Tony La Russa’s coaching staff is starting to come together.
Sources confirmed reports that Giants assistant pitching coach Ethan Katz will be the replacement for Don Cooper as White Sox pitching coach. Katz, 37, was right-hander Lucas Giolito’s pitching coach at Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) High School on a staff that included future major league standouts Max Fried and Jack Flaherty.
After coaching in the Angels and Mariners minor league system, Katz was hired by the Giants as assistant minor league pitching coordinator for the Giants in 2019. He was promoted to assistant pitching coach last December.
The Sox are expected to make coaching staff announcements next week. Hitting coach Frank Menechino is expected back, and third base coach Nick Capra will not return. Assistant hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh was named Tigers hitting coach on newly hired manager AJ Hinch’s staff last week.
Bullpen coach Curt Hasler, Joe McEwing and first base coach Daryl Boston were also expected to be interviewed. Hasler was mentioned by La Russa when the new manager was announced. Cooper and third base coach Nick Capra were the only holdovers from fired manager Rick Renteria’s staff who were told they wouldn’t return.
Katz represents a distinct pivot away from Cooper, 64, who had been in the organization since 1988 and its pitching coach for 18 seasons, and for La Russa, who had talked to his lifelong pitching Dave Duncan about returning to join him.
Katz helped the Giants shift to increased usage of advanced data on the major league and minor league levels, and according to the San Jose Mercury News, Katz made an impression with many of the Giants young relief pitchers and also worked closely with starters in the bullpen preparing for games.
