Chicago Cubs Retain Two Coaches Under Counsell Amidst Staff Turnover
After Craig Counsell was hired as manager of the Chicago Cubs, the focus turned to who would be on his coaching staff following the dismissal of David Ross.
It's normal for new managers to come in and bring in their own coaches who they have worked with in the past.
However, it looks like two members of Ross' regime will stay on under Counsell according to The Chicago Sun-Times.
Maddie Lee wrote, "The expectation, sources told the Sun-Times, is that hitting coach Dustin Kelly and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy will return. The rest of the staff remains in limbo."
Dustin Kelly was promoted last offseason from the Cubs' minor league hitting coordinator into his current role of hitting coach. He oversaw an increase in Chicago's hitting from .238/.311/.387 with 657 runs scored, 159 home runs and 620 RBI in the 2022 season to .254/.330/.421 with 819 runs scored, 196 homers and 786 RBI during 2023.
Tommy Hottovy has been the pitching coach since 2018 and has been a staple on the staff during his tenure with the Cubs.
The reporting from Lee comes after Chicago lost two more coaches this offseason when Johnny Washington accepted the hitting coach role with the Los Angeles Angels and former bench coach Andy Green is taking a front office job with the New York Mets.
Those departures also came on the heels for the Cubs announcing that bullpen coach Chris Young and catching and game-strategy coach Craig Driver would not return for the 2024 season.
When asked about his process of putting together a staff, Counsell said, "It’s a place that I want to go slow at right now; it’s a place that I want to be deliberate because it’s important. And I just need to do more homework."
Counsell has his work cut out for him as the attempts to fill his coaching staff for his first season in Chicago.
