Cubs Reportedly Retaining Coaches Iapoce, Hottovy, and Borzello

It has been expected, but is today reported that – for the first time in three years – the Cubs will actually have the same pitching and hitting coaches in consecutive seasons. Wild!

We heard about Young and Denorfia earlier today, and now it’s more or less confirmed that Anthony Iapoce, Tommy Hottovy, and Mike Borzello – all very well-liked by the front office – will be returning to their roles on David Ross’s coaching staff next year.

Iapoce was formerly the Cubs’ minor league hitting coordinator before becoming the Rangers’ hitting coach. When the Cubs decided to end Chili Davis’s stint as hitting coach after just one year, they brought Iapoce back into the organization. Coincidentally or not, several Cubs players had dramatically better seasons at the plate in 2019 than in 2018. I’m glad he’s being retained.

Hottovy was the Cubs’ run prevention coordinator for several years before taking over as the pitching coach last year. He was well-regarded in his previous role, and seemed to fit in seamlessly as the pitching coach. During his time in the org, the Cubs have generally received solid results on the pitching side of things despite constantly piecing things together (which is both a compliment to the org, and also a criticism of their inability to develop impactful pitchers internally).

Borzello has been around since the Dale Sveum days, and he works closely with the catchers and pitchers on gameplanning and strategy. He’s a key piece of the pitching infrastructure, where Brad Mills (who slid into Hottovy’s old role last year) will also be retained:

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Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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