NEWSLETTER
So much for not much turnover on the Chicago Cubs’ coaching staff, eh?
Today, the team announced a significant number of changes, in addition to ones we already knew about:
#Cubs today named Chili Davis as hitting coach and Brian Butterfield third base coach. Andy Haines was promoted to assistant hitting coach.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) October 26, 2017
So then, you can immediately see a couple things there: hitting coach John Mallee is now gone, as is third base coach Gary Jones. Mallee came under fire periodically over the past two years for the Cubs’ lack of situational hitting (fair or unfair), and further for some developmental issues with players not effectively implementing selective aggression and working counts (again, fair or unfair). Jones sometimes made really bad calls at third base, but that’s pretty much every third base coach since forever, and they do a lot more work with the players beyond that (Jones was also the infield coach). So I really couldn’t comment on him being let go.
In Mallee’s place, Chili Davis comes over from Boston, where he was the hitting coach for the past three years. Given the development there by a number of young hitters, that sounds great to me. We’ll have to dig in on him a bit more soon.
Brian Butterfield takes over for Jones as the third base coach (and probably infield coach) after filling that role with the Red Sox for the past five years.
As you can see, with John Farrell losing the manager job in Boston, the Cubs probably went to work targeting some guys on his staff that they wanted.
As for Haines, who replaces Eric Hinske (he got the hitting coach job with the Angels), he served as the team’s minor league hitting coordinator for the past couple years, and is very well-regarded. Getting him up and on staff with the big league team at this point seems like a very good move.
There could still be more change coming for the Cubs, who’ll see their bench coach Dave Martinez interviewing with Nationals for their open managerial position, and who have already parted ways with pitching coach Chris Bosio. Joe Maddon’s former pitching coach (from Tampa Bay) Jim Hickey has been in to interview for that job, but no announcements have been made yet.
It’s not often you see so much turnover on a coaching staff that was in place for three straight NLCS runs, but – especially in retrospect – it’s not difficult to see that now might be an opportune time to get new voices in the room.
Mallee offered a farewell on Twitter:
I would like to thank the Chicago Cubs for the amazing opportunity to be part of a great tradition and organization for the last 3 years. I left a great Houston Astros organization to be closer to home with my family and to help my hometown team win a World Series. We did that.
— John Mallee (@JohnMallee) October 26, 2017
I have no regrets and stand by my work. I wish nothing but the best for the Cubs organization and all the amazing people I met along the way, especially my hitters. See you from across the field. Males
— John Mallee (@JohnMallee) October 26, 2017
UPDATE: Maddon indeed referenced getting some new voices involved:
#Cubs Maddon on Davis, Butterfield, Haines: "I think the three of these guys give us some different voices for next year"
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) October 26, 2017
We’ll find out soon, I’d hope, exactly what the thinking was here, and who drove the changes. My guess is it was a bit collaborative between the front office and Maddon.
UPDATE 2: Sure enough, the fact that the Red Sox guys became available had a lot to do with this:
Maddon says changes more on availability of other coaches. Also calls them "impact coaches" #Cubs
— Carrie Muskat (@CarrieMuskat) October 26, 2017
