The Athletics announced that pitching coach Scott Emerson has been relieved of his duties. Bullpen coach Dan Hubbs will take over on an interim basis for the remainder of the campaign.
Emerson got his gig in June of 2017. He was the club’s bullpen coach prior to that but he got a new title when pitching coach Curt Young was dismissed. Emerson’s tenure has been mixed, though it’s fair to debate how much of the blame to put on him.
From 2018 to 2020, Athletics pitchers had a collective 3.88 earned run average, sixth-best in the majors. At that time, the A’s were playing in the pitcher-friendly Coliseum and were also broadly competitive, making the playoffs in all three of those seasons. They missed the postseason in 2021 and then went into a rebuild. From 2021 to 2024, the club’s ERA was 4.60, better than just four teams.
Last year, as part of the club’s planned moved to Las Vegas, they landed in West Sacramento. They are temporarily sharing Sutter Health Park with the Sacramento River Cats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Giants. The park plays hitter-friendly and is a stark difference to the Coliseum. Since the start of last year, the A’s have a 4.91 ERA, putting them ahead of just the Nationals and Rockies for that span.
Broadly speaking, the Athletics’ rebuild has shown more promise on the offensive side than on the pitching side. The environment might be playing a role but the lineup appears to be filled with solid regulars plus a few stars, whereas the pitching staff doesn’t look close to ready. The team has felt competitive at times but recently hit a bad skid. They have gone 3-17 in their past 20 games, including an active nine-game losing streak as of the All-Star Break. They are now 41-55, 6.5 games out of a playoff spot and likely to go into the deadline as sellers.
It seems the A’s have decided a change is necessary and have dismissed Emerson while giving his job to Hubbs. The latter worked in the college ranks from 2020 to 2019, holding various titles for the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Southern California. He moved to affiliated ball in 2020, getting hired by the Tigers as director of pitching development and strategies. In 2023, the A’s hired him as pitching development coach. After the season, he was named bullpen coach.
Presumably, the A’s will conduct a search for a new bullpen coach after the season, although it’s possible Hubbs is tapped to stay on for the future if he impresses the club’s decision makers over the next few months.
Photo courtesy of Darren Yamashita, Imagn Images
