Former Phillies Pitcher Reportedly Close to Being Hired by Red Sox

Former Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher, Andrew Bailey, is close to to being named the Boston Red Sox pitching coach.

Former Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher, Andrew Bailey, is close to finalizing a deal to become the next pitching coach of the Boston Red Sox according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.

After it was reported that the New York Yankees interviewed Bailey to be the team's bench coach, the 39-year-old looks to be taking a role with the Red Sox.

Bailey has spent the last four seasons with the San Francisco Giants, serving as the pitching coach.

Not only were the Yankees interested in adding the former big leaguer, but the Baltimore Orioles were also reportedly interested in him being their pitching coach. Bailey was one of the most sought-after coaching names in the carousel. 

With Boston needing to make a major change in their pitching department, this is the perfect opportunity for them. As a team last season, the Red Sox had an ERA in the bottom-10, posting a 4.52.

After winning the Rookie of the Year award and being named an All-Star in the first two seasons of his Major League Baseball career. He had a 1.84 ERA in his first season, appearing in 83 1/3 innings. After his impressive rookie campaign, Bailey responded with a 1.47 ERA in 49 innings.

Following those seasons, the young star struggled a bit. 

In 2015, Bailey had initially signed a minor league contract with the Phillies and spent less than a season with them as he was released in August of 2016.

While the Red Sox don't have much in their rotation at the moment, they're expected to add a few arms this offseason.

Bailey will now be in charge of making them perform.