Phillies lose key staff member as Diamondbacks hire former assistant as pitching coach
The Phillies lost a key member of their coaching staff as the Arizona Diamondbacks poached one of the leaders in Philadelphia’s pitching program.
Brian Kaplan, the Phillies’ big-league assistant pitching coach and the club’s director of pitching development for the past three seasons, has been hired as the D-backs pitching coach, the team announced Tuesday. He replaces Brent Strom, who was fired by Arizona last month.
The Phillies previously announced that their entire coaching staff would be back for 2025 prior to Kaplan landing this new role.
Kaplan — a former college pitcher at Notre Dame and the co-founder of Cressey Sports Performance, a training and development facility in Florida — was hired by the Phillies before the 2022 season to serve under pitching coach Caleb Cotham and help guide the direction of their pitching throughout the organization. Philadelphia has found success in all three seasons since Kaplan came aboard, and the pitching staff has fueled a lot of that.
The team’s rotation has become a weapon in recent years, led by top-level starters Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola and the emergence of left-handers Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez. The Phillies have also had developmental wins in the bullpen with José Alvarado putting together elite stretches and flier signings like Andrew Bellatti and Jeff Hoffman turning into slam dunks. Cotham and Kaplan deserve a lot of credit for how the operation has fared.
Kaplan will have his work cut out for him in Arizona with a pitching staff that had a 4.62 team ERA this past year, the fourth worst mark in the majors.
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