Cubs give Ross 3-year contract as manager

The Chicago Cubs officially named David Ross as the franchise's 55th manager on Thursday, signing him to a three-year contract through 2022 with a club option for 2023. "I'm honored by this opportunity to be the next manager of the Chicago Cubs," Ross said. "My time with this organization has been special since the day I joined, so to continue with the club in this role is a blessing for which I'm so very thankful."

Ross, 42, played in the majors for 15 seasons but has no managerial experience at any level. He has served as a special assistant to baseball operations with the Cubs and as an ESPN analyst since his retirement in 2016. "David is as gifted a leader as I've ever come across, and I expect him to become a great manager," Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said in a news release. "He is a natural connector with a high baseball IQ and a passion for winning. David has always stood out for his ability to cultivate the ingredients of a winning culture -- accountability, hard work, hustle, competitiveness, trust, togetherness, and team identity."

Ross replaces Joe Maddon, who left at the end of the 2019 season and was hired last week to manage the Los Angeles Angels. Houston Astros bench coach Joe Espada and former New York Yankees skipper Joe Girardi also interviewed for the position. Girardi was named manager of the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.

Ross, a catcher, played with six other teams before joining the Cubs in 2015 and helping them win a World Series in 2016. He hit a home run in Chicago's Game 7 victory against the Cleveland Indians. "A lot has been made, and rightfully so, of my connection to the 2016 World Series team, and the notion that I'll now be managing players I once counted on as teammates," Ross said. "Having those relationships going into this will be a bonus, no doubt about it. But those guys know I'll be the first to hold them accountable, the first to demand their best daily effort, and the first to let them know about it if they give anything but their best."

The Cubs finished 84-78 in 2019 and missed the playoffs for the first time in Maddon's five-year tenure. "My family and I congratulate David. He's a proven winner and we look forward to him leading our team back to the postseason," executive chairman Tom Ricketts said in a statement.

 

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