A major league source on Wednesday confirmed a report that the Red Sox will name Juan Nieves pitching coach. Nieves, a former Brewers pitcher, most recently served as bullpen coach for the White Sox since 2008.
CBS Sports baseball insider Jon Heyman had the original report that Nieves would get the job after a long interview with the team. Orioles director of pitching development Rick Peterson had been seen as a leading candidate.
The White Sox bullpen ranked eighth in the American League under Nieves last year, the third time in five seasons that it finished with that ranking in the AL; the team also finished 10th in 2011 and fifth in 2010 in bullpen ERA.
Before landing his job as bullpen coach, Nieves was a pitching coach for nine years in Chicago's minor league system. He also spent four years working in the Yankees' farm system from 1992-95. A native of Puerto Rico who attended high school at Avon Old Farms in Connecticut, Nieves pitched for three years in the majors with the Brewers from 1986-88, going 32-25 with a 4.71 ERA. The left-hander delivered the first no-hitter in Brewers history on April 15, 1987, against the Orioles.
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