Cleveland Indians bench coach Brad Mills has opted out of the 2020 season, manager Terry Francona said Sunday.
Francona told reporters that Mills left the team Saturday to return to his family in Texas.
Mills’ 18-month-old grandson, Beau, drowned in a swimming pool accident in February, and Francona indicated that his Mills and his family are still grieving.
“I think it was agonizing for him to leave home [to come to summer camp],” Francona said, according to Cleveland.com. “I think it was agonizing for him to leave here. But I know in my heart he made the right decision.”
Mills, 63, was entering his sixth season as the Indians’ bench coach and also was on Francona’s staffs with the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox.
Francona told reporters that the team has not made a decision on who will replace Mills in the bench coach role this season.
“Together we will work our way through it,” Francona told reporters. “No one person will replace what Millsie does. We know that and he knows that. I think it was a difficult decision for him. I almost wish it hadn’t been so difficult for him because I know in my heart where he needs to be … that’s home right now.”