L.A. Story: New coaches are a hit with Cubs

MESA, Ariz. — The Red Sox weren’t built in a day, but there were no complaints when Theo Epstein and his politburo transferred their methods from Fenway Park to Wrigley Field that helped end a World Series drought in 2016.

The gradual influx of former Dodgers coaches and players hasn’t garnered the same fanfare, but there are some similarities the Cubs are implementing as they try to regain the perennial National League power status that Los Angeles has achieved with 10 straight playoff appearances, three league championships and a 2020 World Series title.

Third baseman Edwin Rios was pleased to be reunited with former Dodgers minor-league hitting coaches Dustin Kelly and Johnny Washington last month.

“They’re able to point out a couple things and say, ‘This is what you used to do,’ ” said Rios, a former Dodgers prospect. “They’re taking those pointers and putting them into my swing now. It’s been great. And I feel it’s been working out the last couple days.”

It will be a reunion of sorts Saturday when the Cubs travel to Glendale to play the Dodgers.

“I think the Dodgers do so many things well, from the top down,” Cubs president Jed Hoyer said. “From [president of baseball operations] Andrew Friedman to [general manager] Brandon Gomes down to [manager] Dave Roberts and that coaching staff, they do a lot of things well.

“Look at their minor-league staff. [Kelly] and Johnny came through there, and they develop coaches well. They’ve had the most incredible depth the last few years. As a result, some of the players they’ve let go are really talented guys who they just didn’t have spots for. … It’s a testament to what they’ve created over there.”

The Cubs hope they can get some production out of the non-tendered Rios. The Dodgers have developed a knack of resurrecting the likes of Justin Turner, Rich Hill, Trayce Thompson and Max Muncy, who was discarded by the Athletics in 2017 and became an All-Star with the Dodgers two years later.

Kelly, the lead hitting coach, and Washington, an assistant in his second year, are part of a three-man hitting crew for the Cubs, with Juan Cabreja serving as an assistant hitting coach for the first time.

Coincidentally, the Dodgers were one of the first teams to carry three hitting coaches on a major-league staff in the previous decade.

“It was always pretty smooth,” center fielder Cody Bellinger recalled of the three-man hitting staff. “Through a 162-game season, you’re going to work with different people. But it always was a smooth process.”

Kelly, who was hired by the Cubs a month before Bellinger arrived, had no trouble implementing the adjustments he wanted to make this winter.

“Coming from the Dodgers organization, we spoke the same language,” Kelly said.

The Dodgers have possessed one of the deepest farm systems for a decade, allowing them to promote from within or deal top prospects at the trade deadline for needs.

“Video was always available, and there was stuff on iPads for minor-league hitters to work on,” Rios said. “I can’t complain about my time there. Dustin and Johnny have simplified things and made it fun and competitive.”

But the ultimate goal is winning, and the Cubs hope some of their teaching methods can help a fortified farm system. 

“[The Dodgers] always have talent, whether it’s the minor-leaguers that come up or guys they get,” Bellinger said. “For me, growing up since I was 17 and playing in that organization, you learn how to win. It’s what they preach.”