Cubs hire Counsell, fire Ross

The Chicago Cubs hired manager Craig Counsell away from Milwaukee on Monday, landing the former big leaguer with a record-breaking contract and firing David Ross in a tandem of surprising moves.

The 53-year-old Counsell became the majors' highest paid manager with a five-year contract worth more than $40 million, according to a person with knowledge of the deal who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the terms weren't announced.

Ross, 46, went 262-284 in four seasons with Chicago, winning the NL Central in 2020 in his first year in charge. He also was a beloved backup catcher for the Cubs when they won the 2016 World Series in a historic moment for the franchise.

Chicago was in position for an NL wild card this year before stumbling in September. It went 83-79 after finishing under .500 in the previous two seasons.

"On behalf of the Cubs organization, we express our deep gratitude for David's contributions to our club, both on and off the field," President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer said in a release. "First as a player and then as a manager, David continually showcased his ability to lead. David's legacy will be felt in Chicago for generations and his impact to our organization will stack up with the legends that came before him.

"Going forward, our major league team will be managed by Craig Counsell. We look forward to welcoming Craig at Wrigley Field early next week."

A message was left by the AP seeking comment from Ross.

The change at manager was reminiscent of 2014, when Chicago fired Rick Renteria after one season and hired Joe Maddon. Hoyer was the general manager at the time.

The Cubs then made four consecutive playoff appearances under Maddon, losing in the NL Championship Series twice and winning the 2016 title.

The addition of Counsell, who grew up in Milwaukee before becoming the Brewers' winningest manager in franchise history, likely means the Cubs plan to be active in free agency. They are hoping to bring back Cody Bellinger for the middle of their lineup, and they also could go looking for help for their rotation.

Counsell led the budget-conscious Brewers to five playoff appearances in the last six years, including three NL Central titles. His contract expired at the end of the season, making him one of the biggest managerial free agents in recent years.

The Cleveland Guardians interviewed Counsell before announcing Monday they had hired former catcher Stephen Vogt. Counsell also was being pursued by the New York Mets, who already had hired former Brewers President of Baseball Operations David Stearns. The Mets ended up hiring Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza as their manager.

With Stearns and Counsell in charge, the Brewers enjoyed the franchise's longest run of sustained success.

But staying in the Midwest rather than leaving for the Mets gives Counsell a chance to be close to his sons while they play Big Ten baseball. Brady Counsell is at Minnesota and Jack Counsell plays for Michigan.

The Brewers now face the challenge of replacing their most successful manager ever, a figure who had become synonymous with Milwaukee baseball. And they'll instead have to be competing with him in the division.

Counsell grew up as a Brewers fan in the Milwaukee suburb of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. His father, John Counsell, is the Brewers' former director of community affairs.

The former Brewers infielder took over as Milwaukee's manager during the 2015 season after the firing of Ron Roenicke. The Brewers had made a total of four playoff appearances before Counsell took over.

His 707-625 record gives him the franchise record for wins and games managed.

Counsell's 16-year MLB playing career included two stints with the Brewers (2004, 2007-11). He won World Series rings with the 1997 Florida Marlins and 2001 Diamondbacks, and he was part of the 2008 Brewers team that earned Milwaukee its first playoff appearance since its 1982 World Series berth.

The one blemish on Counsell's resume was the Brewers' inability to perform as well in the playoffs as they had in the regular season. The Brewers have lost nine of their last 10 playoff games.

Ross and Counsell became the seventh and eighth managers to leave since the final week of the season after San Francisco's Gabe Kapler, the New York Mets' Buck Showalter, the Los Angeles Angels' Phil Nevin, Cleveland's Terry Francona, San Diego's Bob Melvin and Houston's Dusty Baker.

Guardians hire Vogt as new manager

The Guardians replaced the winningest manager in club history with one who has never filled out a lineup card.

After an extensive search that began with over 45 candidates, Cleveland chose Stephen Vogt, a journeyman catcher with no managerial experience, to take over for Terry Francona, the team's beloved manager for 11 seasons who recently stepped down.

Vogt, who only retired as a player in 2022 before spending a season as Seattle's bullpen coach, is getting a three-year contract with the Guardians.

Although the 39-year-old Vogt has never led a club, he's long aspired to be a manager. He checked every box for the Guardians, who were not only charmed by Vogt's outgoing personality but impressed by his varied baseball background.

The Guardians spoke to numerous qualified candidates, including Craig Counsell, who stunningly left Milwaukee to take over the Chicago Cubs on Monday. And while Cleveland didn't land the biggest free agent manager on the market, they believe Vogt will be a perfect fit.

It's not clear who will be on Vogt's staff, but the Guardians expect to have continuity and will bring back several coaches, including Sandy Alomar Jr.

A two-time All-Star, Vogt played for six teams in 10 seasons before retiring with Oakland in 2022. He homered in his final at-bat for the Athletics, a personal walk-off to a career that had numerous high and lows.

The Guardians will introduce Vogt at a press conference on Friday.

"Stephen earned a reputation as one of the best teammates in the game across his 16-year career as a player, and we've greatly enjoyed the opportunity to get to know him over the past several weeks," said Chris Antonetti, the Guardians' president of baseball operations.

"Stephen has thought critically about the type of leader and manager he wants to be. His deep care for others, his ability to build meaningful relationships with those around him, and his open-mindedness and curiosity make him an ideal fit to lead our club moving forward. We couldn't be more excited to partner with Stephen."

