Detroit Tigers hire Chris Bosio as new pitching coach

CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 26: Jake Arrieta #49 of the Chicago Cubs meets on the pitcher's mound with pitching coach Chris Bosio #25 and teammates during the first inning in Game Two of the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on October 26, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - OCTOBER 26: Jake Arrieta #49 of the Chicago Cubs meets on the pitcher's mound with pitching coach Chris Bosio #25 and teammates during the first inning in Game Two of the 2016 World Series against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field on October 26, 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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Detroit Tigers fans will see a new pitching coach in 2018. The team announced the 2018 coaching staff in a tweet on Thursday. Chris Bosio will serve as pitching coach.

Detroit Tigers pitching coach Chris Bosio.

Has a nice ring to it, right?

Detroit announced the hire in a tweet from the team’s official Twitter account on Friday afternoon.

The Tigers tweeted out a picture announcing the team’s coaching staff for 2018. Among the group was Bosio as pitching coach.

Bosio has previously served as the pitching coach for three different franchises.

He was Tampa Bay’s pitching coach in 2003 back when they were called the Devil Rays.

Related Story: Who is Tigers #2 SP?

He also served as Milwaukee’s pitching coach in 2009 and held the same title with the Chicago Cubs from 2012 to 2017.

The 54-year-old has plenty of experience with rebuilding situations, as he previously helped Chicago go from National League Central the cellar to World Series champs in 2016.

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Cubs’ pitching

Since Bosio took over, Chicago’s pitching staff ranks ninth in the league in fWAR, which is notable considering the team had win totals of 61, 66 and 73 in his first three years in charge.

In the last three seasons, when the Cubs have rattled off win totals of 97, 103 and 92, the team ranks sixth in fWAR.

They also rank first in ERA, second in WHIP, third in xFIP, fourth in FIP and SIERA and fifth in strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Admittedly, the Cubs have had some stellar pitching performances over that span, from Jake Arrieta and John Lester to Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey.

However, both Arrieta and Hendricks flourished under the pitching coach, with Arrieta logging a 18.6 fWAR, not to mention the 2015 Cy Young.

Meanwhile, Hendricks owns a 11.8 fWAR in the same span. He finished third, six spots above Arrieta, in the Cy Young voting during the 2016 season.

Detroit Tigers
DENVER, CO – AUGUST 29: Starting pitcher Michael Fulmer #32 of the Detroit Tigers delivers to home plate against the Colorado Rockies during the first inning of an interleague game at Coors Field on August 29, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

Another pitcher who found plenty of success under Bosio’s tutelage was southpaw reliever Brian Duensing.

The former Twins hurler worked to a 0.7 fWAR, 8.81 strikeouts per nine innings, a 2.74 ERA, a 3.41 FIP, a 3.57 SIERA and a 3.82 xFIP in 62.1 innings.

It will certainly be worth watching to see Bosio work with Tigers pitchers like Michael Fulmer, Daniel Norris, Matthew Boyd and Joe Jimenez.

The future

Long-term, the potential of Bosio overseeing the development of the likes of Franklin Perez, Beau Burrows, Alex Faedo, Matt Manning, Kyle Funkhouser, Joe Jimenez, Jairo Labourt, Grayson Long and others will certainly be worth watching.

Next: Luke Gregerson worth a look as potential late-inning arm

The group has the Tigers setup up for an extremely bright future pitching-wise on their own, but with Bosio now added to the equation, that future could be that much brighter.