On the heels of a hectic day, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world today:
1. GM Meetings begin:
MLB’s annual General Manager Meetings are set to begin today, though many executives were already in Scottsdale, AZ yesterday. White Sox GM Chris Getz, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, and Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix all are headed to the meetings as heads of a baseball operations department for the first time in their respective careers, and MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand indicates that a review of the 2023 season’s rule changes and discussion of the postseason format are both issues that figure to be addressed over the coming days. While major free agent signings and trades are fairly rare at this point in the offseason calendar, the meetings serve as a first opportunity for agents and clubs to begin discussion of free agents and for front offices to gauge rival teams’ early interests on the trade market.
2. Yankees pressers scheduled:
Yankees leadership will be addressing the media today, with Greg Joyce of the New York Post among those to relay that club chairman Hal Steinbrenner is set to meet with the media, followed by GM Brian Cashman later in the day. The pair’s comments will mark the first public words from Yankees brass after the club failed to make the postseason for the first time since 2016. The club finished just 82-80, their worst record since 1992, despite making a splash this past offseason by not only retaining reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge on a $360MM pact but also landing left-hander Carlos Rodon on a $162MM deal. With Judge, Rodon, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gerrit Cole all under contract for at least the next four seasons and set to combine for $128MM annually, Cashman’s front office faces the difficult task of looking to improve the club for 2024 despite already having four deals in excess of $100MM on the books.
3. Counsell fallout:
The Cubs shocked the baseball world yesterday by hiring longtime Brewers manager Craig Counsell away from their division rivals yesterday, beating out the perceived frontrunners in Milwaukee, Queens, and Cleveland for Counsell’s services. The Mets and Guardians pivoted away from Counsell fairly quickly, hiring Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza and Mariners bullpen coach Stephen Vogt to take over in the dugout respectively, but plenty of questions remain in the wake of Chicago’s shocking move. Beyond the obvious question of who the Brewers will install to replace Counsell in the Milwaukee dugout, it’s fair to wonder what’s next for David Ross, who the Cubs dismissed in order to hire Counsell. Ross is already drawing interest from the Padres in their managerial search, while Houston and Anaheim are both also still looking for a manager. Will Ross, who was a finalist for the NL Manager of the Year award during his rookie season as manager in 2020, find a new seat in this offseason’s game of managerial musical chairs?
Yanks should hire Ross as bench coach, and Boone’s eventual replacement. Pretty sure Boone is heading into his final year.
Nah. Ross hopefully doesn’t get signed and remains available for when Breslow cans Cora…
If Boone is fired the bench coach won’t matter as Cashman will be exiting with him.
I do not want it but in a dream world, what would it be like four years from now if No one managed Boston and Cora the Yankees starting in 25?
No wise cracks from non Sox or Yankee fans that nothing would change as both would still be looking up at the Jays, Rays and O’s. At least for Boston, I’m excited about 24. Bloom had his faults but he left the team with prospects and money to spend.
Adley and Gunnar are going to get expensive in arb. Will the O’s extend them or trade them? The Rays have a limited budget. The Jays are owned by Rogers Comm so their shareholders may demand more discretionary spending. Both the Yankees and RS are flushed with cash and they don’t have the same limitations in any economy.
Only thing shareholders demand is bigger dividends.
Have fun Cubs fans.
We will.
I am a life-long cub hater, but I feel bad for Ross. He had basically his whole team vanish in 2020, did a good job in what had to be a difficult 2021evaluating a lot of minor league talent as the team went through a total rebuild. Luckily he had an owner who is willing to spend money. In just three seasons Ross nearly got his team into the PO. To get totally blind-sided is bush league on Hoyer’s part. I hope Ross gets either the Angels or Padres job. I think he will do well.
I get what you’re saying and I agree to an extent, but Jed and Tom’s main obligation isn’t to David Ross or to their relationship with him. It’s to put the Cubs in the absolute best position to win, and in that sense they did the right thing. While Ross is a fine manager and exceeded most people’s expectations, Counsell is pretty universally recognized as elite.
