After one of the most successful seasons in franchise history, multiple members of the Los Angeles Dodgers coaching staff and front office have been poached by other clubs. It came as no surprise, as they all played a big part in the Dodgers winning 104 games and reaching their first World Series in 1988.
Within the front office, former director of player development Gabe Kapler became manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, and former vice president of baseball operations Alex Anthopoulos was hired to be the executive vice president and general manager of the Atlanta Braves.
On the coaching side, former assistant hitting coach Tim Hyers was named hitting coach of the Boston Red Sox, and former bullpen coach Josh Bard becoming the bench coach of the New York Yankees.
It appears the Dodgers have found Bard’s replacement, as according to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, they hired former Chicago Cubs All-Star pitcher Mark Prior as their next bullpen coach:
Mark Prior will serve as Dodgers' bullpen coach, source says.
— Tim Brown (@TBrownYahoo) January 3, 2018
Prior was once one of the most promising young stars in baseball with the Cubs after being drafted second overall in 2001 out of USC. His career was cut short due to injuries though, as the 37-year-old last pitched in the big leagues in 2006.
In wasn’t until Dec. 2013 that he officially announced his retirement, and has since pursued a career in coaching. Prior spent the past few seasons as a Minor League pitching coordinator for the San Diego Padres.
Although he reportedly has joined the Dodgers as bullpen coach, Prior could end up being Rick Honeycutt’s successor as pitching coach. There was some suspicion that Honeycutt would be retiring at the end of the 2017 season, but president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman recently said that he will be returning for at least one more season.
