Red Sox looking at former reliever for next pitching coach, Blue Jays hire former coach, and Kiké Hernández has surgery
Red Sox news and notes at the GM Meetings
The Red Sox have been searching for a new pitching coach ever since they fired Dave Bush in October. No names have been formally mentioned, but Andrew Bailey has been widely speculated of being a fit after he was relieved of his duties with the San Francisco Giants.
Speaking at the GM Meetings, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told the Boston Globe’s Alex Speier the Red Sox are lining up a long list of candidates for a pitching coach. When asked if that would include Bailey he said “to be determined.”
Chris Cotillo of MassLive added to what Speier posted, “I’ve been told (Andrew) Bailey is very much in the running for the pitch coach job.”
Bailey has a clear connection to Breslow as they were teammates in Boston for two season in 2012 and 2013. They were also offseason throwing partners.
Off the field they run the Strike 3 Foundation that Breslow founded. His foundation focuses on heightening awareness and raising funds for childhood cancer.
Last season under Bailey, the Giants finished third in the NL in team ERA at 4.02.
Carlos Febles headed north of the border
The Toronto Blue Jays have hired Carlos Febles to be their new third base coach.
Febles was held the same title with the Red Sox since 2017 until being dismissed in October.
The 47-year-old played six seasons with the Royals and spent the 2004 season with Triple-A Pawtucket. He then spent three seasons as a minor league coach before managing Short-A Lowell in 2011. Febles also served as manager of Double-A Greenville (2012-13), High-A Salem (2014-15) and Double-A Portland (2016-17).
With the struggles defensively in the infield in this last season Boston had chosen to look for a new person in that position.
Kiké Hernández undergoes offseason surgery
Speaking about defensive struggles, Kiké Hernández underwent double-hernia surgery on October 24th according to Ken Rosenthal.
Hernández is expected to resume baseball activities in 3-4 weeks.
This injury could have certainly contributed to the down year the utility veteran had. Hernandez is currently a free agent after being traded from the Red Sox to the Dodgers. Unfortunately, he was unable to have a good contract year.
The 32 year old struggled offensively hitting only .230 with only six homeruns. While playing out of position Hernández committed 14 errors with the Red Sox prior to the trade. Overall, between Boston and Los Angeles, his season resulted in a -1.3 WAR.
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