Cubs name Johnny Washington assistant hitting coach

Though MLB players are locked out, baseball teams can sign minor-league players as well as make moves with managers and coaching staffs.

It’s one of the latter that we have for the Cubs today. The team named Johnny Washington as the club’s major league assistant hitting coach.

Washington is 37 and was the hitting coach for the Hanwha Eagles in the KBO League in South Korea in 2021. He was with the San Diego Padres from 2016-20, first as hitting coach for Double-A San Antonio. Washington spent three seasons on the major league coaching staff with then-manager and current Cubs bench coach Andy Green, serving as first base coach in 2017, assistant hitting coach in 2018 and hitting coach in 2019. In 2020, he was director of minor league hitting for the organization.

Washington was the 27th round pick of the Texas Rangers in the 2003 Draft and spent several seasons in their organization and also played in the Dodgers farm system as well as briefly for two teams in indy ball in 2009.

He’ll work under Greg Brown, who was named Cubs hitting coach last month.