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Changes Made To Red Sox Coaching Staff

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The Boston Red Sox announced a couple of changes to their coaching staff. Bench coach Jerry Narron and bullpen coach Craig Bjornson will not be returning in 2021, per WEEI’s Rob Bradford and others (via Twitter).

The Red Sox will bring in a new manager at some point this winter after announcing the dismissal of Ron Roenicke in September. Roenicke was promoted from bench coach when Alex Cora was fired following MLB’s investigation into the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. There have been rumblings that Cora could come back to resume his role as Red Sox manager, with MLB Insider Jon Heyman going so far as to say he is the favorite for the role.

In the meantime, many other members of the coaching staff appear to be returning in 2021 regardless of who takes the top job. Hitting coach Tim Hyers, assistant hitting coach Peter Fatse, pitching coach Dave Bush, assistant pitching coach Kevin Walker, third-base coach Carlos Febles, first-base coach Tom Goodwin, and coach Ramon Vazquez are all said to be returning, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). It’s still certainly possible that more changes could come whenever the manager role is filled.

AL Notes: Biggio, Red Sox, Boyd, Angels

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We’ll round up a few stories and notes from around the American League on this Christmas afternoon.

  • Cavan Biggio could be in line to bounce around the diamond next season for the Blue Jays. The 24-year-old has no problem donning different gloves, he tells Kaitlyn McGrath of the Athletic. Biggio came up as a second baseman, although questions about his defense there dogged him consistently as a prospect. Last year, Biggio logged MLB starts at first base, second base, left field, and right field, although most of his work indeed came at the keystone. Now, he’d be amenable to logging time at third base and/or in center field next season, too. General Manager Ross Atkins has previously floated Biggio as a possibility to help solidify the Jays’ questionable center field mix, McGrath notes. Manager Charlie Montoyo will surely be looking for ways to get Biggio’s potent bat into the lineup. Thanks to elite plate discipline, Biggio compiled a strong .234/.364/.429 line (114 wRC+) as a rookie.
  • First-year Red Sox pitching coach Dave Bush sat down for a Q&A with Jen McCaffrey of the Athletic. He explains that the organization reached out to him to replace Dana LeVangie, rather than his ardently pursuing the position. That should ensure some continuity on the pitching side, as Bush has spent the past three seasons in Boston’s player development department. The longtime Brewer reiterated that Chris Sale is back on a normal offseason program and praised new signee Martín Pérez’s reliability. He also hinted that the organization could further tinker with Pérez’s pitch mix in hopes of unlocking some upside. A new cutter helped Pérez jump off to a fast start in 2019 with the Twins, but a brutal second half led Minnesota to decline his team option.
  • The Tigers aren’t actively looking to move staff ace Matthew Boyd, who still has three years of team control remaining. With the free agent market for starting pitching drying up, however, it’s natural to wonder if the teams who lost out on the top hurlers could reengage the Tigers on one of baseball’s prime trade candidates. One such team is the Angels, who have added Dylan Bundy and Julio Teheran to their rotation, but still have room to upgrade. The club is monitoring the trade market, Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com tweeted Monday, but the Angels and Tigers haven’t had any recent discussions on Boyd. Of course, there’s ample time for the sides to recommence talks regarding the 28-year-old, who ranked 11th among starters (minimum 100 innings) in strikeout minus walk rate in 2019.

Red Sox To Hire Dave Bush As Pitching Coach

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The Red Sox are slated to name Dave Bush their new pitching coach. Bush, who has recently served as the club’s minor league pitching performance coordinator, was previously tabbed as the front runner for the pitching coach position in a Monday report from Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. Jared Carrabis of Barstool Sports (link) was first to report today that a final decision has been reached.

It appears that Bush beat out four other candidates for the post, among them former Reds manager Bryan Price (the names of three other candidates remain unreported).Bush’s familiarity with the organization likely worked in his favor, as the 39-year-old has been a coach in the Boston system since the beginning of the 2017 season. Previous pitching coach Dana LeVangie was reassigned to a pro scouting role with the organization earlier this month.

Of course, Bush is best known to readers as a longtime starter in the majors, logging 187 starts with the Blue Jays, Brewers, and Rangers in a nine-year big league career. That background will distinguish him from his predecessor, as LeVangie was noted for being a formidable scout despite having never pitched professionally.

Report: Dave Bush Favorite To Become Red Sox Pitching Coach

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A favorite has emerged in the Red Sox’s search for a pitching coach to succeed the reassigned Dana LeVangie. The club’s minor league pitching performance coordinator, Dave Bush, is the “clear front-runner” to take over as its pitching coach, Alex Speier of the Boston Globe reports. The Red Sox could appoint Bush to the position “within days,” according to Speier.

Along with Bush, the Red Sox are known to have interviewed ex-Reds manager Bryan Price for their pitching coach position. The team has reportedly focused on five candidates for the role, though the identities of the other three remain unclear. Regardless, it appears Bush is on the verge of beating all of them out for the job. The 39-year-old has been a coach in the organization since the beginning of the 2017 season.

While Boston bigwigs have grown familiar with Bush in recent years, he’s better known to most baseball fans as a longtime major league right-hander. Bush spent 2004-13 with the Blue Jays, Brewers and Rangers. It now appears he’s about to oversee a Red Sox pitching staff that, like the team as a whole, fell short of expectations in 2019. However, with Chris Sale, David Price, Eduardo Rodriguez and Nathan Eovaldi in place, Bush can take solace in the fact that most of Boston’s rotation looks set going into next season.

