Atlanta Braves general manager John Coppolella announced today that the club has hired Dom Chiti to serve as the team's Director of Pitching and Dave Wallace to work as a Special Assistant to Pitching. Both men previously held positions within the Braves baseball operations department.
"We are excited to bring Dom Chiti and Dave Wallace back into the Braves organization," Coppolella said. "They are both highly regarded and will bring a wealth of knowledge to assist our young pitching prospects."
Chiti returns to the Braves organization after spending the previous three seasons, 2014 through 2016, as the Baltimore Orioles bullpen coach. The 2017 season will mark Chiti's 42nd year in professional baseball as a player, coach, scout and front office staff member, and his sixth season in a front office position with Atlanta. In his previous stint with the Atlanta, Chiti worked in a variety of roles over a five-year period, from 2009 to 2013, that included special assistant to the general manager, Major League scout and pitching development. The former pitcher was a 1976 Atlanta draft selection and played six years in the minor leagues before retiring from his playing career and moving into a coaching role in 1982.
Wallace also returns to the Braves organization for his second stint after working the previous three years (2014-16) as the Baltimore Orioles pitching coach. Wallace, who has spent over 45 years as a player, coach, front office executive and advisor in professional baseball, worked four seasons, from 2010 to 2013, as the Braves minor league pitching coordinator. Since taking his first position as a coach with the Vero Beach Dodgers in 1981, the former right-handed pitcher has worked for seven professional franchises over a 36-year span in a variety of roles at both the major and minor league levels.