Cubs Promote Minors Pitching Development Coordinator Casey Jacobson to Assistant Pitching Coach

It’s been a long weekend filled with family, friends, food, and football, which is why I haven’t written anything in at least two days. That means this one is going to be short as well, though part of that is due to the subject matter. Craig Counsell had gotten most of his coaching staff solidified earlier in the offseason, but the Cubs had to do a little backfilling when assistant pitching coach Daniel Moskos was hired away to take the lead pitching coach gig under new Marlins skipper Clayton McCullough.

As Sahadev Sharma reported for The Athletic, the team made the quick decision to promote Casey Jacobson to replace Moskos. Jacobson has been with the organization for five years, the last two as minor-league senior coordinator of pitching development. This probably isn’t the kind of change that will yield any differences that are publicly visible, but there could be some differences under the hood.

Moskos was very highly regarded, hence the Marlins poaching him, and he did a lot of work with Cubs pitchers on pitch design, grip, and usage. Losing someone like that is tough even when his replacement appears to be at least as capable. A former Driveline instructor, Jacobson has been praised for his ability to interpret data and share messages in ways his players can easily understand and incorporate. For a team that wants to rely more heavily on data and science, elevating Jacobson to a role in the bigs makes sense.

But don’t go thinking this is just a matter of promoting someone because he can crunch numbers. Jacobson’s greatest talent, one that aligns with his manager, is understanding pitchers on a human level and being able to appeal to their personal interests. There are plenty of coaches at all levels of the game who just want to implement their own systems or beliefs, whether due to ego or otherwise, and those guys are only ever going to be as good as the talent surrounding them.

For Jacobson and other members of Counsell’s staff, the key is tailoring their messages to the individuals with whom they’re working. That allows them to foster trust and buy-in to get the best out of their charges. Will that show up immediately in the Cubs’ results this coming season? Maybe not, but it may be a more important facet of the team’s growth given the front office’s inability or lack of desire to pursue big-money additions.