Last week, Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins was walking through the organisation’s headquarters when he noticed what he believed was a new member of the R&D staff working among the cubicles. Hawkins was interested in who had joined their department.
“There’s somebody sitting there with his glasses and hat on,” Hawkins stated during the Winter Meetings. “I was like, ‘Who’s our new R&D guy?'”
Craig Counsell, the new Cubs manager.
“He’s on a computer, sitting next to our analysts,” Hawkins explained. “He fit right in.”

Counsell’s ability to traverse all sides of a ballclub was one of the reasons Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer was interested in bringing him on board. Counsell has earned a reputation as one of the best managers in baseball, but he also has an analytical side, having worked in the front office of the Milwaukee Brewers previous to his move to the dugout.
When it came to considering trade options or free-agent fits, Hoyer was delighted to have someone with that combination of experience and skill on the team.

“He has a fantastic baseball mind,” Hoyer added. “It’s fun talking to him about team building, and as I’ve said, he could have gone either way [front office or management] ten years ago.” And you can see from the discussions… he’s good at it.

Counsell also provided a fresh set of eyes behind the scenes to help the Cubs improve their operations.
“One of the first things he was telling me is, ‘I don’t like this interface’ on this particular programme that we have,'” Hawkins remarked with a chuckle. “I’m getting a little defensive here, but, ‘Yeah, you’re probably right.'” It’s fantastic that he has that club in his luggage.