Phillies hire Cotham as pitching coach

The Phillies announced today the hiring of former major leaguer Caleb Cotham as the team’s new pitching coach. Cotham replaces Bryan Price, who retired following the 2020 season.

“Caleb has many strengths as a pitching coach that we believe will help him excel with our staff,” said Phillies Manager Joe Girardi. “He has a very good feel for evaluating pitchers and getting them back on track when things start to go wrong. The pitchers in Cincinnati were very complimentary of his game-planning ability and knowing how to play to each one of their strengths. Caleb is a tremendous competitor whose experience as both a major league pitcher and major league coach will enhance our staff.”

Cotham, 33, spent the 2019 and 2020 seasons as the assistant pitching coach for the Cincinnati Reds. In 2020, he had director of pitching added to his title. This past season, Cincinnati’s pitching staff led the National League in strikeouts (615) and finished second in both ERA (3.84) and lowest opponents’ batting average (.215), behind only the eventual world champion Los Angeles Dodgers in both categories (3.02 and .213, respectively).

A fifth-round selection by the New York Yankees in the 2009 MLB Draft out of Vanderbilt University, Cotham pitched professionally for seven seasons (2009-15), including 35 major league appearances over the 2015-16 seasons for the Yankees and Reds.