CHICAGO — Ryan Flaherty is the new bench coach on manager Craig Counsell’s first staff with the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs announced their major league staff on Tuesday, which includes 10 returning coaches from last year. Counsell was hired by Chicago in November, replacing David Ross in a surprise move.
The newcomers include bullpen coach Darren Holmes and major league field coordinator Mark Strittmatter. John Mallee, who served as the Cubs’ hitting coach from 2015-17, is an assistant hitting coach after spending last season as Triple-A Iowa’s hitting coach.
Tommy Hottovy (pitching coach), Dustin Kelly (hitting coach), Willie Harris (third base) and Mike Napoli (first) are all back from the 2023 staff.
The 37-year-old Flaherty worked for the Padres for the past four years, spending the 2023 season as the team’s bench coach/offensive coordinator. He was selected by the Cubs with the No. 41 pick in the 2008 amateur draft, and the infielder played for Baltimore, Atlanta and Cleveland during eight seasons in the majors.
Pat Murphy had been Counsell’s longtime bench coach in Milwaukee, but he was promoted to manager after Counsell departed.
BRAVES: The Boston Red Sox will pay the Braves $17 million in equal installments of $8.5 million on April 1 and July 1 as part of last weekend’s trade that sent left-hander Chris Sale to Atlanta.
Sale’s cost to Atlanta this year in effect will be $500,000. The 34-year-old has a $27.5 million salary, but that includes $10 million deferred until June 30, 2039.
Sale is entering the final guaranteed season of a $160 million, six-year contract he signed with the Red Sox.
Infielder Vaughn Grissom was sent to Boston as part of the trade announced Saturday.
Acquired by Boston from the Chicago White Sox in December 2016, Sale made nine trips to the disabled and injured lists with the Red Sox, mostly due to shoulder and elbow ailments. He had Tommy John surgery on March 30, 2020, and returned to a big league mound on Aug. 14, 2021.
He was 6-5 with a 4.30 ERA in 20 starts and 102 2/3 innings last season.
PADRES: Yuki Matsui can earn $33.6 million over five seasons with the San Diego Padres if the Japanese reliever becomes the team’s closer, and the pitcher could opt out of the deal after three years and $14.5 million if his pitching elbow remains healthy.
Matsui’s agreement, announced Dec. 23, is a $28 million, five-year deal that includes salaries of $3.25 million this year, $5.5 million in 2025, $5.75 million in 2026, $6.5 million in 2027 and $7 million in 2028, according to contract terms obtained by The Associated Press.
The 5-foot-8 left-hander would have the right to opt out after the 2026 season if he has not had Tommy John surgery or has not had an elbow injury that caused more than 130 consecutive days on the injured list spanning 2024 and ’25.
If he does have Tommy John surgery or has an elbow injury causing more than 130 consecutive days on the injured list spanning ’24 and ’25, San Diego has a conditional $7 million option for 2028. If the conditions for the team option aren’t met, Matsui has a $7 million player option for 2028.
DODGERS: Yoshinobu Yamamoto will have two opportunities to opt out of his record $325 million, 12-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers, although the timing is tied to his pitching elbow’s health.
If Yamamoto has Tommy John surgery or is on the injured list for a right elbow injury for 134 consecutive service days from 2024-29, he would have the right to opt out after the 2031 and 2033 World Series, according to terms of the deal obtained by The Associated Press.
If he avoids Tommy John surgery and doesn’t miss that much time with an elbow issue during that window, he can instead opt out after the 2029 and 2031 World Series.
In the first scenario, the Dodgers also would gain a $10 million conditional option for 2036 with no buyout.
Yamamoto does not have the right to block trades but could opt out of the contract after the end of any season in which he is traded.
Los Angeles announced the agreement two weeks after signing two-way star Shohei Ohtani to a record $700 million, 10-year contract.
Yamamoto has salaries of $5 million this year, $10 million in 2025 and $12 million in 2026, according to the deal announced Dec. 27. He gets $26 million each in 2027, 2028 and 2029, $29 million in each of the following two seasons and $28 million from 2032-35.
REDS: The Reds finalized their $16 million, one-year contract with right-hander Frankie Montasy, another free-agent addition to shore up their pitching staff.
Montas gets $14 million this year, and the deal includes a $20 million mutual option for 2025 and a $2 million buyout.
Montas was acquired by the Yankees from Oakland with reliever Lou Trivino on Aug. 1, 2022, for four prospects. Montas went 1-3 with a 6.35 ERA in eight starts with New York that year, later admitting he wasn’t healthy.
He had labrum surgery last Feb. 21 and made his only big league appearance of the year on Sept. 30.
The 30-year-old Montas is 37-35 with a 3.90 ERA in 99 starts and 31 relief appearances for the Chicago White Sox (2015), Oakland (2017-22) and the Yankees.
He is expected to join a rotation mix that includes last season’s top three starters Hunter Greene, Nick Lodolo and Graham Ashcraft.
Cincinnati previously signed a pair of free-agent pitchers, giving Nick Martinez a $24 million, two-year contract and Emilio Pagán a $16 million, two-year deal.
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