Chicago Cubs: Two big-name targets who could replace Jim Hickey

Although it appears the Chicago Cubs have a strong in-house candidate to replace Jim Hickey, Theo Epstein will also interview several external candidates.

Yesterday, we touched on the reported front-runner to replace Jim Hickey, current Chicago Cubs run prevention specialist and former big leaguer Tommy Hottovy. But, according to Bruce Levine of 670 AM WSCR, he won’t be the only person the team talks to about its pitching coach vacancy.

Of course, Hickey stepped down from his role last week after a long silence about his job security after the season ended prompted questions from fans and media alike. Under Hickey, Chicago relievers ranked second in all of baseball with a 3.35 ERA and the staff as a whole trailed only the Houston Astros and Los Angeles Dodgers with a 3.65 ERA across 1476 1/3 frames this year.

But after the longtime Joe Maddon confidant resigned, citing ‘personal reasons’, the Cubs will once again look to find the man to shape a staff bursting with talent – albeit facing its fair share of issues.

In addition to Hottovy, Theo Epstein is expected to sit down with two former big league skippers, as well, in John Farrell and Bryan Price. Both have a great deal of experience as Major League pitching coaches, as well – and there are far-reaching implications and dots that could be connected should either man get the job.

Chicago Cubs: Will familiarity help Farrell land the gig?

One of the big things we talked about in reference to the Cubs and Hottovy yesterday was familiarity and continuity. Obviously, someone like that – who has worked with the guys on this pitching staff – makes a transition to a new pitching coach much smoother than bringing in someone from the outside.

But, then again, sometimes a fresh set of eyes is just what the doctor ordered. John Farrell seems to be the best of both worlds – at least to a degree. While the familiarity certainly isn’t as deep as what the Cubs would get with someone like Hottovy or bullpen coach Lester Strode, there are some long-standing connections tying Farrell to Chicago.

Before coming to the North Side, we all know Theo Epstein’s tale of breaking his first curse in Boston. From 2007 to 2010, Farrell served as the pitching coach on Epstein’s Red Sox teams. He departed Boston to manage Toronto for a pair of seasons before returning to the Sox in 2013 as skipper – a role he held until 2017, before giving way to rookie manager Alex Cora.

While serving as Boston’s pitching coach, he worked with now-Cubs ace Jon Lester – who could be an important ally in coming weeks. From 2007 to 2010, the southpaw pitched to a 3.49 FIP across 108 starts. In 2010, he made his first All-Star team, winning 19 games and finishing fourth in Cy Young voting.

With ties to Lester and Epstein, no matter how much you might think Hottovy is a front-runner, don’t sleep on Farrell reuniting with his former boss in Chicago.

Chicago Cubs: Team needs this resolved sooner rather than later

Baseball’s annual Winter Meetings are set for December 9-13 in Las Vegas, NV. Why is this relevant? Because it would send a much stronger message to agents of free agents if the Cubs had their internal house in order before Epstein and Jed Hoyer went shopping.

It’s hard to imagine players aren’t at least a little concerned by how Chicago has conducted itself this winter. First, firing Chili Davis and refusing to give Maddon an extension – or even talk about one with their skipper. They lost Andy Haines, their assistant hitting coach, to the Milwaukee Brewers and, now, face the task of replacing Jim Hickey, Maddon’s hand-picked choice to serve as pitching coach last offseason.

Maddon will enter 2019 under the spectre of being a lame-duck manager. Whether or not that affects anything this winter remains to be seen, but the Cubs would be better served in, at the very least, rounding out the coaching staff before that point.

It’ll be interesting to see which way the Cubs go. If not for Farrell’s ties to both Epstein and the organization (his sons have held a variety of roles with the team – both as players and in the front office), I’d say Hottovy was a safe bet. But those relationships change things, at least in my mind, and could give the former Red Sox skipper a leg up on the competition.