Former Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell stunned the baseball world on Monday, November 6 by agreeing to a five year, $40.00 MM deal with the Chicago Cubs. It was public knowledge that teams like the New York Mets and Cleveland Guardians had interviews with him, but the Cubs managed to keep things quiet. Here is how they did it.
The Chicago Cubs lured Craig Counsell away from the Milwaukee Brewers after less than one week of making contact.
On November 1 Craig Counsell officially became a free agent. Prior to then teams had to ask the Milwaukee Brewers permission to interview him. As luck had it he remained on the market and Cubs team president Jed Hoyer immediately had him secretly come down to Chicago.
When Craig Counsell arrived in Chicago on November 1 he met with only Jed Hoyer. Only a few others knew about their meeting. This was done with the intention of not letting the public/media know about this because manager David Ross was still under contract with them.
According to sources their meeting lasted deep into the night and the two hit things off quickly. Following this Craig Counsell went on to meet with the Mets and Guardians, but there was optimism that the two sides were close on the financials and a deal would get done.
On Sunday morning, November 5, a deal was reached. Jed Hoyer immediately booked a flight to Florida and met with David Ross. Additionally general manager Carter Hawkins called some staff and players to deliver the news.
It is amazing how quickly and quietly Craig Counsell’s deal came together. The Cubs geographic location, increased financial resources for team building, and of course his pay raise were three big factors that all played into this deal coming together as well, but credit to the Cubs for striking quick and not being afraid to spend money on the biggest managerial free agent the league has seen.
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