According to reports from Mark Gonzales and Carrie Muskat, the Cubs have hired Kevin Youkilis to be a special assistant to Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer.
Kevin Youkilis joins former Cubs’ Kerry Wood, Ted Lilly and Ryan Dempster as special assistants to Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer. Tim Wilken is also a special assistant to Epstein and Hoyer and Billy Williams is the Cubs’ Senior Advisor.
Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer are obviously familiar with Youkilis from their days together with the Red Sox. Boston selected Youkilis in the eighth round of the 2001 draft and he made his big league debut on May 15, 2004.
During his nine-year career with the Red Sox, Kevin Youkilis batted .287/.388/.487 with 239 doubles, 17 triples and 133 home runs for a .875 OPS.
Kevin Youkilis last played in the majors in 2013 with the Yankees and made it into only 28 games. Youkilis spent last season in Japan with the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Youkilis played 21 games and hit .215/.342/.323.
Youkilis announced his retirement last October.
Kevin Youkilis turns 36 on March 15 and is in Cubs camp according to multiple reports.
Updated 6:34pm CST – Kevin Youkilis will have similar responsibilities with the Cubs as Ryan Dempster, who re-joined the organization in December as a special assistant to Epstein and Hoyer after announceing his retirement. Youkilis will spend time with the Major and minor league players in Spring Training, visit the minor league affiliates during the season, assist with the evaluation of amateur players for the First-Year Player Draft and various scouting assignments.