Dave Martinez named new Cubs bench coach

Dave Martinez has been named the Chicago Cubs new bench coach.

Dave Martinez has been named the Chicago Cubs new bench coach, the team announced on Thursday. Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal first reported the news. 

Martinez will rejoin manager Joe Maddon, who exercised an opt-out clause as Tampa Bay Rays manager in October. The Cubs subsequently fired manager Rick Renteria and hired Maddon. 

Brandon Hyde, the Cubs bench coach in 2014, has been moved to first base coach, the team announced. Henry Blanco was also named as quality assurance coach.

• Raul Ibanez withdraws from Rays managerial field

Martinez had been the Rays bench coach since the 2008 season. The 50-year-old was one of the preliminary candidates to become Tampa Bay's new manager, but did not make the cut when the team narrowed it down to three finalists. The Rays then let him seek a new job elsewhere. 

"The decision on Dave Martinez was especially difficult," Rays president of baseball operations Matt Silverman said afterwards. "He's played a key role in our organization's evolution, and he's done all he can to put himself in position to be a manager. In the end, we determined that our clubhouse would best benefit from a new voice that will add to our already strong and cohesive culture."

As a player, Martinez was a member of nine different teams over 16 major league seasons, including Chicago and Tampa Bay. 

- Molly Geary