NEWSLETTER
We kinda thought there might be some movement and/or resolution on the coaching staff front this week at the GM Meetings, and sure enough, it sounds like the Cubs just about have their new assistant hitting coach.
Per Sahadev Sharma, it’s former Padres coach Johnny Washington:
Cubs add to their staff as they try to extract more from their players & emphasize collaboration across the org. Their latest hire, assistant hitting coach Johnny Washington, was on Andy Green's staff in SD & spent last year as a hitting coach in the KBO. https://t.co/U0Brt2MyzR
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) November 11, 2021
Interesting recent track record for Washington, who was a first base coach with the Padres on Andy Green’s staff, and then was the Padres’ hitting coach for 2019, Green’s final year. When Green was axed, Washington took the pandemic season off, and then headed to South Korea to be the hitting coach for the Hanwha Eagles this past season. Before his time on the Padres’ big league staff, Washington coached his way up through the Dodgers and Padres’ systems.
Clearly the relationship with now Cubs bench coach Andy Green was a big factor in the hiring, but I kinda love the diversity of experience there for Washington, who has worn just about all the hats, including a year in Asia. Combine his arrival with that of new hitting coach Greg Brown, and you have a pretty significant change to the big league hitting infrastructure. Justin Stone remains as the director of hitting at the minor league level, as do most of the minor league coaches.
Sharma’s article is a great read overall on the state of the coaching staff, and the relationship between those big league coaches and player development (it’s been a real issue for the Cubs for the last decade to continue developing players at the big league level).
A fun aside (well, for Cubs fans at least):
As my colleague @MLBastian pointed out, KBO fans seem instensely upset that Washington is leaving the Hanwha Eagles for the Cubs. pic.twitter.com/BzxKAYLaS3
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) November 11, 2021
