Cubs President Jed Hoyer defends bold call to fire David Ross: "Exceptionally hard decision but one that I had to make"

The Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations, Jed Hoyer, shocked the MLB world earlier this week by not only firing David Ross but also hiring Craig Counsell in his place. Although it was clear that the Cubs were going to be active this offseason, this was not one of the moves that many had expected.

"The Cubs goal is to win a title. Craig Counsell gets them much closer to that than David Ross. Nothing else needs to be said. Period." - @SamOlbur

As the Chicago Cubs look to return to the postseason for the first time since 2020, it was expected that ownership, along with Jed Hoyer, were going to be aggressive this offseason. The first major move that the club made was the shock firing of David Ross, something that even Hoyer admitted was difficult.

Hoyer spoke to the media following the news that the team had fired David Ross in order to hire Craig Counsell, explaining that it was a difficult but necessary switch for the organization:

“It just felt like an exceptionally hard decision but one that I felt like I had to make if the opportunity was there.

"There was nothing about this move that I felt like didn’t meet that criteria."

"....My job is to figure out how to win as many games as we can in the short term and the long term and there was nothing about this move that I felt like didn’t meet that criteria.” - @JesseRogersESPN

Hoyer expanded further, explaining that his job is to set up the Chicago Cubs in the best way possible to win games. He explained that the hiring of Craig Counsell would help the team win the most games possible.

---

Jed Hoyer and GM Carter Hawkins will be busy this offseason

Now that the Chicago Cubs have found their manager of the future, the attention will shift towards the roster, which has been left with several key vacancies. Two of the club's top players last season, Cody Bellinger and Marcus Stroman, have entered the free agent market, which could shift the team's approach to the offseason.

It's too soon to rule out a reunion with one or both of Cody Bellinger and Marcus Stroman, however, Hoyer and Hawkins will need to assess their current roster needs before Spring Training. Names such as Shohei Ohtani, Julio Urias, and Justin Turner have all been mentioned as potential free-agent targets for the team.