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Cubs Announce Player Development Changes

By Dylan A. Chase | October 17, 2019 at 12:00pm CDT

According to a release from the club’s media department, the Cubs have constructed a new player development leadership structure within their baseball operations department.

Matt Dorey, formerly Chicago’s director of amateur scouting, will serve as senior director of player development. 2020 will mark Dorey’s ninth year in the Cubs organization and 13th in professional baseball. Dorey previously coached at Washington State before entering the pro ball, PD side of the game.

Bobby Basham will be working with Dorey as director of player development. Formerly a pitcher in the Reds and Padres minor league ranks, Basham has worked in a variety of roles since gaining employ with the Cubs in 2012, including time spent as a major league scouting coordinator, assistant director of advance scouting and major league strategy, and assistant director of minor league operations. It stands to reason that Dorey and Basham will be combining to handle some of the tasks Jason McLeod vacated when the latter moved into a senior vice president of player personnel role this offseason following several years in Chicago’s player development area.

Other notable changes this morning include the naming of former big league Craig Breslow as the club’s new director of pitching–a title similar to the one the Orioles gave Chris Holt recently, as notes Joe Trezza of MLB.com (link). While Breslow’s Yale background would likely position him as the most intelligent person in many a room, the club’s new director of hitting, Justin Stone, cuts an impressive intellectual figure in his own right. Stone is the founder Elite Baseball Training in Chicago, a “technology-infused baseball and softball instructional company”. He has been working with the organization since 2018 as a biokinematic hitting consultant–a modern baseball job title if ever there was one.

Additionally, Jeremy Farrell has been promoted from minor league field coordinator to a new role as Chicago’s assistant director of player development, where his years of experience as an infielder in the Pirates and White Sox systems should come in handy. Jaron Madison, who, like McLeod, worked with Cubs GM Jed Hoyer during the latter’s time as San Diego’s GM at the turn of the decade, has been named as special assistant to the president/GM.

Although the men and women working in player development are not always appreciated by fans for their efforts in fostering, honing, and instructing organizational talent, hires like these are often critical in a team’s quest for continued, year-over-year success. These moves are likely pointed toward re-positioning Chicago’s farm as a top-shelf feeder system after recent rankings tagged the Cubs with bottom-third organizational evaluations; Fangraphs pegged the club with a 20th-ranked system, while only two Chicago youngsters, Nico Hoerner and Miguel Amaya, landed inside MLB.com’s “Top 100” list.

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Chicago Cubs Craig Breslow Jason McLeod Miguel Amaya Nico Hoerner

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28 Comments

  1. custardflan

    6 years ago

    Sounds like they’re mostly promoting the guys responsible for their crappy system.

    4
    Reply
    • desertbull

      6 years ago

      You are not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, huh?

      Reply
      • Android Dawesome

        6 years ago

        Custardflan is how a drunk person pronounces Cardinals fan.

        Reply
  2. Aaron Sapoznik

    6 years ago

    Hard to quarrel with these moves by Theo Epstein. Former Senior VP of Amateur Scouting and Player Development Jason McLeod is fortunate to have a friend in Theo who “promoted” him into his new role as Senior Vice President of Player Personnel rather than just let him go.

    Reply
  3. Allknowingone

    6 years ago

    Can anybody tell me why Mickey Callaway’s name is not mentioned for any of the managerial or pitching coach openings?

    He was given a bad team in 2018 and went 77-85 in his rookie year. This record was still an improvement over 2017. In 2019 he finishes 10 games over .500 and kept his team in it until the end. He spends two years under the microscope in New York and compiled a record over .500. Prior to this he was regarded as one of the best pitching coaches in baseball. Really- did he lose all that pitching savvy in the two years with the Mets?

    I am truly shocked a team like the Cubs has not considered him as a pitching coach or manager.

    In this the year of turnover for managers- and coaches- many coaches are not returning. What did Callaway do to get himself precluded for interviewing for these jobs?

