Rick Honeycutt will not return as Dodgers’ pitching coach in 2020

LOS ANGELES — After 14 seasons under four managers, Dodgers pitching coach Rick Honeycutt will not return in that role for the 2020 season.

Dodgers president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman said Monday that Honeycutt will “transition into a special assistant role.” The specifics of that role have not been fully determined yet, Friedman said.

The 65-year-old Honeycutt struggled with the physical demands of the job the past two seasons due to back problems that led to major surgery in February. Honeycutt was late to join the Dodgers in spring training because of his recovery from the surgery.

His decision to step down as pitching coach was not unexpected given that recent history. Bullpen coach Mark Prior is the obvious candidate to replace Honeycutt. Prior has been the Dodgers’ bullpen coach the past two seasons after three years as a minor-league coach in the San Diego Padres’ organization.

“Fortunately we’ve been able to have Mark Prior around and have him build up relationships,” Friedman said. “So my assumption is he will slide into that. But those specific things haven’t been worked out yet.”

During Honeycutt’s tenure as pitching coach, the Dodgers had the lowest staff ERA in the National League four times. Since Honeycutt moved from minor-league pitching coordinator to become pitching coach on manager Grady Little’s staff in 2006, the Dodgers lead the majors in ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, strikeout-to-walk ratio and have the lowest opponent’s batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage.

Bench coach Bob Geren has also been mentioned as a possible candidate for one of the eight current managerial vacancies.

“Bob has been a big part of our success, is as good a bench coach as I’ve been around,” Friedman said. “I think with all the openings out there it’s definitely a possibility (that he leaves the Dodgers). If so — tough loss for the Dodgers, good for him personally.”