NEWSLETTER
I don’t have much for you just yet besides this tweet from Eno and my confirmation that, yeah, there seems to be a bit of buzz behind the scenes about significant organizational restructuring changes. So this is a “stay tuned” situation.
Here’s what Eno said:
Hearing some Cubs org news coming today
— Eno Sarris (@enosarris) October 17, 2019
I’m not able to confirm any details just yet, but, again, yeah, it sounds like some things are coming down the pipeline. Given what I’ve heard, given the obvious needs for improvement after the last couple years, and given the fact that Eno put this out there, you can tentatively expect the changes to be significant.
UPDATE (Michael): Here’s the press release the Cubs just issued, we’ll have more on the specifics later …
CUBS ANNOUNCE PLAYER DEVELOPMENT LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE,
INCLUDING NEW DIRECTORS OF PITCHING AND HITTING ROLESThursday, October 17, 2019
CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today announced a new player development leadership structure within their baseball operations department.
Matt Dorey has been named Senior Vice President, Player Development. This marks a shift to player development for Dorey, who has spent the last six years as the club’s director of amateur scouting (2014-19) after joining the Cubs in 2012 as a national crosschecker. Dorey was an area scout with the Boston Red Sox from 2008-11, earning their Scout of the Year honor in 2010, and was a college coach prior to joining the professional ranks. The 2020 season will mark Dorey’s ninth in the Cubs organization and 13th in pro baseball.
Bobby Basham has been named Director of Player Development. He most recently served as Director of Special Projects/Assistant Director of Player Development (2018-19). Basham joined the Cubs in 2012 and has held a variety of roles, including major league scouting coordinator (2012-13), assistant director of advance scouting and major league strategy (2014) and assistant director of minor league operations (2015-17). Basham pitched for six seasons in the Reds and Padres minor league systems (2001-03, 2005-07).
Craig Breslow has been named Director of Pitching/Special Assistant to the President and General Manager. As Director of Pitching, Breslow will be tasked with the strategic management of the club’s minor league pitching infrastructure. He will also contribute to the organization more generally as a Special Assistant to the President/GM. Breslow joined the Cubs last January as Director of Strategic Initiatives for Baseball Operations after completing a 12-year major league pitching career that saw him make 576 appearances, all but two in relief, with seven different clubs, including a 2013 World Championship with the Boston Red Sox. He is a 2002 graduate of Yale University with a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry.
Justin Stone has been named Director of Hitting. Stone, who has served as a biokinematic hitting consultant for the Cubs since 2018, has 20 years of coaching and teaching experience and started Elite Baseball Training in Chicago in 2011, a technology-infused baseball and softball instructional company, to provide hitting instruction by merging and embracing baseball and technology. In this new strategic management role, Stone will lead the club’s minor league hitting infrastructure and play a critical role in tracking the progress, adherence, and success of the club’s minor league hitting development plans while also serving as hitting coordinator at the lower levels. Stone previously was the General Manager at the Chicago White Sox Training Academy from 2001-11 and coached at Indiana State University from 1999-2001, where he also earned his Master’s Degree in Human Performance, specializing in kinesiology, physiology and biomechanics.
Jeremy Farrell has been named Assistant Director of Baseball Development, tasked with working across all areas of player development to maintain the club’s organizational philosophy with respect to fundamentals and competitive standards. Farrell spent the 2019 season as the club’s minor league field coordinator, his fourth season in the organization overall, as he has also served one season as minor league infield coordinator (2018) and two seasons as a minor league hitting coach (2016-17). Farrell moved into player development following a seven-year minor league career as an infielder in the Pirates (2008-12) and White Sox (2013-15) organizations.
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With the announcement of the club’s new player development leadership structure, Jaron Madison has been named Special Assistant to the President/General Manager, a player evaluation role with emphasis on professional, amateur and international scouting.  Madison has 18 years in pro baseball, including the last eight seasons with the Cubs as director of amateur scouting (Aug. 2012-13) and director of player development (2014-19). Before the Cubs, Madison was director of amateur scouting for San Diego (Dec. 2009-July 2012), assistant director of scouting for St. Louis (2008-09), assistant to the director of scouting for San Diego (2005-07) and an area scout for Pittsburgh (2002-05).
The Cubs will announce further player development hirings and a new scouting leadership structure at a later date.
