Reds Announce Joe Torres As Pitching Coach

The Reds announced that Joe Torres has been hired as their new pitching coach. He has previously been serving as the assistant pitching coach with the Guardians. He will replace Derek Johnson, who was the previous pitching coach in Cincinnati.

Cincinnati hired Johnson in October of 2018 and he was still officially on the job in 2026. However, he took a personal leave of absence in June and was away from the club for the final months of the season. The Reds announced last month that Johnson would not be returning.

Reds manager Terry Francona was hired in October of 2024 and inherited Johnson. To fill the vacancy, Francona has turned to his old staff. Francona was the skipper in Cleveland from 2013 to 2023. Torres was in the organization for much of that span. He joined the big league staff as assistant pitching coach in January of 2022, replacing Ruben Niebla, who left to become pitching coach in San Diego. Torres was working in Cleveland’s minor league system for five years prior to that, so he and Francona surely crossed paths often.

It always tough to connect a club’s on-field results to one specific coach but the Guardians organization is one with a strong reputation for pitching development. In 2026, Gavin Williams seemingly emerged as a true ace. Parker Messick is a Rookie of the Year finalist after his breakout season. Cade Smith’s first year as a full-time closer resulted in 41 saves and a 1.95 earned run average.

The Reds have some challenges to deal with on the pitching side of things. They play in one of the most hitter-friendly parks, for one thing. The team-wide ERA was 4.84 in 2026, better than just the Athletics and Rockies. Hunter Greene required Tommy John surgery in August and will likely miss the entire 2027 season. Brock Burke, Emilio Pagán, Brady Singer and Pierce Johnson just became free agents.

It will be hard to immediately get the Cincinnati staff in a good place but Francona presumably feels good about his relationship with Torres from their time together in Cleveland, so those two can hopefully bring some of that Guardians pitching magic to the other side of Ohio.