth
Regardless of why or how, I’d say Boston got a very good coach for their bullpen. Nice hire by Breslow & Co. Now Breslow needs to give him some upper-level bullpen talent for him to coach and help the Red Sox get back into the playoff mix.
Sagacity
Dorothy = You are a very positive fan and I appreciate that you see the up side of nearly every move. Can you give me an upside to hiring a GM and not letting him pick his manager and then going around the manager to hire pitching coaches and a bullpen coach but still maintaining the manager with no skill set for managing? The usual sequence is to hire the GM who then hires his man for the Manager who then hires his men for the coaching jobs.
Is it just me or is there something off about taking the responsibility of hiring the coaching staff from the manager but not firing the manager? Something sure seems a miss in the front office, can you explain the up side of this situation because for me it seems seriously wrong. I need another perspective so it doesn’t seem so screwed up.
SewaldSwansonSwoon
I don’t understand this. Baltimore pitching under Holt was the best it has been in my lifetime. Guys who were dynamite in ‘23 were just average in ‘24 under Drew French without Holt. And at AAA and AA, literally every single pitcher that took big strides forward in ‘23 took LEAPS backwards (Armbruester, Hoffman, Pinto, McGough, etc). So, Holt seemed to have been fine at the big league level – good even – and now to go take a ‘pen job just reeks of something other than track record.