Former major leaguer Bob McClure will join the Twins as their senior pitching adviser, according to a source with knowledge of the hire.
McClure, 65, will work with both major and minor leaguers. He will work with new Twins pitching coach Garvin Alston as well as a soon-to-be-named minor league pitching coordinator.
McClure embraces modern approaches to coaching, such as using the Trackman radar system, to help pitchers reach their potential. It's a position created by the Twins to ensure that the same things are being applied in the major leagues and the minors.
McClure has been a major league pitching coach for 11 seasons, including the past four with Philadelphia. Phillies pitchers combined for a 4.55 ERA this season, 18th in baseball and one spot ahead of the Twins.
McClure was the Boston pitching coach in 2013, a season that did not go smoothly as he had a shaky relationship with then-Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine and ended up being fired with six weeks left in the season. He also was the Kansas City pitching coach from 2006 to 2011, helping Zack Greinke become one of the game's best pitchers.
McClure also coached in Colorado's minor leagues from 1999 to 2005.
A third-round pick of the Royals in 1973, McClure pitched in parts of 19 seasons in the major leagues, most of them with Milwaukee. He was a teammate of Twins manager Paul Molitor from 1977 to 1986. They were good friends as teammates and have kept in touch through the years.
Clean break between Park and Twins
Once it becomes official, first baseman ByungHo Park will rejoin the Nexen Heroes of the Korean Baseball Organization, and the Twins will not have to pay the $6.5 million they owed for the final two years of Park's four-year, $12 million deal.
