New Chicago Cubs manager Joe Maddon may not have to look far or very long at all to find a bench coach to join him in the Wrigley Field dugout. He may just have to look behind him to see his former Tampa Bay Rays bench coach following close behind. MLB.com's Cubs beat writer Carrie Muskat has announced that the Cubs have asked Maddon about Dave Martinez, Maddon's former bench coach with the Rays since 2008. Martinez announced earlier this week that he will leave the Rays after the Rays eliminated him from their team's managerial search.
Along with Maddon, Martinez helped coach the Rays to four postseason berths, including two American League Eastern Division titles (2008, 2010) and a 2008 World Series appearance. Having spent that much time with each other and generating that much success, Maddon and Martinez know how to work well together, and they have the experience and track record of taking young unproven talent and turning it into a perennial postseason contender, something that Cub fans cannot wait to see in Wrigley Field. Much of that young talent has already arrived, and much more is still on the way.
Muskat reminds us that team president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer came close to hiring Martinez as the Cubs' manager during the previous offseason but decided on Rick Renteria before this past season began. Renteria was supposed to lead the team into contention, but when Maddon made himself available, the front office personnel made the business move they felt best for the organization and hired Maddon. Now, they have a strong chance of bringing one of Maddon's top men along with him.
As a player, Martinez spent parts of four seasons with the Cubs as one of nine teams for which he played in his 16-year career from 1986-2001. Known as an on-base man with a solid glove, the outfielder amassed totals of .276/.341/.389 with 91 HR, 580 RBI, 183 SB, and 795 runs. He never made an All-Star team, but he did tie a Major League record by playing on four different teams in one season: (Devil) Rays, Cubs, Texas Rangers, and Toronto Blue Jays in 2000. He had a very solid final season of .287 in 259 plate appearances spread over 120 games with the Atlanta Braves in 2001.