The first order of business for newly-hired Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire will be figuring out who will his coaching staff consist of. A major point of emphasis will be the pitching coach. Detroit posted numbers at or near the bottom in every major pitching category this past season.
Sources are reporting that a previously fired pitching coach, Chris Bosio, could be a candidate for the same position with the Tigers.
Chris Bosio top candidate to be #Tigers’ pitching coach under new manager Ron Gardenhire, sources tell The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) October 26, 2017
Bosio, 54, had spent the last six seasons as the pitching coach for the Chicago Cubs. He deserves most if not all the credit for the Cubs’ outstanding pitching performances in their 2016 World Series-winning campaign. More specifically, he is credited by many for the resurrection of Jake Arrieta into a front line type of starter, as well as the surprising development of Kyle Hendricks, who led all of baseball in ERA in 2016.
Bosio was relieved of his duties earlier this week after the team lost in the NLCS to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Prior to his time with the Cubs, his other major league stops include one year with the Tampa Bay Rays (2003) and one with the Milwaukee Brewers (2009). Sprinkled throughout and in between are several minor league and college stints that further elevate his credibility and craft.
A former big league pitcher himself, Bosio spent 11 seasons in the show — seven with the Brewers and four with the Seattle Mariners — pitching in over 300 games from 1986-96, most of which were as a starter.
Regardless of whoever is named the next Tigers pitching coach, they will surely have their work cut out for them. Patience will be of the utmost importance. Said candidate will be working primarily with a lot of younger, unproven pitchers. Among the bigger tasks will be the continued development of guys like Michael Fulmer, Matt Boyd and Daniel Norris, as well as fixing struggling, highly-priced veteran Jordan Zimmermann.
Bosio is one of many big-name pitching coaches out on the free agent market, if you will, since season’s end. Among them include former Rays pitching coach Jim Hickey and previously-fired Red Sox manager John Farrell, who has always been a pitching-first figure in the game.
