Phillies tab Price to be new pitching coach
PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies are bringing experience back to the pitching coach position in 2020. Jamie Moyer thinks they got a good one.
The team announced Thursday morning that it has hired Bryan Price to be its new pitching coach. Price, 57, managed the Reds from 2014-18, but he previously was pitching coach for the Reds (2010-13), D-backs (2006-09) and Mariners (2000-05), and was National League Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb’s pitching coach in 2006. Moyer enjoyed two 20-win seasons and two top-five American League Cy Young Award finishes with Price as pitching coach with Seattle.
“He’s going to be a really good fit,” Moyer said over the phone Thursday. “He’s a great communicator. He’s a very caring person -- caring about his staff and their well-being, not only on the field, but off the field. He’s a good mechanical guy. He works very hard at preparing himself and having his pitchers prepared to attack the hitters. I really, really enjoyed pitching for him. I just really felt that he cared. I gained his trust and he gained my trust. I really think we had a great relationship.”
Moyer, who pitched for the Phillies from 2006-10, went 20-6 with a 3.43 ERA and finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting in '01. He went 21-7 with a 3.27 ERA, made the AL All-Star team and finished fifth in AL Cy Young Award voting in '03.
“I look back to early in my career and I didn’t have that trust with my pitching coaches,” Moyer said. “As I went through my career, I found it was really important to be able to open up and share with my pitching coach. If you’re struggling and you can’t put a finger on it, the pitching coach is an important guy. He’s with you in the bullpen, between innings, in the outfield. You can talk about things. When you have that confidence to tell him anything you want and know that it’s sacred, it’s huge.
"He got to know me as a person and as an individual as well as all of his other pitchers. When you can start to understand them and have communication and be able to say, ‘Hey, Bryan, keep an eye on this for me today. I’m not feeling good here. See if you can see what I’m feeling.’ I know a lot of times after bullpen [sessions], side days, we’d just sit and talk. I did that a lot with [former Phillies pitching coach Rich] Dubee, too. I really found that to be beneficial. We’d talk about the previous game, but we also talked about the upcoming game. We might talk about what went well or what didn’t go well. Everything.”
Price replaces Chris Young, whom the team dismissed after one season. The Phillies finished 11th in the National League in ERA (4.53) and 13th in FIP (4.84). They allowed a franchise-record 258 home runs.
“Bryan’s resume speaks for itself,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. “He’s done great work with each pitching staff he has been associated with. As a former manager, Bryan will be able to add extra insight to our dugout on a daily basis. We are very fortunate to be able to add someone of his pedigree to our coaching staff.”
The Phillies still need a new hitting coach. Charlie Manuel filled the role from mid-August through the end of the year.
Stock is up
The Phillies claimed right-hander Robert Stock off waivers from the Padres. Stock, 29, had a 2.50 ERA in 32 appearances last season with San Diego. He posted a 10.13 ERA in 10 appearances this season before missing the final three months with a strained right biceps. He struck out 53 and walked 21 in 50 1/3 innings the past two seasons.
He throws a four-seam fastball, slider and changeup. His fastball averaged 97.9 mph last season.