Darnell McDonald Named Cubs Front-Office Assistant

Darnell McDonald played in just 25 games for last year's Cubs, hitting .302/.351/.434, and 15 more for the team in spring training 2014 before announcing his retirement earlier this month.

That was enough to get him hired as a baseball operations assistant in the team's front office. From the Cubs press release:

In his new role with the organization, McDonald will contribute to all elements within the club’s player development and amateur scouting departments. He will visit the club’s affiliates to work with the minor league players on and off the field, evaluate amateur players leading up to the draft, and spend time around the major league club. McDonald will also attend instructional league during the fall and serve there as an extra coach among his other responsibilities.

McDonald, of course, was in the Red Sox' organization from 2009-2012, so current management is quite familiar with him. It certainly can't hurt to have more former players in the front office as assistants, so this would appear to be a useful hire. He turned 35 last November.

Hey, we still have almost 24 hours until the next Cubs game, so here's some actual news.