The Maddux Hire: A Source of Life for the Angels Pitching Staff
November 2, 2025 - Written by Jack Argent
The #Angels have hired Mike Maddux as their new pitching coach.
— InsideHalos (@InsideHalos) October 31, 2025
He'll come from Bruce Bochy's staff in Texas to join Kurt Suzuki's staff in Anahiem instead of staying under new Rangers Manager, Skip Schumaker.
How are we feeling about this hire?! pic.twitter.com/HrysXlX5vW
Looking back at the performance of the Halos pitching staff in 2025, there were moments where the Angels could showcase themselves to be an elite staff from top to bottom, but there were also times that they would allow a slight moment of adversity to completely destroy their confidence. Some of the bright spots of this pitching staff were seeing Reid Detmers toss 13 shoutout innings in the month of June as a response to his rocky start as a new member of the bullpen in which he posted a 5.79 ERA in April and a 7.71 ERA in May, this was all due to tuning of his slider: which became his most dominant pitch. In addition to the success of Detmers, José Soriano showed flashes of Cy Young level pitching, Yusei Kikucki proved to be a pillar of durability and strong veteran presence as the lone Angels All Star, and new acquisition Kenley Jansen built on his legendary career as the backbone of the Angels closer. However, these glimpses of success are greatly overshadowed by the variety of areas the Angels struggled in as a pitching staff. This includes the disastrous season of young arm Jack Kochanowicz, the bipolar performance of savvy veteran Kyle Hendricks, inconsistencies from bullpen arms such as Ryan Zeferjahn, José Fermin, Brock Burke, and Connor Brogdon. Furthermore, having Robert Stephenson and flamethrower Ben Joyce on the shelf for most of the season only added fuel to the Angels dumpster fire of pitching problems that led to a 4.89 ERA, an ERA+ of 88, and a FIP of 4.78; all of these stats rank in the bottom 3 of the MLB.
The consistent inability for the Halos front office to address these problems has been the common natives for many years. However, this offseason feels different. With the Angels already hiring manager Kurt Suzuki and getting rid of pitching coach Barry Enright, hitting coach Johnny Washington, along with both base coaches, Bo Porter and Eric Young Sr.. Perry went out and hired Mike Maddux as the new pitching coach for the Halos, after he decided to no longer stay with the Rangers. The hiring of Maddux brings something the Angels’ pitching staff needs from top to bottom: stability.
Career Resume
There are a variety of reasons to speak highly of Perry hiring Mike Maddux but one that cannot be ignored is the elite career resume that Maddux has obtained. Although most people know Mike Maddux as the brother to hall of famer Greg Maddux, Mike put together a solid 15 year pitching career in which he posted 39 wins, a 4.05 ERA and struck out 564 hitters as a reliever for the majority of his career. As for his coaching career he started off in 2000 as the pitching coach for the Round Rock Express, the triple A affiliate for the Houston Astros at the time. His early success from 2000-2003 as a minor league pitching coach led to him being offered a pitching coach job for the Milwaukee Brewers. During his 5 years in Milwaukee, he went from having a pitching staff that posted a 5.03 ERA and only won 68 games in 2003, to a staff that posted an elite 3.87 team ERA which ranked 2nd in all of baseball behind the star-studded Phillies pitching staff in 2008. This season of success was a key contribution to a 90 win season and a playoff apperence that year.
Following his time in Milwaukee, Maddux took on the job of the Texas Rangers pitching coach in 2009 and held the position until 2015. During his first stint with the Rangers, worked with a pitching staff that was apart of 2 World Series appearances, 3 AL West titles, and 4 playoff appearances. And from 2010-2013, Maddux coached the staff to an ERA of under 4.00, a large testament for the Rangers ability to carry their seasons into October. After his time in Texas, Maddux was named the pitching coach for the Washington Nationals from 2016-2018. Although the stint was short-lived, Maddux coached pitching staffs that made the playoffs in each season he was there. After he was relieved of duties in DC, he was named the pitching coach for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2019-2022. Although things didn’t fully work out in St. Louis, in 2023, Maddux would become the pitching coach for the Texas Rangers. But this time, he won it all with the Rangers in 2023. In addition, this past season the Rangers starter ERA of 3.41 was the best in all of baseball along with a bullpen ERA of 3.62, 5th in the MLB.