It sucks for Ross who didn’t really do anything wrong to lose the job, and it sucks that it sort of came out of the blue, but it was the right decision for the Cubs.
Could they have been more transparent? Yes and no. I don’t think they were lying when they made those statements about their confidence in Ross a moth ago. As I understand it, they thought landing Counsell was a long shot and because of that, if it was public knowledge that they were interviewing him, it would give the impression of a lack of faith in Ross, which I don’t think they really had. It’s just that a once in a decade type manager became available and they couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
It’s a tough situation especially for Ross, but at the end of the day, it’s business and it was the right business decision for the Cubs. I have no doubt Ross will get plenty of calls and other opportunities going forward.
Catuli: Ross DID put the cubs in the absolute best chance to win. He led a total rebuild and in just three years nearly got them into the PO this year. What more does Hoyer want? It reminds me a lot of what happened to Ricky Renteria, who led a five year rebuild, got the Sox to the PO in three, then was ambushed when Reinsdorf fired him and hired LaRussa to take the team to the level. Unfortunately, the level LaRussa took them was rock bottom. I know Counsell was a great manager in Milwaukee, but it’s a whole different team in Chicago. He’ll have the advantage of a bigger budget, but he’s taking over a team that is losing Bellinger and Stroman. Can he buy replacements for them? Can he buy a catcher? Maybe he left the Brewers because he won’t have Woodruff next year and Burnes might be traded. The Brewers won’t spend the money to replace them. The cubs will at least be in with a shout at the top FA while the Brewers won’t. I realize CC is considered one of the best managers in the game, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that will translate over with the cubs.
Not saying Counsell isn’t a good manager, but “once in a decade type” is just a bit hyperbole. He’s not to the level of Dusty Baker’s resume. He doesn’t have the legend of a Sparky Anderson. They should never have stated Ross was their guy, if they had doubts. If he was their guy, they shouldn’t have been interviewing anyone.
If you watched enough Cub games you’d know Ross made one bonehead move after another all season and completely mismanaged the bullpen in Sept.
You’re way off. Ross is ok at best and yes, they outperformed in spite of a lot of bad moves he made. I watched 100 or so of those games and he’s nowhere near as consistently solid as Counsell.
I can’t agree with you there. Ross’s Cubs were 21-25 in 1-run games while Counsell’s Brewers were 24-10 in 1-run games.
There is no doubt in my mind that if the Cubs had Counsell last year they would have easily won the division and made the playoffs.
Ross is a terrible manager so of course he makes sense for San Diego.
Terrible manager? The Cubs outperformed this year and moved up their timeline of being legit contenders by a year or two.
Put down the pipe, the Cubs didn’t outperform their talent at all.
The Cubs won in spite of Ross, if you actually watched the Cubs you would have known that.
I think someone forgot the Cubs were considered out of it and potential sellers before July.
They won in spite of Ross? They won ten more games than the previous year with young players. If you came back to reality you probably will realize you won because of Ross.
Not really. The Cubs had Bellinger who made a HUGE difference.
Jesus you’re an idiot.
The Cubs won 10 more games because of Bellinger and Swanson. The Cubs increased 6+ WAR at second base by moving Nico there and 6+ WAR with Bellinger in center.
Cubs young pitching? Stroman, Hendricks, Taillon, Smyly? Young pitching? Are you referring to Steele who pitched like an Ace the majority of last season? Because you sure as heck are not referring to Wesneski. I guess you think the 17 games Assad and Wicks pitched.
When you start an argument by calling names then you know you have no argument. I never said anything about young pitching but keep arguing with yourself because you are mad the Cubs actually competed this year instead of still being in rebuild mode. You should be happy about that and not mad at the world.