    Reply
    • Aaron Sapoznik

      6 years ago

      Mickey Callaway will find another managing gig soon enough, if not this offseason with so many jobs still undecided then perhaps later in 2020 or by next winter. Callaway won’t be hurting for money since the Mets will still be paying him in 2020 for the last season of his 3-year contract.

      If all else fails Callaway is sure to be a top candidate for any pitching coach job considering the resume he accrued with the Indians from 2013 until the Mets hired him in 2018 to replace manager Terry Collins.

      Reply
      • Allknowingone

        6 years ago

        He is not getting interviews and I have not heard of him being considered. I actually Google articles and attempt to check the blogs on this regularly because for some reason I find Callaway interesting.

        I am not a Mets fan but watched them closely and think Callaway did a good job. I think he did a great job when you compare him to a guy like Andy Green. Some of these “prospect” managers never sniff .500. Look at Buck Showalter- his first two years were very similar to Calloway- 76-86 then 88-74. It seemed to be a case of them hiring a rookie manager and then thinking they would have been better with a veteran. I saw no mistakes that don’t regularly come with a first time manager.

        As a rookie manager Callaway handled NY pretty well. He had a few issues but overall he did a very good job for a guy in his first job. He was given a bad Mets team in 2018 and improved them. In Callaway’s two seasons DeGrom was outstanding and I don’t think you can discount Callaway’s role. He finished 10 games over .500 this year and had his team in it until the end.

        Overall, he has a record of 2 games over .500 with improvement both years. Yes he did make tactical mistakes- but he was also a rookie manager and young for the job.

        When I look at Callaway I see a guy who did a nice job and got some growing pains out of the way. I am surprised that a team in a rebuild- Padres, Pirates, Royals have not zeroed in on him. He was a hot name a few years ago and I don’t think he did anything to say he can’t manage. He seems like the perfect fit for a team 2 or 3 years away.

        Reply
    • realsox

      6 years ago

      What did Callaway do to get himself “precluded?” Turn the question around and you might just as well ask what did he do to get himself “included.” Kapler’s record resembles Callaway’s, but the former is on every list while the latter is not. All of this suggests to me that there are no objective criteria for selecting a field manager. So forget anything but a visceral “fit” in the mind of a general manager. All of the reasons cited after the fact of hiring will be merely convenient justifications for that visceral conclusion.

      1
      Reply
      • Allknowingone

        6 years ago

        Kapler had what many will call two collapses while Calloway had a bad team that he improved and then a very good year at 10 over .500. Callaway also did it in NY. Please find me the last manager that was fired with time on his contract that finished 10 games over .500. I believe Mattingly’s contract with LA was up and I know Girardi’s was. You have Farrell in Boston but other than that it has been very rare in the past 20 years.

        Reply
      • Georgiajeff

        6 years ago

        I have no idea why Kapler is being considered other than the term good fit. In his first game as manager of the Phillies he takes out Aaron Nola with a big lead and the man was just cruising along. No issues and the pitch count was low. The bullpen blows it and that set the tone for the season in 2018. Oh well.

        Reply
  4. ChiSoxCity

    6 years ago

    Sell baby sell.

    Reply
  5. DarkSide830

    6 years ago

    Breslow should be a good FO signing.

    Reply
  6. moethacker

    6 years ago

    The starting point would be acquiring minor leaguers to develop. Hoerner did not impress me as a ML shortstop. I’m no scout, but as a fan observing for a long time, he did not show a shortstop’s throwing arm. HIs ML future would appear to be at 2B instead of SS, if he has one. Amaya is doing just okay in the Arizona league this fall, but he is only 20 and plays a position that is not an immediate need at the ML level, so he has some time to develop. After that, the Cubs’ system is more or less a wasteland. It’s not just that key pieces were traded away – that’s one of the expected and legitimate uses of a farm system – but the failure to restock the system is inexcusable. I was ambivalent about keeping Maddon around or not, but feel like Epstein really needed to go because the system so quickly dried up on his watch. His first 2-3 years were impressive in the position players brought along. He seems to have been on vacation since then.

    Reply
    • desertbull

      6 years ago

      He wont be playing SS

      Reply
      • Steven Juris

        6 years ago

        He will be replacing Theos best buddy Russell at 2nd base.

