Baltimore Orioles Hire Rising Pitching Coach for 2024 Season
Following the incredible year that saw the Baltimore Orioles win 101 games and win the American League East division, there were some surprising changes made after the season.
Perhaps none was more surprising than the Orioles announcing that pitching coach Chris Holt would not return in that role for 2024. Baltimore's pitching staff had a marked improvement during his tenure, which is why it was seen as an interesting move.
However, Holt is still part of the franchise and maintains his role as director of pitching, where he will oversee the entire organization's pitching staff and not be limited to just the MLB roster on gamedays.
Mike Elias and manager Brandon Hyde likely view his developmental skills as more important to the long term success of the Orioles than having him work with the pitchers everyday.
But, that move also created a need on Baltimore's coaching staff.
On Wednesday, Roch Kubatko of MASN reported that Drew French has been hired as pitching coach for the 2024 season to fill that need.
He comes over from the Atlanta Braves where he has been their bullpen coach since the 2021 season after being hired in December of 2020.
Prior to his tenure with the Braves, French was part of the Houston Astros' organization, which is where he and Elias met.
He first joined the Astros in 2016 after spending time in the college ranks. French worked his way into the pitching coach of their Triple-A affiliate in 2019 and was a pitching coach at their alternate training site during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, before working with the club’s taxi squad at the end of the year and playoffs.
Now, he'll take over as the Orioles' pitching coach as he continues to climb the coaching ranks within Major League Baseball.
