Master Strategist Mike Borzello Not Returning Next Season

Jed Hoyer dropped a bit of a bombshell during his postmortem press conference Wednesday morning, announcing that associate pitching coach Mike Borzello will not be returning. News came out Tuesday that hitting coach Anthony Iapoce was not coming back, which wasn’t really surprising when you consider what a revolving door that role has been over the last decade. Borzello had been a constant over the last 10 years, though, serving under several different managers in a variety of positions.

His title doesn’t really do justice to his duties, which included strategizing gameplans for specific opponents and working with the pitching staff. As the bullpen catcher in New York when Mariano Rivera developed his cutter, Borzello taught the pitch to Kenley Jansen with the Dodgers. Borzello has also helped Kyle Hendricks with his curveball and has worked with many other Cubs pitchers when it comes to grips and overall approach.

“I couldn’t be more thankful for what he did here for the last 10 years,” Hoyer said of Borzello.

Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and bench coach Andy Green are expected to remain, along with assistant hitting coach Chris Valaika. The latter is very familiar with the organization after serving as the minor league hitting coordinator prior to joining the big league staff and looks like a very good candidate to replace Iapoce. More on this as it develops.