Some sad news has come out of Andrew Friedman’s presser this morning as he announced that long-time pitching coach Rick Honeycutt will no longer be in that role with the Dodgers. Instead, he will move into a special assistant role.
Rick Honeycutt will transition into a special assistant role for 2020. Mark Prior assumed to be pitching coach next season.
— Dodgers Nation (@DodgersNation) October 14, 2019
This role could benefit the Dodgers in a big way due to the nature of Honeycutt’s extensive experience around baseball. Honeycutt, 65, has been the Dodgers’ pitching coach since 2006. The 2019 season will mark the end of a 14-year tenure with the club.
On the move, Friedman expanded a bit.
His fingerprints are all over the success of this team — he’s not going anywhere.
The Dodgers are expected to announce their pitching coach replacement soon and the early favorite for the vacancy appears to be current bullpen coach Mark Prior. Prior was brought aboard prior to the 2019 season.
Under the direction of Rick Honeycutt as the Dodgers’ pitching coach, the Dodgers have won nine division titles and two pennants. He always seemed to be a fixture in the Dodgers dugout across all the managerial experiences the Dodgers have experienced. From Grady Little to Joe Torre to Don Mattingly and currently Dave Roberts, Honeycutt has always been there.
This was expected sooner rather than later with Honeycutt’s tenure in and around baseball growing longer. He will now move into the front office with a role that could properly utilize his expertise.
