The Wait is Over: David Ross Nearing Coaching Comeback
As noted earlier, it has been exactly one year since we learned that David Ross was out as the manager of the Chicago Cubs. Though he was still under contract and had been praised once again by his bosses at the end of the 2023 season, Ross was broomed in favor of Craig Counsell, one of the best managers in the game. It said less about Ross’s performance than it did about Counsell’s availability, and the expectation was that Ross would have another job in baseball as soon as he decided it was time.
After collecting that final year’s salary on his deal with the Cubs, the question now is whether it’s time for Ross to return to the dugout. Ken Rosenthal reports that it could be happening:
“The Baltimore Orioles are interested in David Ross for their bench coach vacancy, according to sources familiar with the team’s process. Whether Ross would want the job, if the Orioles indeed offered it, is not known.
A year ago, Ross rebuffed the Yankees’ interest in hiring him to replace Carlos Mendoza as their bench coach. The Chicago Cubs had just fired Ross as manager to hire Craig Counsell. Ross, if he jumped back into a uniformed position immediately, only wanted to manage.
Might things be different for Ross a year later, now that the shock of his dismissal presumably has worn off? If so, the Orioles would seem a logical fit. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was the Cubs’ first base coach when Ross was a catcher with the team in 2015-16, and the two remain close.
The Orioles created an opening at bench coach after firing Fredi Gonzalez along with co-hitting coach Ryan Fuller and major-league coach Jose Fernandez at the end of the season.”
Immediately, I think about why this report is out there. Who passed it along to Rosenthal, and to what end? Surely the Orioles could literally just tell Ross they’re interested if they’re interested. They wouldn’t need to go through a media report.