Oh right, young players…. All the young players they had:
Happ veteran
Hoerner veteran
Swanson veteran
Gomes veteran
Bellinger veteran
Suzuki veteran
Hosmer, Mancini, Wisdom, Tauchman, Barnhart…. Maybe you mean in the youth in the pen that really wasn’t there.
What in that lineup screams the Cubs should have won a lot more games this year? You are making a better case for Ross outperforming. You’re right with all the player listed expect the Cubs to take a step backwards next year.
@drascoo. drascoo, YOU have to remember and admit that YOU were all in love with Hosmer being in the lineup. And also fine with Tucker Barnhart. Now you’re criticizing Ross for losing games, while doing what YOU were ok with.
Sometimes I don’t speak right
But yet I know what I’m talking about
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Why can’t we be friends?
Some of your points are well-taken; some I disagree with. But Ross blew the playoffs by NOT using young players (and pitchers) down the stretch.The Cubs were 4 games up for the 3rd WC spot with 22 to play and went 7-15 the rest of the way, including horrible failures by exhausted relief pitchers, who choked while Ross refused to use fresher arms. As a Mets fan, it might seem well and good to you for the Cubs to fade down the stretch. Might seem like that’s the natural order of things. But we Cubs fans want the team to, you know, WIN. Now we have a better manager, and maybe they will.
Seriously, a knock on the Mets with the Cubs history? The Cubs have been in existence for 148 years and only made the playoffs 21 times and 3 World Championships. Not exactly a track record to be lecturing other fans about winning. This conversation was about David Ross as a manager. He is a quality manager and you just replaced him with an equal manager for double the price. Not a great move.
Counsell is a better in game manager than Ross
You misunderstood me. That wasn’t a knock on the Mets, or really a knock on anybody. It was an observation that Mets fans (and other teams’ fans, too) seem to think that the Cubs are sort of “supposed to” lose, supposed to falter in September, and that Cubs fans should be satisfied, even pleased, with an 83-79 finish and a mediocre manager. My point was that we Cubs fans actually want more than that, same as Mets fans and any other fans…I hope I have made myself clearer this time. It’s sad-but-true how often written communication fails to communicate, even among people of good will like you and me.
Don’t get me wrong. The Cubs are getting better. I think the team preformed above expectations this year. I’m sure they will spend more money this year. They have some young talent coming up. Ross did not deserve to get fired. They performed well. Counsel an Ross are about the same managers and I don’t think the Cubs projections change at all with the change.
Bellinger and Swanson played a big part in the cubs succes, but they didn’t do it alone. They won three gold gloves. Horner, Stroman (first half), Steele also played a big part. There were others but two guys usually can’t get a team a game away from the the PO. Just look at the Angels.
Without Bellinger they take a step back, so maybe this is a sign they plan on spending. They finished 4 games over .500 not because of Ross but rather in spite of Ross
I’ve been saying that the entire Boone tenure as Yankee manager
I think you are all going to be highly disappointed when the Cubs record is about the same with counsel as Manager. I don’t know how many games you all thought the Cubs should have won but they exceeded preseason expectations.
Not sure if ure a cubs fan but many Brewers fans have had issues with counsell over the years. And many times warranted. At the end of the day the players have to go play. Mets and Brewers were smart to not go beyond 5.5mil per year.
Philip—ALL fans have issues with their team’s manager. ALL. Heck, Cubs fans have and still have issues with Joe Maddon.
Baseball is such a repetitive game that anyone of us can understand lefty/lefty splits, reverse splits, “when” to pinch hit it etc. There are numerous times in games when the “manager” makes the “right” move and it turns out bad and there are the fans, like vultures, ready to hit the keyboard and proclaim how smart they are.
I can guarantee that 100% of the fans have no idea what the scouting reports say, who is banged up, who is going through something nobody has any idea about—all info that the manager has.
And sometimes, you are just stuck with Mark Leiter Jr being your best reverse split guy against lefties—with no dependable lefty in the pen—and sooner or later that catches up to you…………….
Every fan base has issues with manager decisions at one time or another. Second guessing tactics is as old as the game itself.
