The Philadelphia Phillies have valued continuity ever since they broke a decade-long postseason drought in 2022 — and that meant keeping most of the behind-the-scenes forces in place. They have promoted people and retained them with higher salaries. But they could not keep an important member of the organization, Brian Kaplan, who departed Tuesday to become pitching coach for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Kaplan, who had served as the club’s assistant pitching coach and director of pitching, had been instrumental in building a program that helped the Phillies gain momentum on the mound. Caleb Cotham, the club’s pitching coach, remains. He signed a multiyear deal within the last year to stay aboard.
The #Dbacks have hired Brian Kaplan as pitching coach.
Welcome to Arizona, Brian! 🏜️ pic.twitter.com/HkxvPmEVWf
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) November 12, 2024
Free-agent pitchers and their agents raved about Zoom meetings they had in recent offseasons with Cotham and Kaplan, who worked in tandem to create improvement plans. Kaplan had never worked for a team until he took a job with the Phillies in 2022 and divested his ownership in Cressey Sports Performance, a training facility in Florida that is popular among big-league players.
One of Kaplan’s pupils at Cressey, Andrew Painter, has become an integral figure in the Phillies’ future. Kaplan and Painter were close; even as the Phillies shifted Kaplan’s focus from player development to the majors, he remained the point person for Painter’s throwing progressions as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery in July 2023.
Kaplan helped the Phillies make advancements in biomechanics and oversaw wide-sweeping changes to how the Phillies develop pitchers. The Phillies have seen some returns there; they’ve dealt under-the-radar pitching prospects in trades over the last two years. But the club has not spent much draft capital in recent seasons on acquiring pitchers.
Kaplan came to the Phillies because he had a strong relationship with Sam Fuld, who once trained as a player with Kaplan and recruited him to Philadelphia. The Phillies announced last week that Fuld will transition to president of business operations in 2026, while still having an influence on baseball decisions.
The Phillies could promote from within to fill Kaplan’s departure. César Ramos, a former big-league reliever who was the bullpen coach in 2024, is well-regarded within the organization. Ryan Buchter, another former big-league reliever, earned positive reviews at Triple-A Lehigh Valley in 2024. He could receive a promotion to the majors in some capacity.
It’s the first time in at least five years that another club has hired away a coach from the Phillies’ MLB staff.
(Photo: Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images)
