12/17/09 4:27 PM EST
CHICAGO — Ryne Sandberg was promoted to Triple-A Iowa, Bill Dancy takes over at Double-A Tennessee, and former big league catcher Jody Davis returns to managing in Class A Boise, where he'll be joined by ex-Major League pitcher Jeff Fassero, the Cubs announced Thursday.
Sandberg, the Hall of Fame second baseman who led Tennessee to the Southern League championship in 2009, was moved up when Iowa manager Bobby Dickerson left to join the Baltimore Orioles organization. Sandberg will be joined at Iowa by pitching coach Mike Mason and hitting coach Von Joshua.
Sandberg, who began his managing career at Class A Peoria, has a 202-215-1 Minor League record and a 4-4 mark in the postseason.
Dancy joins the Cubs after spending the past 30 years within the Philadelphia Phillies (1978-2009) and Kansas City Royals (2009) organizations. In 2005-06, he was the Phillies' third-base coach. Dennis Lewallyn will join Dancy as the Smokies' pitching coach and Tom Beyers as the hitting coach.
Davis, who managed Peoria and Daytona, spent the 2009 season as the Cubs' Minor League catching instructor and returns to the dugout for Class A Boise. Ricardo Medina, who previously coached with the Dominican Summer League, will serve as Boise's hitting coach.
Davis, who was the Cubs' catcher from 1981-88, will be joined by Fassero, who contacted teams last May about coaching, including Cubs roving Minor League pitching instructor Mark Riggins.
St. Louis drafted Fassero in 1984, and Riggins was the left-hander's coach in the Cardinals' system. Fassero also talked to Dave Bialas, the Cubs' Minor League field coordinator, who returns for his 16th season in the organization. When one of the Cubs' Minor League coaches became ill this summer, Fassero was asked to help out, and he discovered he liked coaching more than he expected. Not many former big leaguers are willing to make the bus rides.
"I know," Fassero said. "I've been out of [the game] for three years. It's what I know and I kind of missed it. I've done some high school stuff. But I figure I can give something back to this part of the game, as opposed to high school kids. At least these kids [Minor Leaguers] have a chance to get to the big leagues."
Being retired was nice, he said.
"I played golf," Fassero said, laughing, "but you can only do that for so long."
Even with the new job, Fassero, who turns 47 next month, can stay close to his family. He lives in the Phoenix area and has two sons; one is graduating from high school this year and another is a sophomore. The lefty, who pitched in 720 games in his career, does think about getting back to the big leagues.
"The ultimate goal would be to get back there and work in that situation," Fassero said in an interview in October during the Cubs' Instructional League. "Right now, I like working with the younger kids. … I think getting back to the big leagues would be kind of fun.
"The game hasn't changed much, other than they've added more computers, and I'm not real handy with those yet."
Fassero didn't get to leave the game on his terms, as the San Francisco Giants released him in early May 2006. He tried to hook up with another team, but everyone kept telling him that at 43, he was too old. To prove he wasn't, Fassero went to Mexico to pitch.
"I threw well down there," he said. "I said, 'I'm fine, I can throw.'"
In 16 seasons, Fassero posted a 121-124 record with a 4.11 ERA and collected 25 saves. He signed with the Cubs as a free agent in December 2000, and was traded to the Cardinals in August 2002 for a player to be named.
And now, he's back in uniform with the Cubs.
"There's a lot more work to this than what you see as a player as far as what the coaches have to do," Fassero said. "I don't have to do as much as what Mark [Riggins] and Dave [Bialas] do. They have to organize everything. When I was here for the summer with [Rick Tronerud], Mark would send stuff in and say, 'This guy has to pitch this day, and this guy this day.' I got to work with their mechanics, and that's the part I like to do."
Bialas and Riggins both return to the Cubs in 2010, as does outfield and baserunning coordinator Bobby Dernier, infield coordinator Franklin Font, and hitting coordinator Dave Keller. Carmelo Martinez enters his 13th season with the Cubs, and third as Latin American field coordinator, and Marty Pevey takes over as catching coordinator.
Buddy Bailey, who has been with the Cubs since 2006, will return to Class A Daytona after guiding the team to a 64-71 mark in 2009. He'll be joined by pitching coach Tom Pratt and former big league outfielder Richie Zisk, who returns for his fifth season as the hitting coach.
Casey Kopitzke, who managed at Class A Boise in 2009, will move up to Peoria in '10. David Rosario and Barbaro Garbey will join Kopitzke as the pitching and hitting coaches, respectively.
Juan Cabreja will be the Rookie League Mesa manager for the second straight year, and Tronerud returns to handle pitching coach duties for the 10th consecutive season. Desi Wilson joins the staff as the hitting coach after handling those duties for Peoria last year.