David Ross was a good manager. He won the division in his 2nd season (albeit shortened) and was the only team to not have a single case of Covid in 2020. Had to manage through a couple selloffs and after losing all those players came within one game of the playoffs in less than 2 years.
He’ll keep getting better at the job. But when one of the very best managers comes on the market, you have to consider it.
I want to be upset as a brewer fan but with our upcoming fire sale and tanking years coming, I can’t blame him for going to a big market high spending team…even if it’s our rivals. they offered him the most, who wouldn’t take that? it’ll be interesting to see if he can do any better with a much higher payroll team than the small market brewers.
Its always seems to be once the lower market guys go to bigger spending teams they tend to fall off a little, i think playing with the chip on there shoulder of my teams spend 100 mil less then yours has something to do with it. Look at all the rays guys, atkins and shapiro etc that move on to teams that spend 50% + more and suddenly draft worse, build worse teams or go from 1st round playoff exit to 1st round playoff exit
I hate watching fire sales but it’s probably smart. between losing Counsell and Woodruff, Brewers are in a weird spot.
They have limited fire sale candidates.
Adames and Burnes should be traded,they both have one year left, the Brewers can get a multi year return, other than that maybe Williams, nobody wants Yellich for the money.
Peralta would get some return as well if they went all in on a fire sale.
Burnes, Peralta, Adames, Williams, Contreras, Houser, Mitchell, Frelick. I wouldn’t say they’re that limited during a potential fire sale. Obviously they shouldn’t and likely won’t move everyone, but those guys can all fetch returns.
I think the Ray might want to take Adames back since they don’t know if or when Franco will be able to come back.
Hal is the problem. He’s the Jerry Jones of mlb
Changing managers is not one of the many reasons for a rebuild.
Agree
Great cliffhanger question, Nick. Textbook delivery.
Ross has always had leadership qualities. But as a Cubs fan who watches most of the games, I was not a fan of his lineup construction nor his proclivity for bunting. Bit it’s so difficult to truly know how much a manager affects a ball club. But when Hoyer & Ricketts praised Ross for how the team almost made the playoffs, I couldn’t help but wonder what about the choke job in September?
Ross was appreciated by the front office and owners for his efforts with the Cubs. The organization believes that Counsell can bring the team to another level. The organization believes Counsell brings better strategies, insight and player evaluation to the team. It’s going to be interesting to see how Hoyer fills out this team on the field.
@coop. True, Ross did a lousy job of managing in September – but – it wasn’t any worse than what he did in April and May. He was brutal then, maybe worse with playing Mancini in the field, or Hosmer and Barnhart, anywhere.
counsells lineup construction will be a issue for cubs fans from the beginning. he doesn’t put out the same lineup everyday, always has to mix it up for seemingly no reason. doesn’t play a hot player when the analytics tell him otherwise.
cubs will also need to rework their roster because in counsells world every player needs to play every position.
that was part of the brewers downfall, players thrive on consistency.
Sounds similar to Joe Maddon.
It’s funny how every offseason Joe Espada has been linked to almost every managerial opening in baseball yet the Astros won’t just give him the job. I haven’t even heard his name mentioned for them. Or anybody else this offseason for that matter.
I think the Astros hire him now.
I’ve heard that the GM is pushing for him to take the job. It’s also a matter of whether he wants it. He has declined to interview for a few openings. It’s possible he’s just happy where he’s at.
Unfortunately, he’s been the equal opportunity interview that MLB requires teams to give someone before hiring the white guy. Speaking of which, how do the Cubs get a pass on that?
Brewers should sign Ross for the sake of rivalry and competitive balance.
I’m hoping Mike Schildt to the Crew. That’s raise the stakes with the Cards rivalry too right away, lol.
I hadn’t thought of that, but it would be a perfect move. I thought SD would have moved him into the manager position by now, but we all know Preller is eternally searching for the shiniest object he can find. Shildt isn’t shiny, but he’s as solid as they come.
