PHOENIX -- Mike Harkey has been selected as the Diamondbacks' pitching coach, a source with knowledge of the process said Wednesday afternoon. The official announcement is expected to come after the Thanksgiving weekend, probably Monday. Harkey, a hard-throwing right-hander who was the fourth player selected in the first round of the 1987 draft, has been the New York Yankees' bullpen coach since 2008, when he joined manager Joe Girardi's original staff in New York. Harkey also served as the Yankees' interim pitching coach in June 2010, when Dave Eiland took time off for personal reasons. D-backs general manager Kevin Towers was a special assistant to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman in 2010 before being hired by the D-backs in late September that year. The Harkey hire is the latest in a series of moves designed to help the pitching staff, which started with the hiring of veteran pitching coach Dave Duncan to the newly created position of special adviser to the general manager/pitching consultant. Duncan will oversee all facets of the pitching game at all levels. The D-backs were 10th in the National League with a 3.92 ERA and were tied for ninth with 87 quality starts, in part because of long-term injuries to Trevor Cahill and Brandon McCarthy, the Nos. 2-3 starters when the season began. The bullpen had 29 failed save conversions, tied with Houston for the most in the majors.
The staff gave up a league-high 176 home runs and led the majors with 84 wild pitches, although the catchers figured into that number. Towers has said pitching inside is a priority in 2014, expressing disappointment that the D-backs did not keep hitters honest last season by using both sides of the plate. The D-backs also interviewed Brad Arnsberg, among a group of others, for the vacancy created when Charles Nagy was fired a week after the 2013 season ended. Nagy came to the D-backs as a member Kirk Gibson's first staff in 2011. Arnsberg joined the D-backs as the pitching rehab coordinator last season after serving as a pitching coach in Florida, Toronto and Houston. Harkey, who starred at Cal-Fullerton, broke into the majors with the Cubs in 1988 at the age of 21 and had his best years with the Cubs, going 12-6 with a 3.26 ERA in 1990 and 10-10 with a 5.26 ERA in 1993 as a member of the starting rotation. Arm injuries limited him to 11 appearances in 1991-92. He also pitched for Colorado, Oakland and both Los Angeles franchises before retiring after the 1997 season. He was 36-36 with a 4.49 ERA in 131 major league games, 104 starts.
NOTES: Left-hander Tony Sipp, who was designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for Bo Schultz and Ender Inciarte last week, cleared outright waivers Wednesday and chose to declare for free agency rather than accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Reno. Follow Jack Magruder on Twitter
