Over the course of the day, there are small details that pop up and offer a reminder of the all hands on deck situation with the Cincinnati Reds’ pitching coaches right now as they adjust without Derek Johnson.
Assistant pitching coach Matt Tracy goes from running a pregame throwing session for the starting pitchers to throwing batting practice to Reds’ hitters, effectively doing two jobs in one afternoon. During games, Tracy is the coach who goes out for mound visits.
On the outside looking in, the day still looks pretty similar for bullpen coach Oscar Marin, but Terry Francona has spoken in media availabilities more about Marin’s role and messaging to Reds’ pitchers over the last week than he had all season. Marin is one of the coaches taking on a bigger role since last Friday.
Advance scouting coordinator/Major League coach Kyle Arnsberg now sits on the first row of the bench next to the bench coaches, and he’s charting pitches in game to fill the typical responsibilities of the assistant pitching coach.
“They’ve done a really good job,” Terry Francona said. “Really good. The amount of cooperation with the whole staff, it’s a very close, good working staff. Tracy and Oscar, and I’d put (Arnsberg) in that pitching group too, it’s been good.”
One week ago, the Reds announced that pitching coach Johnson was on a personal leave of absence. There’s no timeline for Johnson to return, and the Reds haven’t had further comment on the situation.
On simply a practical and logistical level, that’s meant that Tracy, Marin and Arnsberg have all taken on more responsibility. The Reds haven’t named an official “acting pitching coach,” and Tracy and Marin have effectively been sharing different aspects of that role.
“They’re taking on bigger roles, but they’ve both been in big positions before,” Brady Singer said. “Oscar has been around for a while, and Tracy has been here for a while. We’re lucky to have those two guys taking the reins right now. Obviously, we hope everything is ok with (Johnson). Oscar and Tracy have taken on what DJ had, and we’re riding that same wave. They’re looking deep into things and helping as much as they can.”
Francona’s goal was for there to be as little shakeup as possible when Johnson’s leave of absence was announced. Francona decided that Marin would stay in the bullpen and that Tracy would effectively move one seat down the bench and communicate with Francona during the game as well as with pitchers during mound visits. Francona also made a point to highlight the way that Arnsberg has helped keep things organized during this period of transition.
The Reds’ bullpen has been very bad since the start of May, and the starting rotation also has meaningful room to improve. The Reds have already tapped into their Triple-A depth and changed roles around. The only path forward for this pitching staff is for the pitchers to simply develop and execute better. The coaches play a big role in that, and the last week has been different for the Reds’ coaching staff as they move forward for however long without Johnson.
Tracy, a former big league pitcher, joined the Reds’ organization leading into the 2023 season as the team’s bullpen coach. When former Reds assistant pitching coach Simon Matthews left the Reds at the end of the 2025 season to become the Washington Nationals’ lead pitching coach, the Reds promoted Tracy from within to assistant pitching coach.
The Reds’ recent lineage of assistant pitching coaches is as impressive as any team in MLB’s. It’s been like the Rams’ offensive coordinator job in the NFL — these guys get promoted.
When the Reds hired Tracy in 2023, Nick Krall said that former Reds assistant pitching coach Caleb Cotham (now the very highly-regarded and accomplished big league pitching coach for the Phillies) spoke highly of Tracy. Before joining the Reds, Tracy spent three seasons as the Blue Jays pitching analysis/development coordinator.
“(Tracy) has been awesome,” Rhett Lowder said. “Super easy to talk to. Very collaborative. I trust him with anything. He’ll talk through it with you, and he’s not afraid to mention anything to you. He has kept everything as normal as possible.”
When the Reds promoted Tracy before this season, they hired Marin to be the team’s new bullpen coach. For the six previous seasons, Marin was the lead pitching coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pittsburgh made a managerial change heading into the 2026 season, Marin wasn’t retained and he was hired by the Reds last November.
“He wants his guy to be perfect every single night while understanding that’s borderline impossible,” said Reds reliever Caleb Ferguson, who also played for Marin in Pittsburgh. “He has a very high IQ of the game. The give a (darn) never goes away. It’s contagious, especially when you have a roster like ours where you have a handful of guys who know who they are and the other (young) half who are figuring out who they are. Sometimes, you need that person to lean on. Oscar brings that.”
Reds’ pitchers said that Tracy has mostly been working most directly with the starting pitchers and Marin has mostly been working most directly with the relievers. Singer said that he has had conversations with Marin. But Tracy is the coach meeting with him before and during games.
Brock Burke said that he had primarily been working with Marin all season, so nothing really changed for him with the recent developments on the coaching staff.
“It’s business as usual,” Burke said. “Every team that I’ve ever been on, the pitching coach handles the starters and the bullpen coach handles us (relievers). Nothing really changes in the bullpen. Oscar is always there to help us out.”
Ferguson had also been primarily working with Marin all season.
“I already was kind of going to Oscar for all of my stuff,” Ferguson said. “That piece of the puzzle would look a little different for starters. For me, it’s a lot of the same. I miss (Johnson). I miss having his knowledge of pitching. But my days are about the same.”
Behind the scenes right now, Marin’s experience running an entire pitching staff surely helps the entire pitching staff, including the starting pitchers. Francona stressed the importance of the collaboration between Tracy and Marin, and Singer said he sees them doing a “great job” of staying on the same page and being cooperative.
“They all come together and have their ideas as one,” Singer said.
The coaches are also sticking with the Reds’ general preexisting pitching philosophy, even without Johnson present right now.
“They’re not trying to reinvent the wheel or bring us all of this new information,” Singer said. “They want to keep what (Johnson) was doing. They’ve done a great job. We’re fortunate to have both of them take over as of right now.”
Working with Tracy, Singer has been impressed with his attention to detail. The Reds’ first game without Johnson was Singer’s start last Friday against the Cardinals. Before the game, Tracy asked Singer, “Do you want me to walk or run to the mound before mound visits?”Singer had never been asked that before. He told Tracy that he feels like it brings some good energy when the coach runs out to the mound and gets him “ready to rock.” Tracy ran to the mound for his mound visits with Singer that night. “He did great,” Singer said. “He had to figure it out on the fly. That’s what he did that night. Big first night for him. He cares a lot. That’s all we can ask for as players. He’s your biggest fan. He’s great in that aspect. He wants you to succeed. He loves his guys.”
Reds relievers praised the way that Marin “tells it how it is.”
“When you do your drill work, (Marin) lets you know with positive or negative feedback,” Zach Maxwell said. “He’s not shy about telling you that you (messed) one up, or you did a rep good. He’s always demanding even more. That’s what we need — that’s what I need. Someone to keep demanding more.”
Burke emphasized the importance of Marin’s experience.
“When it comes to little things like pitch tipping, tiny changes in mechanics, he’s able to pick up on it,” Burke said. “For him to be able to see it right away with his knowledge of already being a pitching coach, that’s definitely helpful.”
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