Hitting coach Iapoce not returning
The Chicago Cubs are again in the market for a new hitting coach. Anthony Iapoce is not expected to return in 2022, according to multiple reports, after completing his third season as Cubs hitting coach. Any coaching staff changes might be announced Wednesday, when president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is expected to hold his end-of-season news conference. The team has been conducting exit interviews.
The Cubs’ next hire will be their seventh hitting coach in 11 seasons. That group includes Rudy Jaramillo, James Rowson, Bill Mueller, John Mallee and Chili Davis. The Cubs also have employed six assistant hitting coaches in that span, three of whom were fired (Rob Deer, Mike Brumley and Terrmel Sledge).
Iapoce, 48, was hired in October 2018 under then-manager Joe Maddon and was retained when David Ross took over before the 2020 season. He previously served as the Texas Rangers hitting coach for three years (2016-18) in his first lead role on a big-league coaching staff.
The Cubs were familiar with Iapoce after he spent three years in the organization as a special assistant to the general manager while overseeing the team’s minor-league hitting program from 2013-15.
The Cubs’ offensive inconsistency contributed to Hoyer’s decision to break up the team leading up to the July 30 trade deadline. Too often the veteran lineup failed to click, highlighted by the stretch following injuries to contact hitters Nico Hoerner and Matt Duffy.
The Cubs showed some improvement going from an unreliable star-studded offense in the first half to league-average production with largely unproven players after the trade deadline.
They ranked 13th in slugging percentage, 14th in weighted on-base average (wOBA) and tied for 15th in weighted runs created plus (wRC+) with the revamped roster. Strikeouts, however, remained an issue as the Cubs led the majors in strikeout percentage over the final two months.
The Cubs also saw breakout performances this year from Frank Schwindel, Patrick Wisdom and Rafael
Ortega.