Diamondbacks Lose Promising Pitching Coach to the Angels

The Los Angeles Angels made a key hire for their coaching staff today, with Barry Enright to become their pitching coach. Over the past two months, the Diamondbacks have experienced a lot of brain drain. Director of Player Development Josh Barfield was hired by the Chicago White Sox in September and Daniel Descalso left the Baseball Operations department to join the Cardinals coaching staff.

Enright will join Ron Washington's coaching staff after the latter was named manager last week. With Arizona expected to retain pitching coach Brent Strom for the 2024 season, better opportunities were available in Anaheim. He'll have an opportunity to coach for an organization he was previously a member of as a player in his home state of California.

Enright was originally drafted by the D-backs in the second round of the 2007 draft out of Pepperdine University, and later debuted with Arizona in 2010. After struggling in two seasons, he was traded to the Angels for cash considerations. He threw his last pitch in the major leagues with them in 2013, although several attempts to try to get back proved to be unsuccessful.

After failing to reach the major leagues with Arizona in 2018, the D-backs hired him to be a minor league pitching coach with Hillsboro, a short-season affiliate at the time. After three seasons he was promoted to be the organization's Minor League Pitching Coordinator, overseeing the development of some of the top pitching prospects that have debuted recently. The following season, the D-backs tasked him with more responsibilities finishing the development of these prospects at the major league level. In the last two years he's taken more of an on-field role, earning the title of assistant pitching coach along with Dan Carlson. 

Shane Loux, who is listed as the Assistant Pitching Coordinator, appears to the be prime candidate to take over Enright's role. Previously a pitching coach with Hillsboro, Amarillo, and the Arizona Fall League, Loux has been in the organization since the 2019 season.