In a surprising move, the Cubs have hired former Brewers manager Craig Counsell.
The Chicago Cubs are officially moving on from David Ross and hiring former Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was the first to report the news.
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There had been no indication that the team was planning on firing Ross before the reports that the team had hired Counsell surfaced, with President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer and Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts both expressing confidence in Ross' performance during the 2023 season.
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The Cubs made the move official on Monday afternoon.
“Today we made the difficult decision to dismiss David Ross as our Major League manager,” said Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer. “On behalf of the Cubs organization, we express our deep gratitude for David’s contributions to our club, both on and off the field.
According to multiple reports, the contract Counsell signed with the Cubs will pay him $8 million a season for the next five years, making it the richest contract for a manager in MLB history.
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Counsell has nine years of experience as a manager, all with the Brewers. He has a 707-625 record leading the team. The Brewers won the NL Central three times over his tenure and made the playoffs five times. The furthest the Brewers ever made it in the postseason under Counsell was the NLCS in 2018.
After former Brewers GM David Stearns left the organization to join the New York Mets, speculation ramped up about Counsell's future, as his contract expired on Nov. 1.
According to multiple reports, the Cubs could have asked permission to negotiate with Counsell prior to the expiration of his contract, but they declined to do so, instead waiting until the beginning of November to open negotiations.
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