Detroit Tigers hire Alex Smith from Cubs as vice president of baseball strategy

Detroit Tigers president of baseball operations Scott Harris has hired another familiar face from his seven-year rise under future Hall of Fame executive Theo Epstein with the Chicago Cubs.

This time, it’s Alex Smith.

Smith, who spent nearly 11 years with the Cubs, joined the Tigers’ front office in October as the vice president of baseball strategy, reuniting with Harris, general manager Jeff Greenberg and director of player development Shane Farrell.

The 32-year-old most recently served as the Cubs’ major league strategy coach during the 2025 season.

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The Cubs hired Smith in January 2015 as a baseball operations trainee.

Smith held seven different roles over more than a decade with the Cubs, including responsibilities on the MLB coaching staff under managers David Ross in 2023 and Craig Counsell in 2024 and 2025. From 2022-25, Smith spent games in the replay review room to help determine whether the Cubs used their challenges.

His seven titles with the Cubs: baseball operations trainee, baseball operations assistant, baseball operations coordinator, major league data and development coordinator, assistant director of major league data and development, major league coach for data, development and process, major league strategy coach.

Smith bridged the gap between the analytics department and the coaching staff by translating data into on-field application, directly impacting players – especially during his time on the coaching staff from 2023-25.

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Detroit Tigers hire Alex Smith from Cubs as vice president of baseball strategy — Chicago Cubs coach Alex Smith participates in a team workout ahead of the National League Division Series against the Milwaukee Brewers on October 3, 2025, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

As for the Tigers, four of their front office leaders share deep ties that trace back to Chicago.

Not only did Harris (2012-2019), Greenberg (2012-22), Farrell (2012-2019) and Smith (2015-25) work together, but they also established themselves as future front-office leaders during the Cubs’ journey to winning the 2016 World Series.

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Before the Cubs, Smith worked as an intern in the New York Mets’ baseball operations department for four months during the 2014 season.

Smith, who lives in Arizona, graduated from Cornell University in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in applied science in labor and industrial relations.

He pitched for Cornell as a right-handed reliever from 2012-14, though he recorded one out in one game in 2012 and didn’t appear in any games in 2013 and 2014.

In his only game, Smith entered with two outs and two runners in scoring position in the sixth inning April 27 against Princeton. He got Matt Bowman – a 13th round pick by the Mets in the 2012 draft – to pop out, stranding both runners.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers hire Alex Smith from Chicago Cubs for baseball strategy