Chicago Cubs: Is Brandon Hyde on the move? If so who replaces?

Chicago Cubs: Will the Cubs tap Farrell as team’s number two?

Former Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays skipper and current ESPN analyst John Farrell is a possibility to replace Brandon Hyde should the latter depart. Farrell has a 586-548 record in seven seasons as a big league skipper.

That, of course, includes a 97-win season in 2013 with the Red Sox, leading the club to another World Series crown, sweeping the Colorado Rockies in the Fall Classic.

Some forget that before he was a manager, Farrell was a pitching coach. This may allow him to work alongside pitching coach Jim Hickey in efforts to get Tyler Chatwood and Yu Darvish back on-track next year.

His immense experience makes him a logical choice – but the Cubs may choose to look outside the San Diego and Boston circles they so often dip back into when looking to fill vacancies.

Chicago Cubs: A fan favorite with ties to the current clubhouse

If it was up to the fan base, I’m almost positive they’d hire former World Series champion David Ross. “Grandpa Rossy” is and will forever be a fan favorite. Of late, he’s been mentioned as candidate for the Minnesota Twins managerial vacancy, but it’s hard to imagine him passing up the chance to return to Chicago.

Of course, that also depends on his personal motivations. He retired looking forward to spending more time with his family – and he may not be ready to return to the grind of a big league lifestyle just yet. a

Ross would be a great fit on the Cubs’ bench. He holds longstanding ties to a majority of the players on the roster. Obviously, he’s someone that seemingly everyone can get along with. As a former catcher, he may very well prove to be the next Mike Scioscia or Mike Matheny. Both of these men, of course, are former catchers who’ve been successful as big league skippers.

Chicago Cubs: Could they take the former Twins skipper?

Paul Molitor is another big name to watch out for if Brandon Hyde goes elsewhere.

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In a somewhat surprising move, the Twins relived Molitor of his duties at the end of the season, just one year removed from leading the Twins to an  85-win season and a postseason berth.

Those efforts netted Molitor 2017 AL Manager of the Year honors.

The Hall of Famer would be a great fit for the Cubs. Given the team’s offensive woes last year, bringing in a bench coach who himself collected 3,319 knocks in his career seems like a pretty good place to start.

The fact of the matter is the Cubs couldn’t hit large chunks of the season, including pretty much all September. This culminated in the Cubs squandering their division lead and, eventually, falling in the Wild Card game to the Colorado Rockies.

Molitor could serve as a second hitting coach to go along with newly-hired Anthony Iapoce.

Chicago Cubs: So who do I want personally?

As much as I would love to have David Ross, my choice would be Paul Molitor. The Cubs couldn’t hit in 2018, and a guy with 3,000-plus hits could be just what this team needs.

Granted, the popular choice is and always will be Ross. God forbid the team cut ties with Joe Maddon next season. The Ross 2020 campaign for Cubs skipper will rival anything either major political party puts forward for the next presidential election.

Of course, all of this is hypothetical. But when you have a bench coach interviewing for pretty much every managerial vacancy in the game, it’s time to plan accordingly. Brandon Hyde is a well-respected guy with a ton of experience in the game.

At some point, even if it’s not this winter, he’s going to get the chance to manage a team of his own. If that happens to come this offseason, the Cubs have plenty of options to choose from in picking his successor.