The Detroit Tigers have hired Anthony Iapoce — a former hitting coach with the Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and Boston Red Sox — as Triple-A Toledo’s manager for the 2023 season, according to sources with knowledge of the situation.
Iapoce replaces Lloyd McClendon, who guided the Mud Hens to an 87-63 record last season. The Tigers parted ways with McClendon, Toledo’s second skipper in as many years, after the 2022 season. Tony Cappuccilli served as McClendon’s bench coach.
The Tigers have not confirmed Iapoce’s hire, but the agreement to hire him has been in place since at least early December.
A CAREER REVIVED: How Tigers prospect Parker Meadows ‘put myself back on the map’ in 2022 season
Iapoce, 49, has a long history of coaching in professional baseball. He served as the Florida Marlins’ minor league hitting coach from 2006-09 and the Toronto Blue Jays’ roving hitting coordinator from 2010-12.
After the 2012 season, Iapoce became a staple within the Cubs’ organization. Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris, hired from the San Francisco Giants in September, developed his front office skills as an executive with the Cubs from 2012-19.
Iapoce worked as a special assistant to the general manager — president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer — from 2013-15, all while overseeing Chicago’s minor-league hitting program. During those three years, he set the groundwork for longstanding relationships with then-prospects Javier Báez, Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and Willson Contreras.
Báez, who turned 30 on Dec. 1, is entering his second season with the Tigers.
The Rangers hired Iapoce as their hitting coach in the major leagues before the 2016 season. He held the position through the 2018 season. The Rangers ranked fifth in the American League in runs and fourth in home runs over those three seasons, and in 2017, the club became the first team in MLB history with nine players reaching 17 home runs in the same season.
Those nine players: Joey Gallo (41), Rougned Odor (30), Mike Napoli (29), Shin-Soo Choo (22), Elvis Andrus (20), Nomar Mazara (20), Robinson Chirinos (17), Carlos Gómez (17) and Adrián Beltré (17).
THE BEST PLAYER: Why Tigers feel better equipped to help Javier Báez maximize strengths in Year 2
CATCHER POSITION: Why catcher Willson Contreras makes sense, and doesn’t make sense, for Tigers
Iapoce returned to the Cubs after the 2018 season. “Our offense broke somewhere along the lines,” Epstein said, referencing inconsistent production and a lack of power. The Cubs finished 95-68 in the regular season but were bounced from the postseason by the Colorado Rockies in the National League wild-card game.
Epstein then fired Chili Davis and hired Iapoce.
Iapoce stuck around for three seasons, from 2019-21, but his contract wasn’t renewed by Hoyer in October 2021. The Cubs missed the postseason in 2019 before returning in 2020, again losing in the wild-card game. At the 2021 trade deadline, the Cubs kickstarted their rebuild by moving Báez, Bryant and Anthony Rizzo.
In February 2022, Iapoce was hired by the Boston Red Sox as their senior hitting coordinator.
RISING CATCHER: Tigers catcher Josh Crouch on 2022 success, blending analytics and prospect status
MORE BASEBALL: Tigers in winter leagues: Where players, prospects are competing this offseason
Before his coaching career, Iapoce played nine seasons in the minor leagues with the Marlins and the Milwaukee Brewers , plus two seasons for the SouthShore RailCats in Gary, Indiana, in an independent league. The Brewers selected him in the 33rd round of the 1994 draft from Lamar University.
He hit .272 with six home runs and 168 stolen bases (in 233 attempts) across 714 games in the minors.
The rest of the Tigers’ minor-league managerial staff is believed to be returning: Gabe Alvarez at Double-A Erie, Brayan Peña at High-A West Michigan and Andrew Graham at Low-A Lakeland.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @EvanPetzold.