Diamondbacks hire pitching coach Brian Kaplan, who replaces fired Brent Strom

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks hired Brian Kaplan on Tuesday to be the team's pitching coach.

Kaplan has spent the past three seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies as an assistant pitching coach and director of pitching. The Phillies had one of the best starting rotations in the big leagues last season with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sánchez and Ranger Suarez.

He was also a consultant for the Phillies from 2019-21.

Kaplan replaced Brent Strom, who was fired after the D-backs finished last season with a 4.62 ERA, which ranked 27th among the 30 teams. Arizona missed the playoffs despite scoring the most runs in baseball.

Kaplan is also a co-founder of Cressey Sports Performance, a training facility used by stars like Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Corey Kluber and Devin Williams.

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