Chicago Cubs: New 30 year old executive to have significant role under Jed Hoyer

In November, the Chicago Cubs announced the hiring of 30 year old Tyler Zombro as a special assistant to team president Jed Hoyer.  The former minor league pitcher has a special interest in pitching, as he formerly was working as a performance specialist at Tread Athletics, but his role in 2025 will go beyond pitching development.

Who is Tyler Zombro? 

Originally a premed major at George Mason University, Tyler Zombro was undrafted but signed with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017.  He went on to graduate school from South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics, play professional baseball from 2017-2023, and he opened a facility called Research and Development Baseball Academy where he worked full time from 2016 to 2020.  In 2021 he was hit in the head by a comebacker and he ultimately gave up chasing the goal of becoming a big leaguer as there was some nerve damage that he sustained as a result of the injury.

What role will Tyler Zombro have with the Chicago Cubs in 2025? 

According to a publication in The Athletic, Tyler Zombro will have an impact on multiple areas of the organization.  His official title reads as a special assistant to team president Jed Hoyer, with an emphasis on pitching, but he also will get a say in player acquisition.  Additionally Zombro will be able to contribute to the equipment the Cubs facilities possess, in areas such as strength and conditioning, medical initiatives, and biomech.

Tyler Zombro has a goal of becoming a general manager 

Across baseball, young and initiative minds seem to have significant impacts on organizations.  This is likely why the Chicago Cubs gave him a title of special assistant to team president Jed Hoyer, as it will be harder for other organizations to pry him away with a promotion.  Ultimately, Tyler Zombro said in an interview with The Athletic that, “As of right now, I think I’m driven to be a general manager or team president.  I know there are things I need to learn with the intricacies of that and there’s also a ton of value that I need to contribute from a player development lens. But I think where Chicago differed is they did a really good job of getting creative on how I can best be utilized with my skill sets.”

It will be interesting to see the impact that Tyler Zombro has on the Cubs organization in 2025 and beyond.  It’s possible that they have one of the brightest up and coming minds in baseball, and he’s been rewarded with a nice title as a result.