The Red Sox Have Hired Dave Bush As Their New Pitching Coach

Portnoy yelled at me for not breaking news, so I’ve changed my ways and given you the new Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer and the new pitching coach before anybody else. You’re welcome.

Dave Bush is your new Red Sox pitching coach after the team decided to move Dana LeVangie from pitching coach to a pro scout. Fall guy like you read about after an injury-plagued season for the Red Sox pitching staff. Regardless, Bush is the guy and he brings with him a vast knowledge of analytics and the Red Sox pitching staff, as he had previously served as Red Sox minor league pitching performance coordinator.

Here’s what Alex Speier of the Boston Globe has on Bush:

This past year, his role was redefined as that of a minor league coordinator of pitching performance, a role in which he worked with pitchers and pitching coaches to shape pitch mixes and pitch sequences. Bush also spent time working with the big league staff during the season in 2019, making him familiar to most of the returning pitchers with whom he’s now likely to work.

Sounds good to me. Anyone who works closely with Brian Bannister gets my seal of approval. There’s no doubt that the Red Sox pitching staff will be in good hands as it pertains to their preparation and wealth of information. My concern, still, is the health of these arms.

We still have no idea what kind of condition Chris Sale is in, David Price has shown signs of wear and tear over the last couple of years, and Nathan Eovaldi has historically not been able to stay healthy. You’ve got Rick Porcello hitting free agency (although a little birdie told me that he was at Fenway Park on Wednesday), and then Eduardo Rodriguez rounds out your rotation.

Preparation and coaching — check. Health? Not so much.