Phillies hire Jim Gott as next bullpen coach under Gabe Kapler

The Phillies and Gabe Kapler continue to build the 2018 coaching staff, hiring former Angels minor-league pitching coordinator Jim Gott.

One of the holes in the Phillies‘ coaching staff was filled Friday afternoon. The team announced that they will hire Jim Gott as Gabe Kapler’s bullpen coach, replacing John McLaren.

Gott had a 14-year pitching career in the major-leagues (mostly as a reliever) with the Dodgers, Pirates, Giants, and Blue Jays. He had a career 3.87 ERA, starting 96 games while appearing in 554 altogether. Gott finished his career with 91 saves and 39 holds.

In recent years, Gott was a pitching coach in the Angels’ minor-league system for three years before becoming the club’s minor-league pitching coordinator in 2013. He served in that role up until now.

In his personal life, Gott is a huge martial arts enthusiast. Matt Gelb of the Philadelphia Inquirer dug up some great gems that really show Gott’s enthusiasm:

The Angels connection runs strong here as general manager Matt Klentak worked in their front office as assistant general manager before being hired in Philadelphia. There is certainly some familiarity between Klentak and Gott, which may have helped Gott land the job.

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Gott becomes the fourth coach to be hired to Gabe Kapler’s staff. Dusty Wathan got his first full-time major-league job as Philadelphia’s third base coach. Meanwhile, John Mallee is set to be the next hitting coach after filling the same position for the Cubs the last three seasons. The team retained assistant pitching coach Rick Kranitz, although his position for next season is undetermined.

Like Wathan, this will be Gott’s first time as a coach in the major-leagues.

Moving forward, the team still needs to hire a bench coach and pitching coach. Plenty of names have been thrown around for both positions. Krantiz could wind up as the pitching coach, but other candidates are being interviewed.

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The team is also interviewing candidates to fill Wathan’s role as Triple-A Lehigh Valley’s manager. Mickey Morandini, who was the major-league first-base coach this season, could return to the minors to take Wathan’s old job.