On the day the Diamondbacks formally began the interview process for their vacant pitching-coach job, Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa revealed the club is also anticipating a second opening on its coaching staff with the expected departure of bullpen coach Mel Stottlemyre Jr.
Stottlemyre was expected to be a candidate to be the pitching coach, a job that opened when the club parted ways with Mike Harkey earlier this month. But, La Russa said, Stottlemyre informed the team he wanted to be closer to his family in the Pacific Northwest, where his father, Mel Sr., is battling cancer.