The Bells are excited to announce the hiring of new pitching coach Carlos Arroyo. Arroyo recently retired from over four decades as a minor league player and coach with the Philadelphia Phillies. The West Coast League will be his first stop in summer collegiate baseball.

“I am very excited to be joining the Bells,” Arroyo said. “I look forward to bringing my experience to the collegiate level and working with talented young pitchers trying to reach professional baseball. The Bells have a great reputation in the baseball community and I am excited to be part of the Bells family.”

Arroyo replaces Jim Clem, who served as the Bells pitching coach for eleven seasons before stepping down in September 2021.

“We are thrilled to add Carlos to our staff,” Bells general manager Stephanie Morrell said. “Coach Clem left big shoes to fill. During our search, one of the top priorities was to find an experienced coach with the knowledge base to develop young pitching talent at the level we have come to expect. Carlos was a perfect fit in every way; the Bells are lucky to have found him.”

With the Bells, Arroyo will lead the pitching staff and work closely with Bells head coach Adam Geaslen. The Bells have boasted some of the WCL’s best pitching staffs in prior years and Arroyo looks forward to working with talented young collegiate athletes working to develop their craft.

“I am passionate about developing young athletes, not only into skilled pitchers but also into quality human beings,” Arroyo said. “The Bells have a similar mentality, and early on in my conversations with Glenn (Kirkpatrick, Bells owner), Stephanie (Morrell, Bells GM) and Adam (Bells Head Coach) I knew we were aligned in our core beliefs, and that this would be a special organization to be a part of. Everyone has been very welcoming to me, and I can’t wait to get to Bellingham and get started!”

“We couldn’t be more excited to have Carlos as a part of the Bells coaching staff in 2022,” Geaslen said. “Our pitchers will benefit greatly from his extensive knowledge and experience.”

Arroyo joined the Phillies minor league system as a coach in 1982. He spent his entire career with the Phillies, holding a variety of roles including Minor League Pitching Coordinator, Roving Pitching Coach and Rehab Pitching Coach. He has also spent time as a pitching coach at almost every level of minor league baseball, serving as a pitching coach at the GCL, Short Season A, A and AA levels. During his time with the Phillies, he worked with former Bell (2015, 2016) Spencer Howard as he worked his way through the Phillies minor league system, eventually making his MLB debut in 2020.

After almost 40 years of coaching, Arroyo retired at the conclusion of the 2021 season. In total, Arroyo spent over 45 years within the Philadelphia Phillies organization, beginning as a 16-year-old from Vega Alta, Puerto Rico. In 1975, he was as an opening day starter for the Pulaski Phillies of the Appalachian League.

His playing career took him to the Triple-A level with the Oklahoma City 89’ers where he played from 1979-1981. In 1980, Arroyo transitioned to a reliever/closer role and threw 92 innings with 13 saves, an 8-6 record and an ERA of 3.23.

The following season, Arroyo pitched a career-high 151 innings with the Triple-A Aguascalientes Rieleros of the Mexican League, on loan from the Phillies. This was the final season of his playing career because of an elbow injury.

Arroyo quickly changed course and began his coaching career during 1983 Spring Training in Sarasota, Florida as a coach in the Phillies Minor League Development Program.

His debut as pitching coach was in 1984 for the Peninsula Pilots of the Carolina League and that launched him into a career that took him to eight different teams at a variety of levels within the Phillies system.

In 2012, Arroyo was awarded with the John Vukovich Award which has been given annually since 2007 by the Phillies to an instructor who embodies the characteristics of the late Phillies coach, which include loyalty, competitiveness, and work ethic.

After retiring from the Phillies organization in 2021, Arroyo has resided in Clearwater, Fla. with his wife and grandchildren. He continues to work training local baseball players in his community.