Cubs president takes hard stance on Craig Counsell amid failed season

The Chicago Cubs being five games out of a Nationa League Wild Card spot — with two teams to leapfrog — may be too high a hurdle to overcome.

However, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer remains pleased with how manager Craig Counsell, in his first year with the team, has handled a topsy-turvy season.

In an interview with radio station 670 The Score in Chicago, Hoyer said that Counsell has been “very steady” in his initial campaign with the Cubs after coming to the team from the rival Milwaukee Brewers last offseason.

“I think that demeanor is real,” Hoyer said. “I think he doesn’t get too high and too low. And I think that kind of builds into something, that he’s not exhausting everyone by constantly going up and down, up and down and having the team worried about him being volatile.”

Hoyer, whose job is reportedly safe for at least another season despite the Cubs likely falling short of postseason expectations, told 670 The Score that Counsell was “always kind of looking at the big picture” as the team rose and fell in the standings, never seriously challenging the Brewers hold atop the National League Central division.

“I think that’s part of why his teams have been able to peak at the right time. It’s because he’s thoughtful in that way throughout the course of the season. He’s not trying to overtax guys in the middle of June or July,” Hoyer said. “My hope is that we can continue that trend, but I can see why it happens. Like I said, he’s such a steady influence. I wish fans had the ability to see the way he interacts on a daily basis. They’d be really impressed.”

Counsell, is a native of South Bend, Ind., where the Cubs' High-A affiliate has played since 2015. However, he grew up in the Milwaukee suburb of Whitefish Bay and also spent the final five seasons of a 16-year playing career with the Brewers before becoming the team’s manager in 2015 — four years after his retirement as a Major League Baseball infielder.

The now-54-year-old spent nine seasons as Brewers manager, with Milwaukee finishing below .500 just three times during his tenure. The Brewers won the division three times with him as manager, but found little luck in five postseason appearances.

A member of the team’s “Wall of Honor,” Counsell turned his back on the Brewers after the 2023 campaign, signing a five-year contract worth in excess of $40 million with the Cubs shortly following the organization’s Nov. 6 dismissal of then-manager David Ross.

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