O's find bullpen coach to complete staff

Brandon Hyde’s 2020 coaching staff is complete. The Orioles filled the last of their three coaching vacancies for next season, reaching an agreement with former Rockies bullpen coach Darren Holmes to fill that same role in Baltimore. The Orioles announced Hyde's full 2020 coaching staff on Tuesday.

Holmes, 53, fills the void left by Josh Wasdin, whose contract was not renewed after last season. Holmes had been the Rockies’ bullpen coach since 2015, and the Braves’ biomechanics pitching consultant before that.

Originally a 16th-round pick of the Dodgers in 1984, Holmes pitched for eight teams over a 13-season career from 1990-2003, posting a 4.25 ERA across 557 appearances. Five of those appearances came with the Orioles, during a brief cameo in 2000. Holmes pitched for three different teams that year, did not play professionally the following season, then finished his career with two seasons in Atlanta.

Prior to joining Colorado’s staff in 2015, Holmes served as a director and biomechanics specialist at Acceleration Sports Institute in Greenville, S.C., where he oversaw training protocol for Olympic athletes among other amateurs. He has also studied at Driveline Baseball, the Settle-based data-driven training facility founded by current Reds Minor League pitching coordinator Kyle Boddy.

In Baltimore, Holmes joins Anthony Sanders (first base/outfield) and Fredi Gonzalez (Major League coach) as newcomers on staff for Hyde’s second year, along with holdovers Don Long (hitting coach), Tim Cossins (Major League field coordinator), Jose Hernandez (assistant hitting coach), Doug Brocail (pitching coach) and Jose David Flores (third base/infield coach).