Back to the Chicago Cubs Newsfeed

Carl Willis returns to Indians to replace the departed Mickey Callaway

It wasn't Jason Bere or Scott Atchison.

They didn't pick Steve Karsay or Ruben Niebla.

Maybe that's what led a few fans to feel some sense of disappointment over the return of Carl Willis as the Indians' pitching coach, but his resume and familiarity with the organization really shouldn't be dismissed or downplayed.

Willis, who served as the Tribe's pitching coach from 2003-2009 under Eric Wedge, was officially announced as Mickey Callaway's replacement Thursday morning, returning after nearly three years as the Red Sox pitching coach.

In-between stints with the Mariners and Red Sox, Willis was a special assistant to the Indians in 2014 and briefly served as the pitching coach at Triple-A Columbus in 2015.