Chicago Cubs: Andy Green brought onto coaching staff

The coaching staff for 2020 is coming together quick for the Chicago Cubs as they bring in another new name.

We learned Friday via MLB insider Jon Heyman that former San Diego Padres manager Andy Green will serve as the new Chicago Cubs bench coach on David Ross‘s coaching staff. Green, 42, had managed the Padres from 2016 through late last year when he was let go by the organization. He went 274 – 366 as the Padres skipper.

Green will take the job that belonged to Mark Loretta last year, as it was already confirmed that he would not be back with the organization. Loretta was a candidate for the manager’s role for the Cubs but it was clear he did not really have a chance at landing the gig. Meanwhile Green was rumored to be in the mix as bench coach since Ross was hired a few weeks ago.

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There is not much of a connection between Ross and Green outside the fact they were both in the Reds organization back in 2008 as players. While the former obviously had a long career as a backup catcher, Green spent his MLB playing days with the Arizona Diamondbacks as an infielder. He slashed .200/.282/.265 in 140 MLB games from 2004-2009.

The role for a guy like Green

Lets face it, the press is not often sticking their recorders in the faces of bench coaches. Green’s tenure as manager of the Padres was ultimately disappointing after the team sunk a lot of money into big names and the overall record did not see much improvement despite promise.

It can make some Cubs fans hesitant about bringing in a guy whose managerial record is not very good and stories of him losing the clubhouse last year, but the fact of the matter is simple…he is a bench coach. His job is mainly to help Ross with in-game strategies and do research and scouting to help with things such as defensive positioning.

Green is following the current pattern of this organization with younger coaches which can hopefully help connection between them and the players. Even if things did not go great in San Diego for him, a new environment and not being the head honcho can hopefully allow him to be utilized to the best of his abilities and knowledge of the game. It was not all his fault the Padres did not succeed over recent years after all.

Now that the staff is starting to take place, we will start to see other dominoes start to fall. There is a long way to go in the offseason, but the Chicago Cubs are taking care of their coaching staff pretty quickly.