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, according to Kubtako.
Holt left the Baltimore staff at the end of the season as the organization underwent a coaching overhaul after he limped to the finish line and quickly exited after the season for the second straight year. He was one of several coaches/instructors replaced, joining hitting coaches Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte.
Baltimore general manager Mike Elias knew Holt from the two's time together in the Astros organization. He hired Holt as the Orioles' new minor league pitching coordinator in 2019. Holt rose to become a major league pitching coach and was eventually promoted even further by being tasked with overseeing the entire organization's pitching practices. Holt served in these roles concurrently to develop a coherent, top-down vision for the team's entire major league personnel and pitching development efforts.
Holt will join the Red Sox team and become more focused in his duties. He will take part in a revamped pitching workout in Boston that began when Craig Breslow, a former big league reliever entering his second season as the team's chief baseball officer, coached former Sox reliever Andrew Bailey of the Giants trainers hired as the club's new pitcher. Holt will also work closely with another Breslow addition from last offseason: Red Sox pitching director Justin Willard (the same role Holt held in Baltimore and that Breslow himself held with the Cubs before getting the top job in Boston ).
Holt assumes a role that was vacated when the Sox fired six coaches, including bullpen coach Kevin Walker, at the end of the season. Walker had been on the job since being hired by former Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom in 2020.
