In a surprise move Friday, the New York Yankees replaced fired pitching coach Dave Eiland with the Cubs’ Larry Rothschild. The Cubs longtime coach had survived several managerial regimes, but will now coach for former Cub Joe Girardi in the Bronx.
Rothschild was not known to be on the Yankees list of candidates, but he cited personal reasons for making the switch.
Per Wallace Matthews report on ESPN: “My reasons for pursuing and accepting this opportunity are personal and family-based, as the Yankees hold spring training in, and travel several times a year to, my hometown of Tampa. The chance to spend increased time with my family was something I wanted to explore and I am grateful for the opportunity to have done so.”
Rothschild had been the Cubs pitching coach for so long that it’s almost like replacing Richard Daley as Mayor. But after nine years, he will move on and the Cubs will be in the market for a new coach.
Does this signify nothing more than what was stated, family reasons, or is this a sign that the Cubs are rebuilding and Rothschild wants no part of it?
Perhaps a more interesting question is will Greg Maddux be taking over the role? We’ll look at Maddux and other potential candidates in this piece.