I would love to see Ross land in Milwaukee. I think most Cub fans would agree
@OldGuy I mean, the reverse is true. Some Brewers fans aren’t all to upset Counsell left, and there are valid reasons for that. I’m indifferent, but a valid complaint I’ve seen was that they put Jesse Winker on the playoff roster.
Keep in mind, this was someone with a -.7 WAR, who head been in the minors on “rehab assignment” for like 2 months, and before injury was hitting a whole 199 with like 50 strikeouts in 160 at bats. He had a whole 1 home run, so you could say it was for pop off the bench.
Now, just including Winker, they could’ve written it off as at least he drew 26 walks. But they also included Joey Wiemer. Who essentially constantly falls out of his shoes striking out. And barely draws any walks. And was also down in triple A pretty much the final 2 months. But not because of injury, because, well, he strikes out a bunch.
You could then say “well, it was just Wiemer and Winker. Ones there for walks, ones there for defensive replacement.” They then also left Garrett Mitchell off the playoff roster, when even coming off injury, could’ve easily provided the same defensive replacement value Wiemer would even offer, plus be just as serviceable in an at bat as Winker.
The playoff roster had Wiemer, Winker, and Josh Donaldson all on it. Plus Blake Perkins, That’s 4 people that very few of us wanted to see in a starting lineup, much less in roster spots with other people left off. But Counsell defended Winkers selection specifically with it boiling down to having to decide who you wanted at bat. The answer for most anyone else, would not have been Winker. He defended Wiemers selection over Mitchell with it boiling down to feeling that of the things they looked at, they felt Wiemer offered more. Wiemer offered defense. That’s it. Nothing more. In an at bat, he’s not getting on base, and in a pinch running scenario you have to trust his base path instincts which you really have little idea of how much he has of it at the major league level, because again, he doesn’t get on base.
Counsell is fine as a manager. But for all the praise he gets about looking at the numbers and such, there’s plenty of instances where you can scratch your head and wonder where he came up with his decisions from.
I always enjoy the 50 free agents list, but Brewers fans have to wait until #45 to see a potential fit! Lol. Trade Burnes and Adames, then I’d like to see 4 new players in the infield this year. I suppose Turang as a defensive first SS would be ok as long as we see some pop at 1st and 3rd for once. Some good pitching is ready to come up, so I think they’ll play around the shed in free agency and look for value but give the young guys a chance to make it again this year. I don’t see many big splashes…
@brewsing
Roster decisions get input from the manager, but not the final say. I know who you didn’t want on the roster, but other than White, who you say was just as good, not better (sounds like a push), who did they have that you would have preferred on the playoff roster?
And how cool it would be if the Brewers under Ross outperformed the Cubs under Counsell for the next three years!
Go for it, lol.
I don’t have a dog in this fight. Just think it would be ironic.
That would be decidedly un-cool in my estimation. Curse your words!
The way Counsell played everyone makes me dislike him. I think he’s overrated. We’ll see.
How did he play everyone?
Why did Cleveland and NY offer him less than he wanted (if Cleveland even offered)? Why did Mikwaukee feel spurned? He made like he would go back to Milwaukee if they matched his best offer, and Cleveland and the Mets decided not to play that game. And Milwaukee already had a 5M per year offer on the table. But then he didn’t even give them the chance to match. If you say that’s not playing, then we live in different worlds.
I don’t think he ever “He made like he would go back to Milwaukee if they matched his best offer”.
That’s precisely why he decided to let his contract run out rather than accepting an extension.
If he wanted to come to the cubs and they gave him $8M/year, what’s the issue? That’s where he wanted to go. It’s closer to home and he has way more resources to work with.
No free agent in anything has ever gone out an announced that they only want to go one place. That’s about as terrible of a negotiating situation as you can put yourself in. If he does that I guarantee he doesn’t get $8M/year from the Cubs.
