The New York Yankees, who fired veteran pitching coach Larry Rothschild last month, reportedly are adding a youthful replacement.
Matt Blake, 33, is set to land the job, multiple media outlets reported Thursday night.
Blake was the Indians’ assistant director of player development for three years — until Tuesday, when he was promoted to be Cleveland’s director of pitching development.
Before joining the Indians, Blake was associated with Cressey Sports Performance, which has Florida and Massachusetts locations. A Holy Cross graduate, Blake was an area scout for the Yankees in 2010.
According to the New York Post, other candidates to become the Yankees’ pitching coach included YES broadcaster David Cone, University of Michigan pitching coach Chris Fetter and University of Arkansas pitching coach Matt Hobbs.
Rothschild, 65, had been on the job since 2011, but he was fired Oct. 28. Despite a rash of injuries this year, New York finished in the middle of the pack (14th) in the major leagues with a 4.31 regular-season ERA. The Yankees’ 2.87 ERA in the postseason ranked second among the 10 playoff teams.
New York wound up losing the American League Championship Series to the Astros, with Jose Altuve’s ninth-inning homer off Aroldis Chapman in Game 6 sending Houston to the World Series.
Rothschild had previous experience as manager of the then-Tampa Bay Devil Rays (1998-2001) and as pitching coach of the Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, then-Florida Marlins and Chicago Cubs — a resume far different than the one Blake brings to the role.