The Guardians are beginning a new era following the departure of Francona, who won 921 games with Cleveland and led the club to the playoffs six times and the World Series in 2016.

Vogt had an initial meeting in mid-October with the Guardians, who were so impressed that they immediately scheduled a second, in-person visit at Progressive Field.

One of the things that stood out about Vogt to Cleveland's front office was his breadth in the game. He lived it all as a player — making his big-league debut at 27, overcoming a major injury, getting cut and traded, waiting almost 15 months to get his first hit.

He was a beloved teammate in Tampa Bay, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Arizona, Atlanta and during two stints with Oakland. Vogt's humility made him a clubhouse leader, and his knowledge of how to handle a pitching staff was another plus during the Guardians' search.

Cleveland's staff is loaded with young talent as Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen all had promising rookie seasons and compliment proven veterans Triston McKenzie and Shane Bieber, who both came back late from injuries in 2023.

A father of three, Vogt loves talking baseball and has often credited many of his former managers, from Counsell to Bruce Bochy to Bob Melvin, Brian Snitker and Mark Kotsay, with being role models and mentors.

Melvin called Vogt "one of the most inspiring players I've ever managed" and "one of my all-time favorites."

Bochy always viewed Vogt as a leader.

"He's a baseball guy," the Texas Rangers manager said when he was with Vogt on the Giants. "I could see him managing. I love watching him play. He's a lot of fun to watch. Sometimes things don't look so easy. He got beat up one game against us blocking balls and he saw that we were having some fun with him.

"He's a guy who has really persevered and made himself into a nice player and had a nice career."

Vogt began his playing career by going hitless in his first 32 at-bats.

He became a fan favorite on both sides of the San Francisco Bay while playing first for the A's (2013) and later the Giants (2017). It was common for fans in both markets to chant "I believe in Stephen Vogt!"

While with Oakland in 2013, Vogt had his first career game-winning hit with a single off Detroit's Rick Porcello in the playoffs to give the A's a 1-0 win in Game 2 and even the AL Division Series.

Vogt has long wanted to become a manager, and his desire increased in 2018 while he recovered from a major shoulder injury with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Germán cut by Yankees

Domingo Germán became a free agent Monday when he refused an outright assignment to the minor leagues from the New York Yankees, five months after he pitched Major League Baseball's 24th perfect game and three months after he entered alcohol abuse treatment.

Germán pitched the perfect game at Oakland on June 28, part of a season in which he went 5-7 with a 4.56 ERA in 19 starts and one relief appearance. His season ended Aug. 2, when he was placed on the restricted list two days before his 31st birthday. The Yankees said they made the move as he was entering treatment.

Germán is 31-28 with a 4.41 ERA in 89 starts and 23 relief appearances over six seasons. He would have been eligible for salary arbitration had he remained on the roster.

He served a 10-game suspension in May after getting ejected from a game at Toronto for using a banned sticky substance on the mound. He also was suspended 81 games by Major League Baseball in 2019 and 2020 for violating the sport's domestic violence policy.

Right-handers Matt Bowman, Jimmy Cordero and Ryan Weber also refused outright assignments and became free agents along with infielder/outfielder Franchy Cordero and outfielder Billy McKinney. All would have been eligible for arbitration had they stayed on the roster.

Chapman, Kiermaier win 4th Gold Gloves

Toronto third baseman Matt Chapman and outfielder Kevin Kiermaier won their fourth Gold Gloves, while New York Yankees rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe and Colorado rookie center fielder Brenton Doyle were among 13 first-time winners of the fielding honor.

Toronto, Texas and the Chicago Cubs tied for the high among clubs with three winners each, Rawlings announced Sunday.

Cleveland second baseman Andrés Giménez and left fielder Steven Kwan won their second Gold Gloves, along with Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson and left fielder Ian Happ and Arizona first baseman Christian Walker.

First-time AL winners included Texas catcher Jonah Heim, first baseman Nathaniel Lowe and right fielder Adolis García, Toronto pitcher José Berríos, Houston utilityman Mauricio Dubón and Volpe.

In the NL, first-time winners included San Diego right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. and utilityman Ha-Seong Kim, Philadelphia pitcher Zack Wheeler, Arizona catcher Gabriel Moreno, Cubs second baseman Nico Hoerner, Pittsburgh third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes and Doyle.

Hayes ended the streak of Nolan Arenado of St. Louis, who had won in his first 10 seasons. That matched the high set by Seattle outfielder Ichiro Suzuki from 2001-10.

Mookie Betts of the Los Angeles Dodgers had won six straight Gold Gloves. He was among the finalists in right field and the utility role after a season in which he played 107 games in right, 70 at second and 16 at shortstop.

Repeat winners were Giménez, Kwan, Swanson, Happ and Walker.

Volpe became the second rookie to win at shortstop. Houston's Jeremy Peña was the first last year, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Berríos, Chapman, Giménez, Kiermaier and Wheeler earned $50,000 bonuses in their contracts, while Hayes earned $25,000.

Voting was conducted among managers and up to six coaches from each team, who can't select players on their own club. Since 2013, voting has been factored with a Society for American Baseball Research defensive index, which comprises about 25% of the total.

The utility category is based on a SABR formula and additional defensive statistics.