John Mallee has been an assistant hitting coach for the Chicago Cubs during the past few years, working alongside fellow assistant Juan Cabreja and hitting coach Dustin Kelly. Mallee is in his second stint with the Cubs, first joining the organization more than a decade ago as a hitting coach on Joe Maddon’s staff from 2015-17. Now, the New York Mets want to hire Mallee.
The 2026 Cubs ended the regular season by setting a modern franchise record with a team wRC+ of 114. The offense also led MLB with 850 runs scored. They ranked third in home runs with 220 and second in MLB with a .339 team OBP. Players obviously deserve the credit, but coaches also have input, and Mallee, specifically, got his flowers during the season from none other than Pete Crow-Armstrong.
Veteran third baseman Alex Bregman also singled out Mallee, who had a resurgent second half and has been the team’s top hitter since the All-Star break. In June, a fan caught a glimpse of Dansby Swanson getting extra work with Mallee at Wrigley Field right before the Cubs shortstop went on a historic tear.
Mallee, like many MLB hitting coaches, has bounced around the league since first reaching the highest level with the then-Florida Marlins in 2010. In addition to the Cubs, Mallee has worked with the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, and Los Angeles Angels.
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There are no indications from the Cubs that the want to move on from Mallee heading into the 2027 season, but it’s also not a guarantee that he’ll return to Craig Counsell’s staff if he gets a better offer from the Mets.
Here’s the latest from MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo.
Cubs assistant hitting coach John Mallee is on the Mets’ list of interviewees for their coaching staff vacancy, according to an industry source. He joins a list of publicly known candidates that also includes Kevin Long, as the New York Post reported earlier this week.
The Mets, who tied for 20th in runs (699), dismissed director of hitting Jeff Albert after the season, but the club retained hitting coach Troy Snitker and assistant Rafael Fernandez. At the outset of New York’s search to replace Albert, a source said the team was unsure if it would hire a new hitting director over Snitker or another assistant beneath him.
So, Mallee could jump at the chance to once again be the top boss in the hitting department if the Mets ultimately offer him the director of hitting role after Jeff Albert is let go following the 2026 season.
It would sting, mainly because of his work with PCA in 2026.
Via the Chicago Tribune.
Meanwhile, Kelly appears to be coming back as the Cubs’ hitting coach in 2027. He’s been the primary hitting coach since 2023. I won’t pretend to have any real in-depth knowledge of what Kelly has done behind the scenes, but doesn’t it kind of speak volumes that we’ve publicly seen players praise Mallee while there haven’t been many stories praising Kelly?
We’ll see if Mallee sticks around or does indeed leave for the Mets. So far, it doesn’t sound like the Cubs will be making any major changes to their coaching staff.
