The Arizona Diamondbacks are moving on from three coaches with ties to their pitching department, including pitching coach Brent Strom, reported MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert.
D-backs assistant pitching coach Dan Carlson and bullpen coach Mike Fetters will also not return in their current roles, Arizona Sports’ John Gambadoro confirmed. Gambadoro added that the team is not expected to make any other changes to its coaching staff.
SI.com’s Jack Sommers reported that Strom said he was caught off guard by the firing and had a year left on his deal.
Arizona finished the regular season with the fourth-highest ERA (4.63) in baseball last year and missed the playoffs at 89-73 despite having the best offense in baseball.
Strom, 75, had retired upon leaving the Astros in 2021 but was hired in November of that year. He spent 2014-21 with Houston.
Carlson had pitched for the D-backs in 1999 and came up through the team’s farm system.
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Fetters also had two stints (2002, 2004) with Arizona as a player before joining the team’s coaching staff in 2012.
Why did the D-backs fire pitching coaches Brent Strom, Dan Carlson and Mike Fetters?
On the field in 2024, the Diamondbacks fell far short of expectations considering they spent considerable money to improve the staff after it rode a strong bullpen and three starters into the World Series a year ago.
The D-backs inked lefty Eduardo Rodriguez to a four-year deal with a fifth-year vesting option that paid out $14 million this past season.
Late in free agency, it added fellow lefty Jordan Montgomery to a one-year deal that paid $25 million in 2024 with a vesting option for 2025. D-backs owner Ken Kendrick has since called Montgomery’s deal a “horrible decision” after he finished with a 6.23 ERA.
Rodriguez (5.04 ERA) and starter Merrill Kelly (4.03) combined to start 23 games between them as they began the year on the injured list.
Brandon Pfaadt (32 starts) and Zac Gallen (28) led the charge instead, while Ryne Nelson (25) developed into a more-than-reliable starter and Slade Cecconi (23) and Tommy Henry (seven) struggled in spot starts.
Arizona’s starting pitchers posted a 4.79 ERA, which was fourth-worst in the majors this season.
Its bullpen hardly fared better, finishing sixth-worst with a 4.41 ERA. The group never found consistency before or after an aggressive trade deadline.
Closer Paul Sewald lost his job in the middle of the season before ending the year on the injured list, and 23-year-old Justin Martinez got his first burn in high-leverage roles, closing with eight saves, nine holds and two blown saves. He finished with a 2.48 ERA.
The D-backs’ trade deadline moves to acquire Dylan Floro and A.J. Puk came with mixed results.
Floro floundered and was designated for assignment before the end of the season.
Puk cruised until a fateful penultimate game of the year: Arizona suffered a 5-0 loss to the San Diego Padres that saw Puk enter with an out and 0-0 game in the top of the ninth before he allowed three earned runs and was pulled. Puk still finished with a 1.32 ERA and four earned runs over 27.1 innings pitched with Arizona.