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The Cubs are in the midst of several coaching changes this offseason and a former Cub may be on the verge of joining Joe Maddon’s staff.
Although the Cubs have replaced hitting coach Chili Davis with Anthony Iapoce, the team still has an opening at assistant hitting coach. Eric Hinske had that position before he was hired by the Angels as their hitting coach for the 2018 season. However, he won’t be the one coming back to the Cubs to take the same role for 2019.
Eric Hinske is expected to join the Diamondbacks as an assistant hitting coach, sources tell @TheAthleticCHI and @ByRobertMurray. That eliminates Hinske as a possibility to return to the Cubs for the same job he had during the 2016 World Series run.
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) November 26, 2018
So, the position remains vacant, but former Cubs outfielder Chris Denorfia might be added to the coaching staff even if he’s not promoted to assistant hitting coach.
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Via The Athletic.
Chris Denorfia has emerged as a strong candidate to join Maddon’s staff next season, according to two sources familiar with the organization’s thinking. Denorfia rejoined the Cubs this year as a special assistant to Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer, gaining exposure to the entire baseball operations department.
The Cubs brought Denorfia back to the organization last spring training along with Matt Murton.
#Cubs have named Chris Denorfia as Special Assistant to the President/General Manager and Matt Murton as Baseball Operations Assistant. pic.twitter.com/bx0MaD3ESW
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) March 9, 2018
Anyway, Patrick Mooney says that Denorfia might join Maddon’s staff, but in a different role than assistant hitting coach.
Maybe it’s more as a quality control coach than an assistant hitting instructor, but Denorfia earned immense respect from Maddon, inside the clubhouse and within the front office for his preparation, professionalism and ability to handle elite velocity during the team’s surprising turnaround season in 2015. Denorfia maximized his talents as a 19th-round pick in the 2002 draft out of Division III Wheaton College (Massachusetts), lasting parts of 10 seasons in the big leagues.
Denorfia’s last season in majors was in 2015, with the Cubs. He played in 103 games, as the Cubs won 97 games en route to their first NLCS appearance since 2003.
So, he’s possibly another younger guy added to the coaching staff. As of now, the favorite to replace Jim Hickey as pitching coach is 37-year-old Tommy Hottovy. Denorfia is 38-years-old, while the team’s new hitting coach, Iapoce, is 45.
While personnel is changing in the dugout so is Maddon’s managing style. In a recent interview with the Tampa Bay Times, Maddon said he was going to do more hands-on coaching in 2019.
You can read more about that here.
