AL East rival poaches key Orioles coach

Earlier this offseason, the Orioles parted ways with former Director of Pitching / pitching coach Chris Holt amid a series of changes to the major league coaching staff. Holt worked alongside Orioles' GM Mike Elias when the two were together in the Astros organization and Elias brought Holt over to Baltimore after his hire back in 2019.

Holt served in a variety of roles during his time in Baltimore. Early on, he was the team's minor league pitching coordinator before stepping into the Director of Pitching role in 2020. Holt also worked as the O's pitching coach from 2021-2023 before moving back to the sole Director position for the 2024 season.

Under Holt's direction, the Orioles have seen a number of success stories in the organization. He's not solely responsible for the success of guys like Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer, and Grayson Rodriguez, but his strategies, alongside the work of Elias and the rest of the O's front office, have put Baltimore in a desirable position heading into the 2025 season and beyond.

Former Orioles' Director of Pitching Chris Holt is set to sign with the Red Sox

As reported by Roch Kubatko of MASN, Holt left the organization a few weeks back and is now in line to become the bullpen coach for the Boston Red Sox.

As mentioned by Steven Adams of MLB Trade Rumors, the scope of Holt's role will be condensed as he'll be prioritizing the major league bullpen rather than an entire organization's pitching strategy. The Red Sox have struggled to effectively develop major league pitchers for some time now. Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford are trying to buck that trend but overall the Sox are in need of a boost.

It's possible that Holt will be able to provide them with it. Under the guidance of Elias and his front office team, the Orioles have been rebuilt from the ground up over the last five years. Holt has had proven success with his methodology, so we'll have to wait and see if he's able to get similar results out of the Sox bullpen.

While we'll wish Holt well, we'll have to also wish for limited success in his new role. A more effective Red Sox team will be trouble for these Orioles as they seek to get back to the top of the division in 2025.