David Ross

Jed Hoyer addresses David Ross' status with Cubs after 2023 season

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Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer discussed the team’s approach to the coming offseason, and he had nothing but good things to say about manager David Ross.

Ross, who just completed his fourth season as manager of the Cubs, has one year left on his contract with the club, and Hoyer said the team was “very pleased” with his performance during the 2023 season.

“I was very pleased with Rossy this year,” he said. “Coming from being 10 under (.500) and sort of maintaining the competitiveness but also having the team never focus on individual stuff, we never lost that. Creating that type of culture is very difficult, and he does a fantastic job of that.”

The Cubs have reached the postseason once during Ross’ tenure, but the 2023 campaign was his second-winning season as the team won 83 games and came within a game of reaching the playoffs.

Hoyer said that he expects Ross to get plenty of criticism for the team’s struggles in the late stages of the season, but praised his willingness to self-critique and to learn from mistakes he made during the course of the year.

“The manager in a big market is always going to get criticism,” he said. “That’s part of the job. Do we have disagreements and do we have heated conversations? Of course we do, but you will do that with any manager. He’s constantly trying to improve, but ultimately we were very pleased with the job he did this year.”

Hoyer also praised Ross’ ability to develop a strong culture within the Cubs’ clubhouse, and said that he has every confidence that he’ll be able to maintain that momentum as the team makes moves to compete again in the 2024 season.

“I want us to continue to build on the momentum we had this year,” he said. “We made huge strides forward as an organization. We established a real core through free agency and guys coming through the system. We have real organizational momentum. It’s important to build on that, and Rossy is a big part of that. He’s not a new manager. He’s going into his fifth season. He’s really matured and developed.”

Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts echoed similar themes during a press availability during Sunday's game against the Milwaukee Brewers.

“Rossy had a great season, and the players play hard for him,” he told reporters, including Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune. “He’s our guy.”

Ross signed a three-year contract extension prior to the 2022 season. That deal also has an option for 2025, according to reports. It is not clear whether the team would pursue an extension with Ross, or allow him to manage the 2024 campaign on his current deal.

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