The Diamondbacks are going so as to add Wellington Cepeda to their teaching workers, experiences Isaac Azout of Fish on First (X hyperlink). He’ll function bullpen coach and assistant pitching coach for the Snakes.
It’s a homecoming for Cepeda, as he has spent a few years within the Diamondbacks’ system. As a participant, he pitched for them within the minors from 1997 to 2000, although he didn’t attain greater than the Excessive-A stage. After his enjoying days had been completed, he moved into the teaching ranks, spending a few years working for minor league golf equipment in Arizona’s system.
Going into the 2020 season, he bought his first large league alternative, but it surely was with the Marlins. He spent the previous 5 years because the bullpen coach in Miami, although that group has been present process an enormous overhaul just lately. Final month, it was reported that the Marlins had been eliminating their complete teaching workers in addition to the clubhouse attendants, efficiency workers and extra.
The Diamondbacks are doing a little bit of a training shuffle as nicely, although to not the identical diploma because the Marlins. The Snakes parted methods with pitching coach Brent Strom, bullpen coach Mike Fetters and assistant pitching coach Dan Carlson final month. Brian Kaplan was later employed to exchange Strom as pitching coach and now Cepeda will come again to the Diamondbacks as a part of Kaplan’s workers.
Arizona pitchers struggled in 2024, because the workers had a collective 4.63 earned run common. That quantity was twenty seventh out of the 30 golf equipment within the majors, forward of solely the White Sox, Marlins and Rockies. They clearly really feel {that a} shakeup is required, in order that they’re making various modifications to their teaching workers on the pitching facet.