As the Cincinnati Reds move forward after changes to their player development staff, pitching coach Derek Johnson will assume Director of Pitching duties, the club announced Thursday.
The Director of Pitching title, which is responsible for the development and communication of pitching philosophies throughout the minor leagues, was held by Kyle Boddy last season. The Reds moved on from Boddy in September after two years in the organization.
“D.J. is going to be responsible for the development and communication of our pitching philosophy and initiatives throughout the organization, from the Major League team all the way down through our minor league affiliates,” Reds general manager Nick Krall said in a statment. “There isn’t a more respected pitching coach in baseball. We think our pitchers and player development staff are going to be very receptive to his vision because he isn’t afraid to merge old school methods with new school analytics and ideas.”
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Johnson, who completed his third season with the Reds, was named Baseball America’s Major League Coach of the Year in 2019. He has a history in player development, a longtime pitching coach at Vanderbilt and he was the Chicago Cubs’ minor-league pitching coordinator from 2013-15.
The Reds added Director of Pitching and Director of Hitting titles in the organization before the start of the 2020 season, a newer trend throughout the sport. Assistant pitching coach Caleb Cotham was the organization’s first Director of Pitching in 2020, but he was hired as the Philadelphia Phillies’ pitching coach last winter.
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Assistant hitting coach Donnie Ecker was briefly the Reds’ Director of Hitting before he was hired the following month by the San Francisco Giants as their hitting coach. Assistant hitting coach Joe Mather has held the organization’s Director of Hitting title for the last two seasons.
Boddy, when he announced he was no longer working in the organization, said in a statement the Reds “are moving in a different direction in many areas of player development and I certainly wish them the best. It no longer felt like the best fit for either party.”
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