Angels hire familiar face to be the team's new pitching coach

After a disastrous 2023 season, the Los Angeles Angels opted to completely revamp their coaching staff. The team parted with Phil Nevin as the manager, and the rest of the staff went along with him. New Angels manager Ron Washington has begun assembling a new staff, and it's one that looks pretty promising.

The latest hire made by the Angels was their decision to make Barry Enright the team's new pitching coach replacing Matt Wise. While Enright has no experience as a team's primary pitching coach, he's spent each of the last two seasons as an assistant pitching coach for the Diamondbacks in addition to his career pitching.

LA Angels continue to revamp coaching staff with strong pitching coach hire

Barry Enright was a second round pick made by the Diamondbacks in the 2007 MLB Draft. He wound up pitching well for Arizona in 2010 but struggled the following year and then was traded to the Angels for cash in 2012.

Enright wound up making seven appearances (two starts) over the next couple of seasons with the Angels, but allowed 18 runs in 12 innings pitched and never made it back to the majors. While things didn't quite work out for this right-hander as a player, Enright has been learning the last two years under one of the most respected pitching coaches in the game, Brent Strom.

Strom spent eight years as the Astros pitching coach from 2014-2021 and helped them win a World Series and build one of the more dominant pitching staffs in all of baseball. He then joined an Arizona team as the pitching coach that had the worst ERA in baseball and helped transform their staff, mainly co-aces Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, to a strong group.

Enright learning under a guy like Strom who has so much experience for the last two years would suggest he's learned a ton. Strom's ability to use his eyes while also using analytics to back up decisions makes him an ideal coach for the modern game, and Enright was his assistant. It might not have worked for Enright as a player, but there's every reason to believe it can as a pitching coach.