Chicago Cubs: Is a new coaching staff the team’s biggest acquisition?

The Chicago Cubs have been remarkably quiet for a team in the middle of a contention window. But their coaching staff changes could pay huge dividends.

Things have changed quite a bit in the last half-decade. The Chicago Cubs have become a perennial contender, winning 90+ games in each of the last four seasons. That’s led to three NLCS appearances, an NL pennant, two division titles and a World Series championship – not to mention the individual accolades that have piled up during that span.

Jake Arrieta won the 2015 National League Cy Young thanks to a historic second half, Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks finished as Cy Young finalists a year later and Kris Bryant won the Rookie of the Year in ’15 and followed it up with NL Most Valuable Player honors one year later. And don’t forget about Joe Maddon‘s Manager of the Year hardware, either.

Despite the success, though, an abrupt end to the 2018 season left a bad taste in fans’ mouths – one that has carried deep into the offseason. With less than one month until pitchers and catchers report to Mesa, the club’s only significant (and I use that term fairly loosely) addition is veteran infielder Daniel Descalso, who replaces fan favorite Tommy La Stella, whom the Cubs traded to the Angels early in the winter.

At least so far, there’s been no press conference introducing Bryce Harper or Manny Machado. Even with Craig Kimbrel‘s market developing at a snail’s pace, the Cubs don’t seem to be in on the veteran closer, either – despite a dire need at the back end of the bullpen.

But what if I told you that they’ve already made the moves that will shape this year’s club? I’m not talking about Descalso – or even the decision to bring back Cole Hamels via his $20 million team option for 2019.

I’m talking about the overhauled coaching staff.

Chicago Cubs: New pitching coach is a perfect Epstein hire

Last winter, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer seemingly let manager Joe Maddon have guys he knew and felt comfortable with in longtime big league coaching staff mainstays Chili Davis and Jim Hickey. That love affair turned south rather quickly – and Epstein reassumed control of his organization this offseason, refusing to discuss a new deal with Maddon and going with more forward-thinking, innovative hires to fill the vacancies on the coaching staff.

Replacing Hickey is former run prevention specialist Tommy Hottovy, a highly intellectual former big leaguer who has worked with Epstein and Maddon since the Cubs brought in the former Tampa Bay skipper ahead of the 2015 season.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups
• Cubs: P.J. Higgins deserves to be in the lineup on a daily basis

Patrick Mooney of The Athletic penned an excellent piece (sub required) on the new Chicago pitching coach earlier this week – and it’s absolutely worth a read.  But one bit, in particular, jumped out at me (aside from the fact that he essentially cold-called Epstein to get his foot in the door in the Cubs’ front office).

“Tommy has been a vital part of our team for a few years now,” Kyle Hendricks wrote in a text message. “I’m excited for him to get this opportunity. He’s an extremely hard worker and buys into the group. He just wants to be a resource to help anyone get better. He’s really good at the advanced game planning now, but he also can break down video and help with mechanical cues as well. The pitchers as a whole know what to expect from him, so having that comfortability should allow us all to develop and just focus on winning.”

Personally, I continue to view Kyle Hendricks as one of – if not the – most cerebral players in the game today. So for him to offer this kind of praise of Hottovy bodes well for the Cubs’ new pitching coach. Chicago has to find a way to get guys like Brandon Kintzler, Tyler Chatwood and Yu Darvish back on track in 2019 – and Hottovy is just the guy for the job, a perfect blend of analytics and familiarity that should lessen the learning curve for Cubs hurlers.

Chicago Cubs: A breath of fresh air can work wonders

More importantly, I think what these two guys bring to the table is a forward-thinking mindset.

When you’re working with guys you have a longstanding relationship with (Hickey, for example), someone like Maddon may be less likely to go head-to-head in situations or change how you view the game. This new blood could very well motivate the Cubs skipper to challenge the status quo and attack things in different ways in 2019.

It hasn’t been the offseason any of us expected – at least not yet. But instead of succumbing to the doom and gloom naysayers who will undoubtedly make their presence felt at Cubs Convention this weekend, I think it’s time to embrace the talent on this roster – and on the coaching staff.