Jesse RogersESPN Staff Writer November 7, 2023, 7:43pm ET4 minutes read
PHOENIX – While Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said firing David Ross was a “very difficult decision,” he called the move to bring Craig Counsell on board “the best thing for the fan base.” “
Hoyer said Tuesday at general manager meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz., that the idea occurred to him last month as Counsell was considering offers elsewhere – including a return to the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs swooped in as soon as his contract with Milwaukee expired on Oct. 31, signing him to a five-year, $40 million deal, sources told ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
“It just felt like an extraordinarily difficult decision, but I felt like I had to make it when the opportunity arose,” Hoyer said. “My job is to figure out how we can win as many games as possible in the short and long term and there was nothing about this move that I felt didn’t meet that criteria.”
Hoyer indicated that the pool was very small when the team explored the possibility of replacing Ross with Counsell. Few members of the organization even knew it was a possibility, including owner Tom Ricketts. The Cubs made the same move a decade ago when they hired Joe Maddon to replace Rick Renteria, but Ross was a much bigger part of the organization than Renteria ever was. As a player, he helped the team to a World Series victory in 2016 and was hand-picked to replace Maddon in 2019.
Now, despite an 83-win season, he’s suddenly gone.
“This is not a knock on Rossy, who I think incredibly highly of, but Craig is at the top of his game,” Hoyer said. “It’s hard to rank managers, but he’s at the top.”
Hoyer’s appreciation for Counsell began around 2017, when the Cubs were battling the weaker-seeded Brewers for the NL Central crown. Chicago eventually prevailed, but Milwaukee continued to make progress, overtaking the Cubs in 2018 by defeating them in Game No. 163 — while also winning their last eight contests. In 2019, the Brewers secured a wild card spot while the Cubs missed the postseason. Then, in 2021 and 2023, Milwaukee made the playoffs again while the Cubs retooled.
The team hopes to capitalize on that ability from Counsell to get the most out of a roster, as he did in many of those years when the Brewers’ payroll was below league average. Hoyer referenced former football coach Bum Phillips’ description of Bear Bryant in assessing Counsell’s abilities.
“He’ll take his and beat yours, and he’ll take yours and beat his,” Hoyer said. “They have consistently exceeded expectations.”
Hoyer was also asked about Counsell’s lack of postseason success: The Brewers never reached a World Series under him and reached the NLCS only once.
“The greatest mark of a really good manager is his ability to run the marathon,” Hoyer said. “I think the sprint is really hard. I know that’s how managers get into the Hall of Fame, by winning the World Series, but I think what happened in about a dozen games.” [should not] putting all these good seasons to shame.
Counsell’s ability to max out the roster could be even more important in the new era of three-wildcard teams. Hoyer pointed out that the NL’s lowest seed has made it to the World Series every year for the last four full seasons, including the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2023. Making the playoffs could be as important as ever ever, and the Cubs simply believe leaving winning table is less likely with Counsell.
Chicago missed the postseason that year despite having a run differential of plus-96, more than the playoff-bound Brewers.
“He’s incredibly sharp,” Hoyer said of Counsell. “I particularly noticed his sense of what his job entails and the responsibility it brings with it. This guy wants to handle every single part of the process and sees it as his responsibility. The way he sees the totality of everything as his responsibility.”
Hoyer also addressed Counsell’s payday. Chicago made him the highest-paid manager on an annual basis since Joe Torre’s days with the Yankees just over a decade ago. It’s a position that has seen a decline in salary over time – even World Series manager Bruce Bochy makes about half of what Counsell will make.
“It’s an incredibly difficult people management position,” Hoyer explained. “It is an incredibly difficult strategic position and now with all the information it is even more difficult. And you, more than any other player, are the face of the franchise because your demeanor, personality and comments appear 324 times per season. This is really difficult. When.” “A man does it at an exceptional level, it makes sense to pay him well.”
While the Cubs will likely explore the deep end of the free agent pool, including the pitching group coming out of Japan – and also be active on the trade market – the signing of Counsell is not an indication that they are ready win winter.
“I don’t think we’ve signaled that we’re going to have a crazy aggressive offseason,” Hoyer said. “If there are big moves that will help us continue on this path, we definitely will, but I don’t think it’s in any way a sign that we’re going to have the biggest, boldest offseason. When we do that, it’s because things line up for us.”
Asked if he would meet with representatives of free agent Shohei Ohtani this week, Hoyer replied: “No comment.”
He was still recovering from a tumultuous 24 hours in which he flew to Florida to personally break the news to Ross and then to Arizona to begin offseason meetings.
“This all happened so suddenly that it was unavoidable but unfortunate,” Hoyer said of replacing Ross. “I think the world of him. I think he has an incredibly bright future. He’s going to bounce back and have a great career in this game for a long time.”
“If it’s a really hard decision and I’m willing to make it, I feel like I’m doing the right thing for the organization.”