MESA, Ariz. – Mike Borzello is the ultimate baseball insider. His godfather is Joe Torre. He learned about The Cardinal Way as a minor-league player, earned four World Series rings as a Yankees bullpen catcher and worked with young Dodgers like Clayton Kershaw and Kenley Jansen before they became stars.
"I don't even know what his exact title is," Kyle Hendricks said. "He kind of is a secret weapon."
The Cubs list Borzello as the catching/strategy coach in the media guide, though manager Joe Maddon has compared him to a defensive coordinator in football, a unique asset that helps create scouting reports and oversee the binders in the dugout.