REPORT: Guardians Add Former Cubs Minor League Coach To MLB Staff
Pitchers and catchers for the Cleveland Guardians are set to report to Goodyear, Arizona for spring training in less than a month.
With spring training around the corner, the team’s MLB coaching staff is still reportedly undergoing changes.
According to The Athletic Chicago Cubs beat reporter Sahadev Sharma, the Guardians have hired recently-promoted Cubs Minor League Hitting Coordinator Dan Puente to their Major League staff.
This reported hire comes nearly a month after it was reported that former Cleveland assistant hitting coach Victor Rodríguez was going to become the San Diego Padres’ hitting coach. Rodríguez’s hiring was officially announced nearly two weeks ago.
Puente most recently served as the hitting coach for the High-A South Bend Cubs for the past two seasons, during which the team won the 2022 Midwest League Championship. Before that, the 42-year-old was the hitting coach for the Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans during the 2021 season.
South Bend Cubs hitting coach Dan Puente (left) and bench coach D'Angelo Jimenez (right).
He was also the Chicago White Sox’s Manager of Youth Baseball Initiatives from 2008 until early 2012, and an associate scout for the Houston Astros at one point during his post-playing career. Additionally, since 2012, he has been a hitting and catching instructor at Elite Baseball Training in Chicago.
As a player, Puente was a 14th-round pick in the 2004 MLB Draft by the Baltimore Orioles out of Bradley University. His professional playing career lasted two seasons, as he progressed as far as Class-A Delmarva in Baltimore’s player development system. Puente ultimately played 38 Minor League games, tallying 21 hits, six doubles, and 14 RBI.
He now joins a group of five new Major League coaches previously announced by the Guardians this past November.
