Cubs Name Jared Banner VP of Special Projects

The Cubs added to their baseball operations department Monday, naming former Mets player development director Jared Banner as their new vice president of special projects. No relation to the Incredible Hulk, Banner boasts 13 years of experience in baseball operations and was most recently responsible for overseeing the Mets’ minor league system starting in December of 2018.

Banner started out as a fellow in Boston’s baseball operations department in 2007 and rose to the rank of player personnel VP in 2017-18. In that role, he oversaw professional scouting in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Mexico. As you have probably already deduced, some of that time with the Red Sox overlapped with Jed Hoyer.

It’s notable that Banner has expertise as both a farm boss and pro scouting director, as the Cubs were reportedly eyeing Jared Porter because of his talent in the latter area. Scouting VP Dan Kantrovitz is taking a larger role in a collaborative front office, but having another dynamic voice in the room is always good. It’s also possible that either Banner or Kantrovitz could be considered for the Cubs’ still vacant GM role.