The San Diego Padres are reportedly losing a key member of the coaching staff.
Bullpen coach Ben Fritz has agreed to become the lead pitching coach of the Arizona Diamondbacks, The Athletic's Dennis Lin reported Friday. Fritz, who has been the Padres' bullpen coach for the last seven seasons, also reportedly interviewed with the Colorado Rockies for their open pitching coach job. He'll replace the outgoing Brian Kaplan, who was not retained after two seasons, in Arizona.
This will be Fritz's first shot as a pitching coach in the big leagues aside from an interim stint with the Padres in 2021 before the hiring of Ruben Niebla. San Diego has had one of the best pitching staffs − especially its bullpen − in baseball for the past few years. The bullpen led
all MLB teams in WAR (8.9) and was fifth with a 3.53 collective ERA in 2026.
This also marks the end of a decade-long stretch with the Padres organization for Fritz. The 45-year-old began his coaching career at the club's rookie-level affiliate in the Arizona Complex League in 2015 after a seven-year career in the Athletics and Detroit Tigers' organizations. Fritz then managed Single-A Tri City in 2017 before serving as the Padres' rehabilitation coordinator at their Peoria, Arizona, complex in 2018 and '19. He was named the Padres' bullpen coach the following season.
Fritz will inherit a talented Diamondbacks pitching group headlined by Corbin Burnes and Eduardo Rodríguez and is also set to bring back Merrill Kelly, Ryne Nelson and Brandon Pfaadt, all of whom played a role in Arizona's World Series run in 2023.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ben Fritz was architect of Padres' top-tier bullpen. Can he do the same in Arizona?
