The Detroit Tigers have fired pitching coach Chris Bosio.
General manager Al Avila told ESPN's Jerry Crasnick on Wednesday that Bosio was dismissed for making an insensitive comment directed at a team employee.
Avila said bullpen coach Rick Anderson will take over for Bosio. A.J. Sager, the Tigers' roving pitching instructor, will fill in as bullpen coach until Triple-A pitching coach Jeff Pico arrives and assumes that spot on manager Ron Gardenhire's staff.
The team, which announced the move Wednesday, says it holds employees "to the highest standards of personal conduct on and off the field," adding it has zero tolerance for Bosio's behavior.
Avila said Bosio made the comments recently, and they were brought to Avila's attention Tuesday. Avila decided Wednesday to terminate Bosio's contract after the team investigated the situation and spoke to all of the people involved.
Avila said that what Bosio said violated team policy and his contract, although the GM otherwise spoke highly of Bosio's job performance.
"He definitely was a good pitching coach," Avila said.
Tigers right-hander Alex Wilson said he and teammates heard rumors of what had happened.
"We're sorry to everyone that it affected," Wilson said. "It's not a good day here. It's a sad day. But we're going to move forward, and hopefully this brings us closer than we've ever been."
Bosio, a former major league pitcher, was in his first season as Detroit's pitching coach after serving in the same role for six years with the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs didn't renew Bosio's contract after last season and hired Jim Hickey to replace him, reuniting manager Joe Maddon with his former pitching coach in Tampa Bay.
"That's tough," Maddon said when asked for his thoughts on Bosio's dismissal. "That's potentially a career-ending situation."
The 55-year-old Bosio was 94-93 over an 11-season career, mostly as a starter, with Milwaukee and Seattle. The right-hander threw a no-hitter in 1993 for the Mariners against the Boston Red Sox.
Bosio was hailed for his work with the Cubs' pitchers, helping them have the lowest ERA in the major leagues from 2015 through 2017. Chicago won the 2016 World Series and reached the NL Championship Series last year and in 2015 with Bosio as its pitching coach.
His first job in the majors was in 2003 as the pitching coach for Lou Piniella in Tampa Bay. He also has worked as a pitching coach in the minor leagues and an advance scout for the Brewers, who named him interim pitching coach in 2009.
Information from The Associated Press and ESPN's Jesse Rogers was used in this report.