Earlier this week, the Cubs announced their coaching staff for the 2025 season. As part of the announcement, the club revealed that former major league field coordinator Mark Strittmatter will take over from Darren Holmes as bullpen coach, while A.J. Lewis has come aboard as a staff assistant.
The Cubs also confirmed the previously reported hiring of first base coach Jose Javier, third base coach Quintin Berry, and assistant pitching coach Casey Jacobson. Rounding out manager Craig Counsell’s staff are returning coaches Ryan Flaherty (bench coach), Tommy Hottovy (pitching coach), Dustin Kelly (hitting coach), Juan Cabreja (assistant hitting coach), John Mallee (assistant hitting coach), Jonathan Mota (major league coach), and Alex Smith (major league strategy coach).
Strittmatter, 55, has plenty of experience working with pitchers in the bullpen. From 2003-10, he was a bullpen catcher for the Rockies. After a brief stint on the Pirates major league coaching staff, he returned to the Rockies in 2013. He worked as the organization’s minor league catching coordinator up until he joined the Cubs ahead of the 2024 season. Prior to his coaching career, Strittmatter played nine minor league seasons as a catcher in the Rockies and Padres systems. He made a handful of MLB appearances for Colorado in 1998.
Lewis, 26, also comes over from the Rockies organization. After signing with the club as an undrafted free agent in 2020, he played four seasons in their minor league system, appearing at every level from Low-A to Triple-A. While he was primarily a catcher in college, he appeared in a handful of games at several positions during his minor league tenure, including catcher, first base, second base, third base, and left field. Back in 2022, he told Thomas Harding of MLB.com that he hoped to join a major league front office at the end of his player career. If that is still his goal, this could be a step in the right direction.
In further Cubs news, the team announced that two members of the minor league strength and conditioning staff have been promoted to major league roles. Kevin Poppe will serve as head major league strength coach, while Mark Weisman will be the assistant major league strength coach. Both Poppe and Weisman joined the organization in 2022.