First Stop In Milwaukee
Mike Maddux has had the opportunity to coach some of the most elite starting and relief pitchers in recent memory. In addition to working with top guys, he has also developed guys who went through some struggles and allowed them to contribute at a high level. During his time at Milwaukee, he was a big part in the historic 2nd half of CC Sabaitha in 2008. According to an article written by Jon Schwartz on MLB.com, CC said that Maddux was instrumental in the teaching of a two-seam fastball that propelled his dominance on the mound which carried that Brewers squad to their first playoff appearance since 1982 at the time. Besides Sabathia, Mike Maddux also played a key part in developing long tenure starter Ben Sheets. In 2003, Sheets recorded an ERA of 4.45 in his first season with Mike Maddux, the following season Sheets pitched to the tune of an elite 2.70 ERA, an all star appearance, and a top 10 finish in NL Cy Young voting. Sheets would go on to pitch four more sub 4 ERA seasons and established himself as a stable number 2 option on the 2008 Brewers playoff team.
Leveling Up in the Lone Star State
After his initial success in Milwaukee, Maddux took the job as the Texas Rangers’ pitching coach. While in Texas, Maddux had the opportunity to coach some elite pitching staffs. Although the Rangers had an 87 win season that fell short of the playoffs, Maddux layed down the foundation for some key arms in the bullpen; these included the likes of Darren O’Day and Neftalí Feliz. In addition to these lockdown bullpen arms, Maddux worked very closely with struggling young pitchers Matt Harrison and Derek Holland; each arms posted ERAs of over 6 in 2009. These glimpse of success would propel the 2010 Rangers to World Series run where the rotation and bullpen found success as Feliz captured a 40 save season and submitting himself as one the feared closers in all of baseball, Darren O’ Day recorded an ERA of 2.03 in over 62 innings of work. In the starting rotation Cliff Lee earned an All Star appearance, Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, C.J. Wilson, and Tommy Hunter all turned in solid seasons and were key members of the AL pennant winning team. In the following season Maddux continued to grow the staff as C.J. Wilson took a huge leap and became an all star and finished top 10 in AL Cy Young voting. In addition to Wilson, newcomer Alexi Ogando earned an all star appearance and provided a strong beam of support along with fellow rotation members: Derek Holland, Matt Harrison, and Colby Wilson. Although the Rangers came up short in game 7 against St. Louis Maddux proved himself to be an elite source of pitching knowledge.
Short but Impactful Stints in DC and St. Louis
Fast forwarding to 2016, Mike Maddux joined manager Dusty Baker as the pitching coach for the Washington Nationals. While in DC, Maddux oversaw the dominate NL Cy Young winning season from Max Scherzer. During this season, Schrezer led the big leagues with a 6.3 WAR, 228.1 innings pitched, 5.04 strikeout to walk ratio, 284 strikeouts, a 0.968 WHIP, and 20 pitching wins. Although the strong pitching of Scherzer took the headlines, Tanner Roark put together a strong season that consisted of posting a 2.83 ERA, 5.5 WAR, and 172 strikeouts. However, it wasn’t just the starting rotation setting the standard, the bullpen also followed suit as Blake Treinen, Shawn Kelley, and veteran Jonathan Papelbon provided solid back end support. Despite the 2017 and 2018 season results in early playoff exits, Maddux continued to play a part in Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasburg’s success. From 2019-2022, Maddux oversaw the St. Louis Cardinals’ pitching staff. He contributed to the success of notable arms such as Jack Flathery’s top 5 finish in the 2019 NL Cy Young race, a 2021 all star appearance from Alex Reyes, and a part of all star season from Ryan Helsey and Miles Mikolas. The Cardinals also had 3 playoff appearances and an NLCS appearance in 2019.
