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Cubs to Name David Ross Manager

The Cubs will hire former catcher David Ross as their new manager, Jon Heyman reported Wednesday. Ross, 42, had been working in the Cubs' front office and will replace Joe Maddon, who recently agreed to manage the Angels. Astros bench coach Joe Espada had also been a finalist for the Cubs' job, but the Cubs reportedly will go with the familiar hand in Ross, who has been long rumored to be Maddon's replacement. 

 

Former Yankees and Marlins manager Joe Girardi, bench coach Mark Loretta and former infielder Mark DeRosa had also reportedly been candidates to replace Maddon. 

 

Ross has no managerial or coaching experience, but teams in recent years have shown a willingness to go with inexperienced candidates. Ross spent parts of 15 seasons as a big-league catcher, the last two of which came with the Cubs. In his final season of 2016, when the Cubs won the World Series, Ross split time at catcher with Willson Contreras and Miguel Montero. Ross homered in Game 7 of the World Series against the Indians that year. 

 

Ross inherits a talented roster that includes the likes of Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, Contreras and others. While the Cubs endured a disappointing 2019 season that saw them finish in third place in the NL Central, they're not far removed from a 2015-18 run that saw them average almost 97 wins and make the playoffs four times.

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