Brian Bannister is moving on from the Red Sox.
Bannister, who spent five seasons in Boston, served as the team’s vice president of pitching development and assistant pitching coach. The Red Sox in October announced he would remain as the VP of pitching development but no longer would be the assistant pitching coach.
But now it appears the 38-year-old is headed to the west coast to join the San Francisco Giants, according to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi and The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. Speier also notes he “wanted to spend more time with his family in California.”
Source: #SFGiants hire Brian Bannister, former #RedSox vice president of pitching development. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) December 4, 2019
Brian Bannister, who is leaving the Red Sox for the Giants, was entering the last year of his 5-year deal with the Red Sox as VP of pitching development. After 2019, in discussing his request that he no longer be part of the Sox coaching staff, he said he wanted to
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) December 5, 2019
Spend more time with his family in California. He was going to focus on minor league pitcher development with the Sox, but that would’ve still meant a lot of travel away from home. So, working with the Giants should rectify that.
— Alex Speier (@alexspeier) December 5, 2019
Bannister confirmed the departure on his own Twitter account, thanking John Henry, Tom Werner, Sam Kennedy, Chaim Bloom and Brian O’Halloran.
Thank you to John Henry, Tom Werner, Sam Kennedy, and all the amazingly talented people in Baseball Ops for the opportunity to be a part of the Red Sox family for the last 5 years. It was a dream to call Fenway my office, and to be a very small part of a historic run in Boston.
— Brian Bannister (@RealBanny) December 5, 2019
I want to specifically thank Chaim Bloom and Brian O’Halloran – they are incredible leaders and the Red Sox will be in good hands for a very long time. Thank you to the coaches and support staff, it was a privilege winning a World Series with you in 2018 and all the best in 2020.
— Brian Bannister (@RealBanny) December 5, 2019
His role with the Giants is unknown at this time.
