After making some final adjustments to their baseball operations organisation, the Cubs promoted Ryan Otero to director of pitching and hired Jason Kanzler, a former assistant hitting coach for the Astros, as director of player development, according to sources on Monday.
For the first three of his five years with the Astros, Kanzler worked as a hitting coach and coordinator in the minor leagues. For the latter two of those years, he was a part of Dusty Baker’s major league staff. Baker declared his retirement following the 2023 campaign.
Over the past six years, Otero has advanced through the ranks of the Cubs organisation, moving from assistant to player development via the research and development division to assistant director of pitching. He collaborated closely with Craig Breslow, who was instrumental in revitalising the Cubs’ pitching programme.
The Cubs have made minor adjustments to their baseball operations structure since Breslow departed earlier this summer to take a position as chief baseball officer with the Red Sox. There are several gaps to be addressed as Breslow held the positions of senior vice president of pitching and assistant general manager.
AGM Jared Banner was elevated by the Cubs from vice president of player development. Banner will stay involved in player development, although his position as farm director is filled by Kanzler. Otero becomes command of the pitching division. Meghan Jones was also elevated by the Cubs from director of baseball operations to vice president of baseball strategy. She became the first female vice president of baseball operations in Cubs history.
The Cubs haven’t added any players on major-league contracts this winter, despite strengthening their front office leadership and Craig Counsell’s coaching staff. Spring training is still about a month and a half away, and the team may acquire players even after they report to Mesa, Arizona. To have a decent chance of qualifying for the postseason for the first time since the 2020 season was cut short, the Cubs will need to address a few holes.
