Phillies manager Joe Girardi isn't wasting any time preparing for the 2020 season. Girardi and the Phillies took another step closer to finalizing their coaching staff by naming Bryan Price as the pitching coach, the club announced on Thursday. It was reported on Wednesday that Price was the front-runner for the job.
Price, 57, most recently managed the Cincinnati Reds, following Dusty Baker's departure in 2014. He was the Seattle Mariners pitching coach for six seasons before moving to the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2007 for three seasons. Prior to being named the Reds manager, he was their pitching coach for four seasons. During Price's time with Cincinnati, the pitching staff ranked the third and fourth-best for ERA in the National League. Price's 2001 Mariners pitching staff finished with the best ERA in the American League.
Girardi and Price were set to work together last summer as part of the Team USA baseball team coaching staff, but Girardi left to pursue a return to big-league managing. After the New York Yankees dismissed their pitching coach, Larry Rothschild, a potential reunion between Girardi and Rothschild, who worked together for six seasons was rumored.
"I thought he did a great job there. The game has evolved a lot, and Larry continued to evolve with how the game has evolved," Girardi said during his introductory press conference on Monday. "Obviously, Matt [Klentak] and I have a couple positions that we need to fill and we're going to talk about every name that is out there, and get who we think the best person is for Philadelphia."
Girardi will still need to find and hire a hitting coach for his Phillies squad, but otherwise, his staff is nearly complete for the 2020 season. The Phillies fired first-year pitching coach Chris Young after his staff finished with the NL's fifth-highest ERA of 4.53. Only the Padres, Marlins, Pirates and Rockies pitching rotations finished with a worse ERA. Aside from Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta, Price will need to build out the rest of the 2020 rotation. It's expected that the Phillies will go after Houston Astros starter Gerrit Cole in free agency. The Phillies bullpen unraveled last season after injuries hit most of their relievers.
