While the Chicago Cubs haven’t done much in terms of acquiring players this offseason, they got things started with a bang on November 6 when they poached manager Craig Counsell from the rival Brewers.
The move sent shockwaves throughout the baseball world, as the Cubs were by all accounts not looking for a manager and instead content with keeping franchise cult hero and former catcher David Ross for a fourth season.
Counsell’s jump felt like the start of a significant offseason of spending for Chicago, as they gave their new manager an MLB record eight million dollars a year for five years, totaling $40 million.
It remains to be seen if the Cubs will add any players this offseason, though there are still plenty of free agents out there.
One thing that is for sure, however, is that Counsell has finalized his coaching staff per a report from The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma.
Counsell’s staff will consist of a mix of holdovers from Ross’ staff and a handful of new faces. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy, as is hitting coach Dustin Kelly, is a holdover. Assistant hitting coach Johnny Washington left the team to be the hitting coach of the Los Angeles Angels and will be replaced by John Mallee, who was the Cubs’ hitting coach from 2015-17. Former bench coach Andy Green left the organization to take a job in the New York Mets front office and was replaced by former major leaguer and Padres bench coach Ryan Flaherty.
The Cubs will also have a new bullpen coach and catching coach, as former bullpen coach Chris Young and former catching coach Craig Driver each didn’t have their contracts picked up following the end of the 2023 season. They’ll be replaced by Darren Holmes and Mark Strittmatter, respectively.
An official announcement to finalize the staff is expected within the week.
