Craig Counsell's managerial future has been decided – and he’s headed to a team that didn't even have an opening.
In a stunner, the Cubs are set to hire Counsell with the richest contract in history for a Major League manager. A source told MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand that Counsell will earn $40 million over the next five years, surpassing a standing offer from the Brewers that would have made Counsell the highest-paid manager currently.
Counsell will be introduced in Cubs pinstripes early next week at Wrigley Field.
The moves, which the Cubs announced Monday afternoon, stunned the baseball world, which had seen Counsell's return to Milwaukee or hiring by the New York Mets as the likeliest outcomes. The Cubs had publicly praised Ross, with owner Tom Ricketts saying Oct. 2: "He's our guy."
Chicago fired manager Rick Renteria in the middle of his contract and hired Joe Maddon, who two years later led the team to a World Series title after 108 championship-free seasons.
Chicago fired Maddon following the 2019 season and turned to Ross, who had retired as a player after helping lead the Cubs to the World Series in 2016. A first-time manager, Ross led the Cubs to a National League Central title in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. Following a pair of down years that coincided with the Cubs trading core members of their championship run, they rebounded in 2023, going 83-79 but losing a playoff berth with a late-season swoon.
The Cubs were on the hunt to make the playoffs this year, but a late-season collapse eliminated them from the postseason.   
Joe Maddon. Ross, who was a member of the Cubs World Series team in 2016, managed the Cubs for four seasons through a rebuild – as they tore down a roster that had been a contender.
The hiring of Counsell was not unlike when the Cubs fired Rick Renteria and replaced him with Maddon.
"When I heard the news, I was kind of surprised too. Quite frankly, it's an uncomfortable situation a little bit – like with Rick, and now with Craig and David. I'm sure he's thinking about this. And then I tried to reach out to Rick after I'd gotten the job," Maddon said Monday. "However, it's life-changing. It was life-changing for me. It's going to be life-changing for Craig – regarding his family, his career, et cetera. So it's both wonderful and difficult at the same time, but it really does mirror exactly what happened with me."
Ross and Counsell became the seventh and eighth managers to leave since the final week of the season after San Francisco’s Gabe Kapler, the New York Mets’ Buck Showalter, the Los Angeles Angels’ Phil Nevin, Cleveland’s Terry Francona, San Diego’s Bob Melvin and Houston’s Dusty Baker.
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