Yankees Pitching Coach Hiring Process Begins

The New York Yankees fired long-time pitching coach Larry Rothschild this week, and the team has already begun the process of finding his successor.

With the World Series coming to an end, we are back to the MLB offseason. As two of the top starters hitting the market, the Yankees are looking for an analytically driven pitching coach who can help better the rotation and bullpen throughout the entire season. This past year starters and bullpen combined, the Yankees pitchers had a 4.31 ERA and were tied for first in saves.

One person everybody would love to see get the job is former pitcher David Cone. I believe as the process gets deeper, we will see if Cone even gets an interview for the position. It was reported by ESPN’s Jeff Passan that the Yankees have interviewed University of Michigan’s pitching coach Chris Fetter.

The New York Yankees have interviewed Chris Fetter, the University of Michigan pitching coach, for their open pitching coach job, sources tell ESPN. Fetter is considered a rising star in the industry and has drawn significant interest from major league teams, including the Mets.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 30, 2019

According to sources, Fetter has been a name that has been coming up. This was stated in article in Detroit News, “Michigan’s pitching staff posted an ERA of 3.46, fantastic in the college game, where aluminum bats are in play.Michigan was 10th in the nation in ERA, and ninth in hits per nine innings (7.44).”

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Another name that was announced that will interview for the pitching coach job is Arkansas pitching coach Matt Hobbs. It was reported by Kendall Rogers:

SOURCE: In addition to interviewing @umichbaseball pitching coach Chris Fetter yesterday, the @Yankees are interviewing heralded @RazorbackBSB pitching coach Matt Hobbs in NYC today.

I don’t expect the list of college pitching coaches interviewing with the #Yankees to end there.

— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) October 30, 2019

Hobbs is a well respected pitching coach and knows his stuff. Between him and Fetter, both are young and could be on the up-rise in MLB.

Nobody knows which direction the Yankees will go when it comes to hiring their next pitching coach. They could go old school or they can go young with guys who know analytics. Rogers did state that these two guys won’t be the only college coaches the Yankees interview. As always when it comes to the offseason, we just have to play the waiting game.