The 2023 Season: One Maddux Will Never Forget
Despite Mike Maddux’s coaching career from 2016-2022 was characterized by early playoff exits and failed expectations, Maddux returned to Texas and defied all odds. The Rangers pitching staff under Mike Maddux had a season that was characterized by a strong starting rotation, but the bullpen had a mountain of adversity to overcome if they wanted to host the World Series trophy in October. As in the first half of the season, the starting rotation of Nathan Evolvadi, Dane Dunning, Jon Gray, and Andrew Heaney; they also had Jacob deGrom but his season was riddled by injuries. This rotation recorded a 3.71 ERA and played a big part in the Rangers’ 52-39 start to the season. However, there was a clear hole that set the Rangers back: their bullpen. So as late July can around GMs become busy with calls regarding what trades will be made. As for the Rangers, they looked to bring in support for their bullpen by swinging a deal with the Royals for flamethrowing lefty closer Aroldis Chapman. However, this wasn’t the only acquisition made. The front office would make 2 huge splashes by acquiring Max Scherzer from the Mets and Jordan Montgomery from the Cardinals.
In the 2nd half, the Rangers limped into the playoffs with a 90–72 finish good enough for a wild card appearance. Even with this playoff appearance, the climb to the World Series would be anything but easy as Texas would have to travel down to Tropicana Field to play the Tampa Bay Rays in a best-of-3 Wild Card Series. However, the Rangers responded behind only 1 run allowed by the combination of stellar starts from Jordan Montgomery and Nathan Eovaldi which led to 2-0 series win. In ALDS, it was an offensive explosion that led to a 3-0 series sweep over the Baltimore Orioles. This led to a historic 4-3 series win over their in-state rival Houston Astros where Mike Maddux’s bullpen members: Josh Sborz and Aroldis Chapman came up huge along with Jordan Montgomery continuing his dominance. All and all, the Rangers won the pennant and were set to take the Arizona Diamondbacks for the World Series title.
The first two games at home were split by both teams which included an iconic game-tying home run by Corey Seager that carried the Rangers into an extra inning win. As the series shifted to Arizona the next 3 games were once again all thanks to the collective pitching contribution from both the starting rotation and bullpen. As in game 3, both Schrezer and Gray tossed 3 innings of 0 run ball; when the paton was passed to the bullpen Sborz, Chapman, and José Leclerc turned in a combined total of 1 run to help the Rangers win 3-1. As for the next two games the Rangers won game 4 in an 11-7 slugfest. But in game 5, Eovadi turned in 6 scoreless innings, Aroldis Chapman gave another 0.2 innings. This left the final 2 and a third up to a reliever who had a struggle filled regular season: Josh Sborz. He would take the ball and shut down the Diamondbacks to win the World Series. The strong pitching was a testament to Mike Maddux’s detailed work to finally get the Rangers to the mountain top, and Angels fans hope Maddux can do the same as their pitching coach.
A New Challenge in Anaheim
After two more years with the Rangers, Mike Maddux made the recent decision to become the Angels pitching coach. However, this job will present the highest number of challenges since he took his first pitching coach job for Milwaukee in 2003. He will be overseeing a pitching staff that has anything but a stable starting rotation or bullpen. José Soriano and Yusei Kikuki both created road blocks for themselves that prevented them from being consistent at a high level. Kikuki would often struggle with high pitch counts that would often cut starts shorter than expected and Soriano often had starts slip away by allowing one inning to derail his entire start. But with Maddux’s experience with all time great arms such as Max Scherzer and CC Sabaitha and his ability to develop pitchers such as C.J. Wilson and Ben Sheets. Halo fans should look to the upside as a sigh of hope for this struggling staff.
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