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.
Big demotion.
yeah, I’m pretty confused on why he would take on a lesser job
That happens pretty frequently when guys get fired.
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.
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!
Well Amaro took the job hoping to become a manager but once that ship sailed he has become a really boring overpaid tv analyst.
It also happens frequently when a franchise is trying to get the most for their money
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.
He was the minor league pitching director before he was the ML pitching coach. He obviously just fell out of favor here.
What makes it obvious he fell out of favor? It may have been his decision to leave or a mutual decision.
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.
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…
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
Money income
He must have felt he was on thin ice and didn’t have a long term future with the Orioles.
Maybe. All we know is that he is not returning to the O’s.
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.
Sam Kennedy, is that you?
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.
Odd trajectory.
Good move to go along with the upcoming Red Sox Soto signing.
If you think that’s true, you’re a bigger troll than I am.
Chris Holt!
Better than Liberal Lester.
Yeah, I hate him.
Dig – In Boston we call him “The Chris Star”.
They don’t get the Arrested reference
He’s the understudy for Andrew Bailey?
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
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.
It needs to be the manager, bench coach, pitching, hitting, and bullpen coaches, and a first base/third base coach on-field.
When your bullpen has cost you several seasons, maybe it’s a good thing
Generally the pitching coach focuses more on the starters and the bullpen coach more on the relievers.
Someone needs to lead the band
I remember Jim Holt on the Twins back in the early 70’s.
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.
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.