Astros lose notable coach to NL team

Dusty Baker is not the only one who is abdicating his spot in the Houston Astros dugout.

Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic reports this week that Astros assistant hitting coach Jason Kanzler is leaving the team to become the new director of player development for the Chicago Cubs. The job had opened up for Kanzler to take after the Cubs promoted predecessor Jared Banner to assistant general manager.

Kanzler, 33, is a former Minnesota Twins draft pick who played three seasons in the minor leagues as an outfielder. He had spent the last five seasons as a hitting coach in the Astros organization, including the last two at the big-league level on Baker’s staff.

Sharma notes that Kanzler played an important role in Houston’s 2022 World Series title, particularly for his work with Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña in making crucial adjustments to his mechanics.

As for the Cubs, they still somehow have yet to sign a single free agent to their major-league roster this offseason. But they are at least keeping busy on the personnel front, having hired a new manager from the Milwaukee Brewers in Craig Counsell and also adding a well-known bench coach for Counsell’s staff. Now the up-and-comer Kanzler is joining the mix as well.