        1
        Reply
    • Capi

      6 years ago

      I’m guessing you’ve never heard of Brennen Davis or Brailyn Marquez.

      Also, people make too big of a deal over this issue… Farm systems fluctuate up and down all the time and by promoting these guys… The Cubs get to expand on their sets of eyes, which is, in itself, improvement… Some people here can’t see the big picture of these moves and think that everything gets resolved by firing people lol.

      1
      Reply
      • moethacker

        6 years ago

        Davis has been impressive – may move up in rankings this year. HIs early minor league numbers look a lot like those of Almora. Hopefully he won’t hit the same wall. Marquez has okay numbers in the low minors. It does make sense to promote the people who have been working with those players in the system.. As far as firing is concerned, the Cubs pulled that trigger on Maddon while it was Epstein who failed to address the “broken offense” he complained about this time last year. In addition to that issue, while as noted I have no objection to his having traded Torres and Jiminez, to name the main deals, I do think it’s fair game to note that he failed to replenish the system – rested on his laurels in regard to the farm and stuck the team with some awful contracts. His performance has not been anything as great as the reputation he cultivates.

        Reply
        • Capi

          6 years ago

          I mostly agree, although, Maddon wasnt fired and personally, I liked the decision of not bringing him back.

          They have taken too long replenishing the farm, but I dont see how Theo has failed when this is the first time the Cubs have missed the playoffs since 2014.

          4 straight years making the playoffs, that’s never happened in my lifetime, so I won’t call for his head after barely missing the playoffs this year.

          By the way, Marquez has OK minors numbers that don’t reflect the vast improvement he made during the season… I’ll take my chances with a lefty that hits 98 mph as a starter and 101 mph as a reliever.

          As for Brennen Davis… Same defense, better arm than Almora, more power and more plate discipline… Contact rate not as good, but not too bad either.

          1
          Reply
        • moethacker

          6 years ago

          It will be interesting to see how roster issues are addressed this offseason. There are some tricky issues, not least of which is whether ownership intends to loosen the reins a little. Much as I would like to see it, I don’t think the Cubs will be in on the biggest of the free agents (Gerritt Cole and Anthony Rendon), but they do have questions to address and a lot of potential moving parts.

          Reply
        • NickGarren

          6 years ago

          Marquez is a strikeout machine. I’ve seen him here at South Bend. Brennen has power. The South Bend Cubs led the Midwest league in doubles and these are 18-19 yr old kids. Those doubles will become bombs. Jeff Passantino @ Myrtle Beach is a solid reliever with potential. People act we got zero prospects.

          1
          Reply
      • NickGarren

        6 years ago

        Or Cole Roederer, Andy Webber, or any of the rest of the South Bend Cubs who won the Midwest League Championship in Single A. People act like the Cub don’t have any prospects They do have prospects, they are just in the lower levels. And they will be adding more to the system in the next draft and International signing period.

        1
        Reply
  7. jdan74

    6 years ago

    Sounds like Theo’s cronies are just getting moved around. Looking more and more like an unaccountable Reinsdork organization.

    Reply
  8. Robert-5

    6 years ago

    As a Cub fan, I’ve gotta agree agree. Where is the accountability? They let Joe walk- not sayin it was wrong- but no turnover for the guys responsible for producing the team. Joe had a mediocre rotation and a worse bulpen to work with…all bc the Cubs cant develop ANY pitching of their own. All acquisitions.

    1
    Reply
  9. Paulie0514

    6 years ago

    Cubs. I always enjoy that joke.

    Reply
    • rondon

      6 years ago

      And then there’s you… Give it a rest, homer.

      Reply
  10. chiraqi_savage

    6 years ago

    Hey Dylan, just an FYI.

    College ≠ Intelligence

    It’s cute that you think it does though.

    See: 2019 Admissions Bribery Scandal

    Reply
  11. Georgiajeff

    6 years ago

    Would be great if the cubs could develop pitching in the minors. That would be great.

    Reply
  12. Georgiajeff

    6 years ago

    Hopefully we can developing some pitching.

    Reply

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