The Chicago Cubs are putting Jose Javier on their major-league staff as the new first-base coach, team sources told The Athletic, continuing the adjustments ahead of Craig Counsell’s second year as manager.
Javier, 32, spent this past season as a defensive coach for the New York Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate. His areas of focus within New York’s farm system have been outfield defense and base running. Prior to that, he spent six seasons as a minor-league player for the Yankees, starting out in the Dominican Republic.
The turnover in Chicago began almost immediately after the final out of the season in September when the Cubs dismissed three coaches — Mike Napoli (first base), Darren Holmes (bullpen) and Jim Adduci (hitting assistant) — and started making changes to the high-performance group that oversees strength and conditioning.
During this cycle, Counsell already hired Quintin Berry away from the Milwaukee Brewers to be the third-base coach. Berry, who previously worked on Counsell’s staff in Milwaukee, is viewed as a base-running expert. Berry replaced Willie Harris, who did not reach an agreement with the Cubs on a new contract in October.
The Cubs also recently promoted Casey Jacobson, a well-regarded pitching coordinator in the minor-league system. Jacobson will be an assistant pitching coach, absorbing some of the responsibilities handled by Daniel Moskos, who left to become the lead pitching coach for the Miami Marlins.
In addition, the Cubs hired Matt Talarico away from the Yankees and added him to their player development department. Talarico, whose roots are in the Midwest, had been New York’s director of speed development, as well as a base-running coordinator and a roving hitting coach. Talarico’s new title with the Cubs is offensive coordinator, base running.
Player development is always important, but the Cubs are particularly motivated to maximize their top-rated farm system, which features several top prospects on the verge of the majors and a lot of international talent. To that end, Rachel Folden, a widely respected hitting instructor, is expected to work with Triple-A Iowa next season. Steve Pollakov, another experienced staffer in player development, will be the hitting coordinator for Latin America with some additional responsibilities in talent evaluation.
The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal contributed to this report.
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