The Chicago Cubs started the offseason strong on November 6 when they stole manager Craig Counsell from the rival Brewers, despite the fact that they haven’t added many players this offseason.
The choice stunned the baseball community since, by all accounts, the Cubs were happy enough to retain franchise cult icon and former catcher David Ross for a fourth season without searching for a manager.
With Counsell’s leap, Chicago began a major spending spree in the summer, giving their new manager an MLB record eight million dollars a year for five years, or a total of $40 million.
Though there are still a lot of free agents available, it is unclear if the Cubs will add any players this offseason.
A combination of some new hires and survivors from Ross’s staff will make up Counsell’s staff. Dustin Kelly, the hitting coach, and Tommy Hottovy, the pitching coach, are holdovers. John Mallee, the hitting coach for the Cubs from 2015 to 2017, will take over for assistant hitting coach Johnny Washington, who departed the team to become the hitting coach of the Los Angeles Angels. Padres bench coach Ryan Flaherty, a former big league player, took over for longtime coach Andy Green, who departed the team to take a position in the front office of the New York Mets.
The Cubs will also have a new catching coach and bullpen coach after Craig Driver and Chris Young, the previous coaches, did not have their contracts renewed after the 2023 season. Mark Strittmatter and Darren Holmes, respectively, will take their places.
