The Chicago Cubs will name David Ross as their manager, succeeding Joe Maddon, according to multiple news media reports Wednesday morning.
Ross, 42, has no managerial experience at any level, but he played catcher with seven teams over 15 seasons, including the Cubs. He won a title with the Boston Red Sox in 2013 and was part of Chicago’s 2016 World Series-winning team.
Ross retired following the 2016 season and served as a special assistant to baseball operations with the Cubs and as an analyst for ESPN.
The Cubs missed the postseason this year, falling to an 84-78 record with 16 losses in their 27 games in September. It was the first time since 2014, the year before Maddon arrived, that the Cubs were not in the playoffs.
After Maddon and the Cubs parted ways at the end of the 2019 season, Ross — who played under Maddon during the 2015 and ’16 seasons — expressed interest in the job amid rumors he would be a candidate.
“I think it’s one of the best jobs in baseball,” Ross said. “I’ve got a lot of close ties with those guys. I think the interest would be there. I think my heart is drawn to that dugout a little bit. The rumors are flattering. It makes you think about a lot of things. I’ve got a nice job here at ESPN that I enjoy and gives me a lot of free time with my three kids.”
Theo Epstein, the Cubs’ president of baseball operations, confirmed the team’s interest in Ross in a news conference on Sept. 30.
“He’s on our broad list of candidates,” Epstein said.
Among the other candidates that Epstein interviewed for the job were the Astros’ bench coach Joe Espada and former Yankees manager Joe Girardi.
Maddon, meanwhile, was hired by the Los Angeles Angels as their manager last week. Maddon guided the Cubs to at least 92 wins in each of his first four seasons, highlighted by a 103-58 record and the franchise’s first World Series championship since 1908 in 2016.