The past 24 hours have seen a lot of movement on the pitching coach front, with John Farrell taking the Blue Jays’ manager job, the Yankees firing Dave Eiland, and Curt Young leaving the A’s with an eye toward joining the Diamondbacks.
Despite the sudden rash of prominent pitching coach openings one of the best of all time, Dave Duncan, has decided to remain with Tony La Russa and the Cardinals, agreeing to a two-year deal today.
Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports that Duncan insisted on a multi-year deal and the Cardinals eventually gave in after initially saying they only wanted to give one-year commitments to La Russa’s coaching staff. La Russa will be working on a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2012, but Duncan’s contract is a two-year deal with a mutual option for 2013.
Strauss also notes that Mark McGwire is leaning toward returning as hitting coach after saying previously that he’d consider stepping down due to family reasons. If he does return, McGwire is expected to receive the same one-year deal that all non-Duncan coaches get.