Chris Bosio fired as Detroit Tigers pitching coach

The Detroit Tigers announced on Wednesday afternoon that they have terminated the contract of pitching coach Chris Bosio, effective immediately. Little is known yet, and things may stay that way. Per the Tigers’ statement, Bosio made insensitive comments that violated club policy. According to MLB.com’s Jason Beck, Bosio made the comments to a team employee, but no further details are available at this time.

Per the club’s statement, they intend to have no further comment on the matter.

Bosio has been widely credited for his work with the Tigers’ pitching staff this season, and no hint of any issues had emerged before the news dropped. He and Ron Gardenhire seemed to have formed a pretty good team managing the pitching staff. The Tigers will now have to replace him mid-season.

Bosio previously served as the pitching coach for the Milwaukee Brewers, and most recently, the Chicago Cubs under Joe Maddon from 2012-2017. Bullpen coach Rick Anderson will replace Bosio as the pitching coach, and Triple-A coach Jeff Pico will come to Detroit to serve as the new bullpen coach.

Update, 6/28: According to WXYZ Detroit, Bosio was fired due to “racially charged language toward a team employee.” The team has not provided any additional details since their initial announcement on Wednesday. Bosio plans to contest his firing, as he claims his comments were made toward Tigers reliever Daniel Stumpf and not the employee in question, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today.