Cubs win Craig Counsell sweepstakes as ex-Brewers manager switches sides in NL Central

The Craig Counsell sweepstakes is over, and the Chicago Cubs are the winners. The ex-Milwaukee Brewers manager was in high demand as many teams were reportedly in on the manager, but he has decided to join the Cubs.

The Milwaukee Brewers were not re-signing Craig Counsell to a new deal after his old one expired, so he's crossing division lines to join the Cubs. He will begin trying to get them to the playoffs this year.

Ken Rosenthal broke the news that Counsell will be replacing David Ross as the Cubs manager. Ross is a former player who won the World Series with the team but did not have a ton of success as a manager.

Thus, the team opted to go for Counsell, who a lot of teams expressed interest in. The New York Mets, who just named Carlos Mendoza their manager, were rumored to be in on Counsell.

The Houston Astros and other teams also had reported interest, but they all lost out to the Cubs, who have what many consider a top-tier manager in town.

---

Cubs land Craig Counsell

Craig Counsell joins Cubs

Counsell consistently had the Milwaukee Brewers in the postseason and in contention for the NL Central title. That's something that has not been true of the Chicago Cubs.

This year, they were a surprising contender for a wild card spot. They didn't get one but were in a heated race basically down to the wire. With a core of Dansby Swanson, Nico Hoerner and Seiya Suzuki, the Cubs have something Counsell can work with.

They may not have the pedigree of the Brewers roster, but Counsell seemed to consistently get the most out of what they did have on the club. Cubs brass seems to like that, and that's why they're handing the reigns over to Counsell in the hopes that he can continue their upward trajectory in 2024 and beyond.

The Cubs liked him so much that Craig Counsell's contract is for five years and $40 million, the most for a manager in the current MLB.