Baltimore Orioles Targeting Coveted Candidate for Pitching Coach Role

Despite the major success of the Baltimore Orioles last season, they announced some surprising shakeups to their coaching staff heading into 2024.

The most notable was pitching coach and director of pitching, Chris Holt, would not return as the pitching coach for next season.

He'll still serve as the director of pitching where he'll be in a direct overseeing role across the entire organization as the Orioles look to continue developing pitchers within their pipeline.

However, that change means they need someone to take over the everyday pitching coach role with the MLB roster.

According to Ken Rosenthal and Brendan Kuty of The Athletic, Baltimore has their sights set on a coveted candidate.

"[Andrew] Bailey, who pitched in the Yankees’ organization in 2015, making 10 major-league appearances, also is a candidate for the Red Sox’s and Orioles’ pitching-coach jobs, sources said," the two reported in their story.

The former Major League pitcher spent eight seasons with five different teams, winning American League Rookie of the Year in 2009 and being selected as an All-Star twice.

He got his first coaching job with the Los Angeles Angels in 2019 as their bullpen coach. He was then hired by the San Francisco Giants to be their pitching coach.

The New York Mets requested to interview him for their bench coach job in 2022 but was denied permission by the Giants.

Now, as a free agent, he can take any role he wants.

"A return to the East Coast likely would be enticing for Bailey, a South Jersey native and alumnus of Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y.," Rosenthal and Kuty also report.

Where the Orioles sit on his hierarchy of interest isn't known as of now.

Out of the three teams interested in the coveted coach, Baltimore is the only team he has no connection with after playing for both the Yankees and Red Sox.

Still, there's no question that the Orioles are viewed as a favorable situation and opportunity. It all depends on if Bailey sees it the same way.