CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds have cut ties with longtime pitching coach Derek Johnson, ending an eight-season run that began with one of the most respected reputations in baseball.
Johnson, 55, left the team in June for personal reasons and never returned this season. Team president Nick Krall announced the decision in a written statement: “Derek Johnson took a personal leave of absence in June of this year and will not be returning. We wish Derek and his family the best. A search for a new pitching coach will begin immediately.” The team did not disclose details of the leave or the reason for parting ways now.
Johnson was hired after three seasons as the Milwaukee Brewers’ pitching coach and was named Baseball America’s 2019 Major League Coach of the Year. But Cincinnati’s pitching staff struggled badly this season — the starting rotation ranked near the bottom of Major League Baseball in several major categories after ranking among the top two or three a year ago.
The move kicks off what is expected to be a busy offseason for the Reds, who must now find a new voice to lead a pitching staff in need of a rebound.
