Cubs name Brandon Hyde bench coach

There were really only three possible main options for the Cubs to go as bench coach: Either promote from within with Brandon Hyde or Henry Blanco, or hire popular retiree David Ross.

Grandpa Rossy will have to wait a while to get back into coaching:

Hyde has been on the Cubs’ coaching staff since 2014. He began under Rick Renteria as bench coach, then moved to first-base coach when Joe Maddon took over. Previously he served as director of player development and minor-league field coordinator in the organization after being hired in 2012. He also was bench coach for the Marlins in 2011. He also managed five seasons in the Marlins minor-league system after playing five minor-league years, four of those in the White Sox organization, primarily as a catcher.

Hyde has been a respected member of the organization for several seasons and clearly Maddon trusts him enough to make him his second-in-command.

I believe David Ross will eventually return to the Cubs as a full-time coach, but he didn’t seem ready for that and he said as much a week or so ago:

One of the reasons Ross retired after 15 seasons was to spend more time with his wife and three children in Florida.

"Hard to see me jumping back in," Ross wrote in a text message Sunday. "Was a little busy this year and never got real time off."

Also Thursday, the Cubs confirmed the news that’s been out for a couple of weeks about Jim Hickey:

That completes the Cubs’ coaching staff for 2018 (except for replacing Hyde at his first-base coach position), which will include four new names: Hickey, Chili Davis, Brian Butterfield and Andy Haines.