The Philadelphia Phillies can’t seem to find a stable pitching coach
By David Esser
The Philadelphia Phillies pitching coach Bryan Price to retirement on Sunday.
The Philadelphia Phillies were already GM-less, and now they are pitching coach-less too. In a fairly surprising turn of events, well respected pitching coach Bryan Price informed Joe Girardi and the Phillies that he would no longer be working with the team in a full-time capacity. The move was fairly unprompted, and now leaves the Phils scrambling for their fifth pitching coach in as many years.
Next season, the Phillies will be on their fifth pitching coach in five years.
— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) October 18, 2020
2017 - Bob McClure
2018 - Rick Kranitz
2019 - Chris Young
2020 - Bryan Price
2021 - ???
When Girardi agreed to come in and manage the Phillies this past offseason, one of the first calls he made in terms of building his coaching staff was to Price. Regarded as one of the better pitching minds in all of baseball, the 58 year old Price projected to be a valuable piece to the Phillies organization moving forward.
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Price had some legitimate success with the Phils starting rotation, helping mold Zack Wheeler into a legitimate ace-caliber talent, while also unlocking Zach Eflin‘s curveball. Even Aaron Nola had a solid bounce-back season under Price’s guidance.
The 2020 Philadelphia Phillies bullpen was obviously pretty miserable, but it’s hard to pin that on anyone but Matt Klentak. Career minor-leaguers like Deolis Guerra made the Opening Day roster, and there’s simply only so much a pitching coach can do with that.
Price did start to have some late-season success with rookie bullpen pieces JoJo Romero and Connor Brogdon. Considering their age and their above average velocity, that was a developmental track that I was excited about moving forward. The fear is that the loss of Price could stunt their overall growth.
Like previously mentioned, the retirement came as quite the surprise to Girardi and the Phillies organization, and they now have to replace two major organizational roles this offseason. The general manager spot is still vacant, and Girardi will have to begin searching for new pitching coach candidates.
Price cited missing his family as the main reason for his departure, but it’s hard not to feel like the team’s horrific bullpen performance last season didn’t play a role in his impromptu retirement. I’m not saying Price doesn’t actually miss his family, but I personally wouldn’t be excited at the idea of another season working with the likes of David Phelps in 2021. Understandable if Price felt the same way.
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Rotating through so many different pitching coaches is definitely less than ideal, as players tend to form relationships with their coaches, which normally leads to a certain level of consistency and familiarity. Throw in the fact that the Phillies will likely be losing their All Star catcher in free agency, and it could be a long 2021 for some of the team’s go-to arms.