Brocail in line to be Rangers' pitching coach
Holman expected to be promoted to bullpen coach
ARLINGTON -- The Rangers spent Wednesday negotiating with former Major League reliever Doug Brocail to be their new pitching coach. Brad Holman, who was their Triple-A pitching coach, is expected to be promoted to bullpen coach, according to Major League sources.
An announcement could come Thursday.
Brocail was the Astros' pitching coach from 2011-13, when they were just beginning their rebuilding program. He was reassigned to special pitching advisor in 2014 and then spent 2015 at Double-A Corpus Christi.
• Astros' Brocail a candidate for Rangers' pitching coach
Although the Astros' Major League staff did not perform well under Brocail, finishing last in the league in ERA in two out of three years, he is still highly regarded for his work with their young pitchers, including Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers.
Brocail spent 15 seasons in the big leagues with the Padres, Astros, Tigers and Rangers, mostly as a reliever. He made 42 Major League starts and 584 relief appearances, with a career record of 52-48 and a 4.00 ERA. He was with the Rangers in 2014-15.
A former Major League pitcher, Holman has spent seven seasons in the Rangers' organization as a pitching coach, including the last three at Triple-A Round Rock. In the 16-team Pacific Coast League, the Express finished fifth in pitching in two of the last three years. He also had two seasons at Class A Hickory and two at Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach and was the 2013 winner of the Bobby Jones Player Development Man of the Year.
He also had seven seasons as a pitching coach in the Mariners and Pirates organizations. He pitched in 19 games as a reliever for the Mariners in 1993. After his playing career was over, he worked for five years as a mechanic at Boeing Aircraft.
Brocail would replace Mike Maddux, who has been named the Nationals' pitching coach. Holman would replace Andy Hawkins, who also left the organization at the end of the season.
The Rangers are still looking for a new hitting coach after the departure of Dave Magadan. Triple-A hitting coach Justin Mashore is the leading internal candidate.