I had a feeling the Cubs wouldn’t wait too long on nabbing a new hitting coach, and, sure enough, they’ve already struck.
Today, the Chicago Cubs announced their 2015 coaching staff, which includes new hitting coach, John Mallee, formerly of the Houston Astros and Miami Marlins. We discussed Mallee quite a bit yesterday, and will have more on him soon.
Sliding into the assistant hitting coach role is Eric Hinske, formerly the first base coach. That sounds like a pretty good fit, and suggests the Cubs knew it wasn’t going to happen with Manny Ramirez this year. I’m actually fairly glad to hear that the new assistant hitting coach is a guy the young Cubs players have already been working with, even if in a slightly different role.
Taking over as the new first base/outfield coach? It’s a familiar face in Doug Dascenzo, a former Cubs player, who most recently was coaching with the Braves. More on Dascenzo soon.
The rest of the staff stays the same: Chris Bosio (pitching coach), Brandon Hyde (bench coach), Gary Jones (third base/infield coach), Lester Strode (bullpen coach), Mike Borzello (catching and strategy coach), Jose Castro (quality assurance coach) and Franklin Font (staff assistant).