The Chicago Cubs are hiring former major-league catcher David Ross to be their new skipper, Jon Heyman of the MLB Network reported. After Joe Maddon departed from the Cubs after five seasons they entered the managerial vacancy pool and interviewed plenty of different managers.
Cubs are hiring David Ross for manager
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) October 23, 2019
Ross, 42, retired from baseball after winning the World Series with the Cubs in 2016. He also won the World Series in 2013 as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Working as an ESPN baseball analyst and special assistant to baseball operations for the Cubs since retiring in 2016 after winning the World Series with Chicago. He has no managing experience but played in the majors for 15 years.
He replaces Joe Maddon, his former Cubs manager, who parted ways with the team after the season and has since been hired by the Angels. In 883 MLB games with the Dodgers, Pirates, Padres, Reds, Red Sox, Braves and Cubs, Ross hit .229/.316/.423 with 106 home runs.
The Cubs (84-78) finished third in the National League Central this past campaign and missed the postseason for the first time since 2014. The official announcement is expected to come this week, and Ross’ agent has been discussing contractual terms with Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein, according to David Kaplan of ESPN.
In the meantime, other contenders for the opening have been told they are out, according to Heyman. Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada reportedly was the other finalist for the Cubs’ managerial position. He has also drawn interest from the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates, according to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic.
