Hoyer eyes long partnership with Ross amid extension talks

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Team president Jed Hoyer acknowledged Wednesday he’s in talks with Cubs manager David Ross on a contract extension.

Hoyer said he and Ross have had “preliminary discussions" and made clear he expects Ross to be his manager long term.

“David has done a fantastic job as a manager,” Hoyer said. “He's learned a ton on the job. Even while learning I think he's excelled. He's kept morale good. He's run the staff very well. I love having him as a partner.

“Our hope certainly is that David's here for a long time."

Indications are they’re in no rush on reaching a new deal. Ross is under contract through 2022 with an option for 2023 that would certainly be picked up if an extension weren’t reached quickly.

Hoyer also has other things that are higher priority in the immediate future, including his search for a general manager that could be done by the end of the month.

But he and Ross have made no secret of their desire to continue the partnership.

“I love my job,” Ross said the final week of the season. “I'm very fortunate to be the manager of a major franchise that's done a lot of great things recently.”

Ross took over the Cubs entering a 2020 season that was upended when COVID-19 shut down spring training. The season resumed months later in the form of a 60-game sprint during the pandemic in which zero Cubs players tested positive for COVID and won the NL Central.

This season, the Cubs led the division as late as the end of June before an 11-game losing streak shifted them to sellers at the trade deadline. Ross managed a team that underwent significant change in July.

The Cubs used an MLB record 69 players in 2021, 44 of whom made their Cubs debuts. Fifteen of those players made their big-league debuts.

It’ll be important to have continuity from the top down as the Cubs go through this transition period and bring in new faces.

"There’s some struggles and tough times going on right now," Ross said. "Being able to play this game for very long and be around it, those struggles usually make the good times that much better. That’s why you understand it's so hard to win a World Series and to get back to that platform. 

"Being in that space is exciting to me and being able to put my stamp and signature of what I believe in and continue to mark this organization that way for me and all these players and the coaching staff is exciting.

"Not many people get the opportunity to do that."

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