MILWAUKEE -- Outgoing Brewers pitching coach Derek Johnson sent a group text to players on Wednesday night after the news broke that he was leaving for the same job with the rival Reds.
The recipients were stunned. Coupled with hitting coach Darnell Coles' resignation six days earlier, it was the second voluntary departure of a high-profile Brewers coach in less than a week, and while Coles was introduced Wednesday by a D-backs team that has contended in recent seasons, Johnson left a Brewers team that made it to Game 7 of the National League Championship Series and is stocked with promising young pitchers for a Reds club undergoing a staff overhaul in the wake of a fourth straight last-place finish.
• Crew eyes pitching coach as Johnson departs
The departures naturally sparked speculation of unrest on Milwaukee's coaching staff. But if there was anything behind Johnson's decision other than a new challenge and a lucrative contract, it would be news to some of the pitchers with whom he was closest.
"If there was [friction], then they had a good way of hiding it," said Zach Davies, whose first full season with the Brewers in 2016 coincided with Johnson's hiring. "My sense of the coaches and players was that it's one team that came together and bought into the fact that we don't have an entire roster filled with superstars, but that we can win in other ways. We showed that. We made it to the seventh game of the NLCS. … I don't think either of them left with bad feelings."
Asked whether he ever sensed discord between Johnson and anyone in Milwaukee's hierarchy, fellow starter Chase Anderson said, "No, not at all. I feel like they were all on the same page, as far as I could see."
That didn't mean either player saw it coming.
"I was pretty surprised about it, too, but coaches are no different than players," Davies said. "It's still a career, still job opportunities for them. Baseball isn't a game anymore where you see managers or players on the same team for their entire career. At the end of the day, you sit back and think it was probably a better job opportunity for him. A new start -- kind of where we were at three years ago with a new staff and some young guys. It does make sense once you sit back and then think about it a little bit from his perspective."
• Brewers hitting coach Coles resigns
Anderson credits Johnson for the right-hander's terrific 2017 season, which earned Anderson a contract extension and an Opening Day assignment to start what became a disappointing follow-up campaign. Anderson tied for the NL lead in home runs allowed, and he was removed from the rotation in late September before Milwaukee left him off the rosters for the NL Division Series and NLCS.
Anderson was replaced on Sept. 24 in St. Louis by "opener" Dan Jennings for one batter -- the first of a series of unconventional pitching decisions by the Brewers down the stretch and into October. It culminated with Wade Miley's one-batter start in Game 5 of the NLCS against the Dodgers, followed by another start in Game 6.

Did Anderson ever get the feeling that Johnson wasn't on board with those decisions?
"I'm being as honest as I can be, because to tell you the truth, I don't know," said Anderson. "As a pitching coach, I think he wants his starters to pitch as long as they possibly can, and he's going to fight for us as a staff. But I think you have to give credit to the Brewers' front office and our coaching staff, because they did the best they could to deploy the best pitchers they could out there at the right moments. That's why we got as far as we did.
"Yeah, I was frustrated not to make the postseason roster, but I understood that we're trying to win games right now. I was all in to help our team win … and I think that was the collective mindset of everyone."
Like Davies, Anderson was shocked by the news that Milwaukee needs a new pitching coach.
"It's definitely a surprising move. But at the same time, you have to be happy for him," Anderson said. "I'm sure it's a step up, and maybe a little bit more pay. He's really good at teaching and really good at making pitchers better and developing guys. I know they're in really good hands over there in Cincinnati."
Said Davies: "For our young guys who never got to experience him, it's a loss more for them. He's done so much for the guys who have been there for 2-3 years with him. He's instilled a lot of knowledge in us and helped us a lot. It does have a 'loss' feel to it, but you look back at how much he's given us, that's going to help us improve in the future, too."
Of all the teams, did he have to go to a division rival?
Anderson chuckled.
"It's going to be a nice little challenge when we face the Reds," said Anderson, "because you know Derek is a smart guy, and he's going to do the best he can to help his team win."
Both players appreciated the group text, in which Johnson promised to reach out individually to Brewers pitchers once he was settled into his new job. As of Thursday, the Reds had yet to make the hiring official.
"He told us he loves us and the relationships we built are forever," said Anderson. "Some things go beyond baseball. He's one of a kind."