Dan Warthen hired by Rangers as assistant pitching coach

It was a little surprising when we learned that the Mets would be parting ways with longtime pitching coach Dan Warthen. Not only had Warthen spent nine-and-a-half seasons in that role, but he got a lot of credit for the development of New York’s young and talented pitching staff.

While the Mets moved on and hired Dave Eiland, the Texas Rangers announced on Monday that Warthen will be joining them as the assistant pitching coach under Doug Brocail. Brocail has worked as the pitching coach for Texas and Houston in the past, and he somewhat miraculously coaxed a 3.40 ERA out of Andrew Cashner this past year despite the pitcher’s 1.34 strikeout-to-walk ratio. In 2018, Brocail and Warthen will work together to solidify a Rangers rotation that doesn’t have a whole lot going on outside of former Mets nemesis Cole Hamels.

Maybe the New York front office decided it was just time for a change, or maybe it thought that Warthen could have done a better job keeping his pitchers healthy. Either way, it’s not surprising that the former Mets coach found another job so quickly. However, it does seem a little strange for him to take an assistant role after such a long run of success in Queens. Perhaps Warthen can work his way up to the main job in his new organization, but he’s unlikely to see a hoard of young flamethrowers like the one he mentored in 2015 again.