Latest On Boston’s Pitching Coach Search

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Almost two months after the firing of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, the Red Sox are set to name Chaim Bloom as their chief baseball officer. Bloom will inherit a team whose coaching staff is just about complete, though manager Alex Cora & Co. still have to find a pitching coach to grab the reins from the reassigned Dana LeVangie. The race consists of five individuals and is nearing a conclusion, according to Alex Speier of the Boston Globe.

Of Boston’s quintet of potential LeVangie successors, the previously reported Bryan Price is the only one with experience as a major league pitching coach, Speier relays. Although Price is best known for his ill-fated run as the Reds’ manager from 2014-18, he’s a former professional hurler who oversaw the pitching staffs of the Mariners, Diamondbacks and Reds for a combined 13 years before Cincinnati chose him for its top job.

It’s not fully clear whom Price is vying against to join Boston’s staff, though Speier notes the club has also spoken with in-house candidates and possibly even coaches from the college ranks. Sean McAdam of the Boston Sports Journal (subscription link) suggested last week that Dave Bush, an ex-big league right-hander who has worked with the Red Sox for three seasons, may be in line for a promotion to take over as either the MLB team’s pitching coach or its assistant pitching coach. Chris Cotillo of MassLive.com writes that Bush is “surely” one of the four non-Price choices the Red Sox have interviewed. If true, that still leaves three mystery names in the running for the position.

East Notes: Braves, Odorizzi, Colome, Rays, Nats, Bush, Red Sox

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The Braves lost their rights to 12 international prospects earlier this week as part of Major League Baseball’s punishment of the organization for signing violations, creating an unexpected influx of talent into the 2017-18 international signing market.  Baseball America’s J.J. Cooper ranks the top eight prospects of that group, with Kevin Maitan still leading the way, even if his star has somewhat dimmed after a lackluster first season in the minors.

Some items from around the two East divisions…

  • Jake Odorizzi and Alex Colome “have been popular in early [trade] conversations,” Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes.  The two pitchers are perhaps the most likely members of the Rays’ 12-player arbitration class who will be dealt in order to cut costs, as MLBTR projects that dozen players to earn $40.4MM in 2018.  Topkin figures that the Rays will be in heavy trade talks this week in order to move some of these names before Friday’s non-tender deadline.  There’s also the specter of a total rebuild, which would come if Tampa decided to move a franchise cornerstone (i.e. Chris Archer, Evan Longoria, Kevin Kiermaier) this offseason.  While the Rays will clearly shop the arbitration-eligible players first, Topkin wonders if the club would pounce if they got a great offer for one of Archer and company before any of the arb class had been moved.  Previous reports have cited the Twins’ interest in both Odorizzi and Colome, while the Cardinals have been linked to Colome in their search for bullpen help.
  • A case could be made that the Nationals should pursue a top-tier starting pitcher rather than just rotation depth this winter, though as the Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes outlines, the team could be gearing up for a bigger pitching addition next winter.  The Nats will have over $50MM in salary coming off the books after the 2018 season, which could allow the club to sign or trade for a notable arm.
  • Nine-year big league veteran Dave Bush has been working as a Red Sox pitching development analyst for the last year, as the Boston Herald’s Jason Mastrodonato details in this look at Bush’s duties within the organization.  Bush sees his role as helping bridge the gap between the analytics department and young pitchers who may be being exposed to such information for the first time.  “Baseball is not known for accepting change in a hasty manner.  But I also think there’s also a benefit for someone like me, who has been a player,” Bush said.  “I’m comfortable having that conversation.  And it’s my responsibility to present information to them because I think it’s going to make them better.”  Bush’s duties are part of president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski’s plan to overhaul how the Sox select and develop young pitchers, as the club has been notably short on homegrown arms over the last decade.

AL East Notes: Bush, Blue Jays, Davis, Orioles

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Here's a look at the AL East as the Yankees get set to take on Cleveland tonight..

Blue Jays Claim Mauro Gomez; Designate Dave Bush

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The Blue Jays claimed infielder Mauro Gomez off waivers from the Red Sox, according to a Toronto press release.  The Blue Jays designated pitcher Dave Bush for assigment to open a 40-man roster spot for Gomez.

The Red Sox had designated Gomez for assignment last week to open a 40-man roster spot for Jackie Bradley, Jr.  Gomez, 28, hit .310/.371/.589 with 24 home runs in 426 Triple-A plate appearances last year, playing mostly first base.  He reportedly drew some interest from the Hanshin Tigers during the offseason.

Bush, 33, has logged over 1,100 innings in the bigs, and led the National League with a 4.37 K/BB ratio for the Brewers in 2006.  After spending all of 2012 at Triple-A, he clawed his way back to the Majors only to suffer the indignity of allowing four homers to the Red Sox yesterday in his one appearance.  Bush was the first to manage that since Brian Bass in 2009, but at least George Caster's record of six home runs allowed in a relief appearance, set in 1940, still stands.

Minor Moves: Figueroa, McPherson, Bocock, Bush

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Tonight’s minor moves, courtesy of Baseball America’s Matt Eddy (all links go to Twitter)..

Dave Bush Opts Out Of Contract To Pitch In Korea

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Dave Bush has opted out of his contract with the Phillies and will pursue an opportunity in Korea, Phillies Triple-A manager Ryne Sandberg confirmed to reporters, including CSNPhilly's Jim Salisbury (Twitter link). Dan Kurtz of MyKBO.net informs MLBTR that Bush will be replacing former big leaguer Aquilino Lopez on the roster of the SK Wyverns.

Bush, 32, signed a minor league deal with the Phillies this offseason and has spent the year pitching for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The right-hander has pitched to a 3.16 ERA, 5.3 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9 in 62 2/3 innings of work for the IronPigs. He last saw Major League action as a member of the Rangers in 2011 when he posted a 5.79 ERA in 37 1/3 innings. Bush is represented by Turner Gary Sports.

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