Yankees to Hire Matt Blake as Pitching Coach

The New York Yankees are expected to hire Matt Blake of the Cleveland Indians as their new pitching coach to replace Larry Rothschild.

The New York Yankees are expected to hire Matt Blake as their new pitching coach, per multiple reports Thursday night.

After firing Larry Rothschild earlier in the offseason, the Yankees worked quickly to find his successor. Though Blake isn’t a well-known name, he will be the one leading the pitching staff. The news was first reported by Jeff Passan of ESPN. It should be noted this isn’t official until the team announces the move.

Blake was previously the pitching coordinator for the Cleveland Indians. They had promoted him to the director of pitching development. Not much is known about Blake, but he seems to have an interesting blend of coaching and analytics—traits the Yankees were certainly looking for.

Blake also has a bit of a history with the Yankees. He began his career working with the Bronx Bombers as an area scout. He joined the Indians coaching staff as the pitching coordinator in 2015.

After the Yankees fired Rothschild, they quickly got to work. They interviewed a pair of college coaches. They also brought in fan-favorite David Cone for an interview. Cone appeared to be a solid match for the Yankees given his expertise and willingness to use analytics.

The Yankees have a promising pitching staff with room to add more this offseason. Blake will now be the one to lead a group consisting of Luis Severino, James Paxton and Masahiro Tanaka.

How it will work out remains to be seen, but the Yankees made their first move of the offseason.