Former major leaguer Brian Reith named Twins pitching coach

The Minnesota Twins made their first big addition of the offseason on Wednesday, announcing the hiring of Brian Reith to fill their vacant pitching coach position. Reith, 48, has spent the previous five seasons working as the pitching coach for the Durham Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Before that, he held a number of different roles in the Rays organization, working as a pitching development fellow and also as a pitching coach in the lower levels of the minors. Reith also had a brief major league playing career, pitching in parts of three seasons for the Cincinnati Reds, mostly in relief. He also pitched for a number of different organizations during a decade in the minor leagues. Added to bullpen coach LaTroy Hawkins, Reith gives the Twins two pitching coaches with major league experience. The Twins decided to move on from pitching coach Pete Maki and assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez at the conclusion of a season in which they posted a cumul