Red Sox 'Close To Hiring' Highly-Coveted Former Player To Coaching Staff

Boston will have another former player in the organization

Scott Neville | Nov 14, 2023

Red Sox 'Close To Hiring' Highly-Coveted Former Player To Coaching Staff /

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Boston Red Sox

The Boston Red Sox have yet to sign a free agent but they already have won a bidding war against the New York Yankees and possibly other inter-division foes.

Boston has been in pursuit of one of the hottest young coaches in the game and reportedly has reached the final stages of negotiations.

"Red Sox close to hiring Andrew Bailey as pitching coach," The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported late Tuesday night.

Bailey had interest from both the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles; the Miami Marlins were rumored to be a landing spot as well.

The former San Francisco Giants pitching coach wanted to move to the East Coast to be close to his family and his relationship with Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow put Boston over the top.

The two were throwing partners while they overlapped in Boston and even run a foundation together.

Still, the Yankees interviewed Bailey for the bench coach job, a role typically deemed to be ahead of the pitching coach on the depth chart.

Even with the connection to Boston and its leader of baseball operations, Breslow winning the bidding war is impressive given the Yankees' strong push.

Bailey played for the Red Sox for two seasons and won a World Series in 2013 alongside Breslow. He joins a growing list of former players in leadership roles.

More MLB: Star Second Baseman Reportedly Placed On Trade Block; Red Sox Could Be Suitors

Published Nov 14, 2023

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu