The Royals will hire Brian Sweeney as their new pitching coach, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic. Sweeney has served as bullpen coach with the Cleveland Guardians since 2019, working with a team that has finished top four in ERA in the AL in three of his four seasons there.
Sweeney is originally from the New York area who went undrafted after pitching at Mercy College. Nonetheless, after a stint in the independent leagues, he rose through the Mariners organization and eventually spent parts of four seasons in the big leagues with Seattle and San Diego, as well as a three-year stint in Japan, and he participated for Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic in 2013.