Letting your contract expire and then taking a better offer at a bigger club isn’t playing.
Good luck, Carl. I think you will change your mind about him once he’s managed your team for a year or two. Time will tell, as it always does.
Congrats to Counsell for raising the pay for managers. It’s about time.
We should add another contest. Who will be the first top 50 FA to sign??
David Ross should manage the Toledo Mud Hens
I’m sure Jamie Farr would agree.
Reds have a new GM too. Hopefully he is more successful in getting established major league talent.
The Yankees really don’t seem to have a coherent organizational philosophy. They impulse shop, but often unwisely. They lack a quality manager and a quality GM. They need a change. Fresh ideas. Yes, NY fans are impatient, but our boys haven’t won the WS since 2009, and running lineups out there with discards, older players past their prime, etc does nothing to improve the mood.
They never have had an organizational philosophy except buy what they need since George bought the team. They are long past the days when the whole team was homegrown for decades.
Counsell’s contract is basically the A’s 2023 payroll
haha very true! Good thing the Rangers already have Bochy, they might have thrown even more money at Counsell. Spending $800 million the last 2 years, they are looking like the new Yankees in terms of buying players. Although they do have a few great young players coming into the mix as well.
Yankees right now are one of the most dysfunctional organizations in baseball.Until Hal gets the guts to fire Cashman it will continue to be ! We have been witnessing this for many years,which is very disturbing to fans and the city ! Change needs to happen but will it ???
Cashman isn’t the problem. It’s the players. When you have superstar athletes who have Allstars potential on the IL for 2 weeks because of a broken nail that isn’t anyone but the players’ fault
Counsell, that’s a rough one for the Brews. Wasn’t he a Local and Brews fan since childhood ? If that’s the case the dude has zero loyalty and you don’t want him anyway. Yes the 40 Mil for 5 is beyond life changing for him and family but the Brews could have upped to maybe 6.5 per season. Tacked on an extra year. Something. The Cubs are slim yes, but bought there way into this it happens. Why don’t the Brews hire Ross ??? I Would.
“If that’s the case the dude has zero loyalty and you don’t want him anyway”
That’s hilarious. Why is it expected that players and managers should show loyalty but never the owners? It’s not neighborhood vs neighborhood sandlot baseball, it’s business. Plain and SIMPLE.
Loyalty in a business sense has not been a factor for 50+ years. Pro sports or just for regular people like us.
I believe gerrit Cole can opt out after this coming season
It’s after the next. If he has another season like the last, he’ll certainly exercise the option and walk away from $108MM. The Yankees can negate the opt-out by exercising his ’29 $39MM option.
The same brewers fans saying what an incredible manager he is and swearing he would never leave the brewers are the same ones who now say he’s overrated and they are glad he’s gone.
i always look forward to hearing hal steinbrenner speak. the man radiates charisma and charm
He’ll defer all the hard questions to Cashman and say something, something championship-caliber that the fans deserve.
Counsell is 1-9 in the first round of the playoffs. As a Cub fan, I’m not 100% sold on him.
Sorry, 1-8 in the last 4yrs
And every time they have lost a playoff series the team that beat them has gone to the World Series—every time. It’s very easy to cherry pick stats. Ernie Banks never won a playoff game—doesn’t make him bad. Hope you are 100% sold on him as a Cub fan.
I’ll take making the playoffs over missing them. I think if we had CC instead of Ross last season we would have made the playoffs and who knows what could have happened. I mean the Backs and Rangers made it all the way. Cubs weren’t much worse than either of those teams.
I feel like the Cubs did Ross dirty, but i guess it’s the nature of the game.
Who are Mets fans pivoting too as most of the ones here swore that Counsell was going to be the next Manager in Queens…
All the people criticizing Counsell for leaving the Brewers for the hated Cubs is ridiculous who wouldn’t leave a job if someone else offered you too double your salary. If you’re going to tell me you wouldn’t your delusional or person I’d never believe anything you would tell me.