MLB WINTER MEETINGS

December 5, 2023

Craig Counsell

Chicago Cubs

Press Conference

Q. What's been the most challenging aspect of the gig since you took over?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Probably Monday when I walked into the room and there was 30 new faces, and I had to introduce myself to everybody.

No, I think probably the most fun is just getting to know people really. So it's a lot of brand new relationships and important relationships. So just spending time, like face time with Jed and Carter and driving down to Wrigley once or so a week and just getting to know people.

It doesn't happen overnight, and nothing is really critical to happen overnight, but getting those relationships going forward and connecting to those people is really important.

Q. As a baseball fan, have you ever seen or experienced anything like the Ohtani thing that's going on? You know, just as a fan. I know it's not fair to ask you directly.

CRAIG COUNSELL: I think it's deserved because he's very unique, so it's really cool what's happening. I think as a baseball fan, we all want to know where the great players are going to play.

Q. As you have gone through the process of meeting and talking to your players and the coaching staff and figuring out what that structure looks like, what have you learned from those groups, and any ones that stand out?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, so that's probably maybe the challenging part of this is just learning -- I think as a manager on the other side, you have a pretty good sense of the core of the Big League team. So moving yourself past the core of the Big League team to get to understand important prospects on the team, that's probably been the part that you spend some time learning, and still even in this period of the Winter Meetings really familiarizing yourself of how the organization talks about those players.

That's an important part because when you get to Spring Training, we're not making decisions on Dansby Swanson, but you are going to make decision on some of those important players that are kind of knocking on the door. So getting a good feel for those players is almost more critical at this time of the year than the former.

Q. Is that just research at this point? Are you calling those guys now?

CRAIG COUNSELL: It's research. It's definitely research at this point and just talking to the people around the organization, yeah.

Q. What have you thought of the dynamic just sort of in the office with Carter, with Jed. What's that process been like?

CRAIG COUNSELL: I'm the outside eyes, and I'm going to come in. I have opinions, and I'm going to share them. I think that's healthy. I think that's probably something that I can maybe just help with in little ways.

I think that's why I'm here, to try to help the Cubs win games, but you try to do that by making things better in every possible way you can. But I've enjoyed that part of it. Last Friday I spent the afternoon or the day down at Wrigley and had some very productive conversations with Jed and Carter. I've really enjoyed that part of it so far.

Q. How do you view, when a constructing lineup, just having that linchpin in the middle, that superstar? How important is it as far as one through nine and having one big guy?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Look, we're solving for wins. That's it. You win with players. There's 26 players that you get a chance to do that with. How you utilize them is different. What they're good at is different. If you can get one player that adds up to a lot of wins, that's helpful. There's no question about it.

But you're solving for wins, and that's a puzzle you're putting together. That's the hard part about roster-building, and it's the challenge that every team faces in an offseason with player movement.

Q. How different is it for you coming from an organization where you probably had a limited payroll when you went to the Winter Meetings and maybe had to be more creative and then coming to the Cubs who have more financial flexibility?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Look, the names you are discussing are different. There's no question about it, and the conversation you can be involved in are different.

But I will say the efficiency -- not efficiency, but the different ways that different markets have to look at it is helpful I think to provide new ideas just to hopefully the idea generation about how to get better still.

Q. As you have been through this transition, have you been on the phone with some free agents recruiting?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah. Not a lot, but yes. Yeah.

Q. Craig, have you guys met with Ohtani? This is in the context of Dave Roberts just described in detail their meeting. Have you guys met with him?

CRAIG COUNSELL: I have not, no.

Q. Has the front office?

CRAIG COUNSELL: I have not.

Q. When you were introduced, you talked about how this team is close, and they're in a good situation where you talk about prospect capital or money. They're in a good situation. How important is it to capitalize on moments like this, so two years from now you don't look back and say we had that moment and we missed it?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, look, there's development with young players. So it's not just like get a player close to the Big Leagues and then trade him. I don't think that's how you think about this.

It's like we have young players. That creates great depth in the organization. Depth is a way to solve for wins. It really raises your floor as a team.

I think players continuing to develop. Not every prospect turns out to be a regular Major League player, but some turn out to be better than you think too. It's good to have -- I think at this time the Cubs have a really good foundation and base and numbers right now along with some potential high-end players.

At this time of the year that creates a lot of conversation, but it's also trying to figure out ways to keep those guys developing so that they add wins to the Major League team.

Q. In your bench coach search, what set Ryan Flaherty apart?

CRAIG COUNSELL: I didn't know Ryan well going into this search, but I've always had great respect for him. He's done really good things quickly in his coaching career. He's earned an excellent reputation, and he's been very good with players.

I think that relationship that he has, it's really hard as you start coaching to kind of separate yourself as a coach and still be great with players, and I think Ryan has done an excellent job of that.

Q. (Off microphone.)

CRAIG COUNSELL: Part of this is about change, so that was certainly something I thought about a little bit during that. In just talking to Ryan, although I didn't know him well personally, which I think we sometimes -- I think it's good that I don't.

I like that part of it actually. Talking to him, I did feel like I knew him very well, and I do feel like I know where our conversations are going to go. I am looking forward to a new and a fresh set of eyes there to help me see different things.

Q. You went through the process of evaluating the existing coaching staff. What led you to the decision, generally speaking, to keep the group largely intact, and how valuable I guess did you ultimately decide that that was? Can you take us through that process for you?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah, I think, look, a bit of a late start on the coaching staff process for a number of reasons. Ultimately, in large part, decided that this was the staff that wanted to come back with again and just talking to them and frankly talking around the industry about them.

I felt like it was largely a good staff in place, and there were some really good pieces in place, and there were some places for growth on the staff that I think I can help with. And really I'm looking forward to doing that with some of these guys.

There's some just really good tools there that I think we can use and hopefully make better. In the end it's just to help players. That's what our job is as coaches, and that's what our coaching staff's job is to help the players. Help the players be better at their jobs. And I think we have some really good tool sets on the coaching staff to do so.

Q. On the topic of Ryan Flaherty, he and Carter Hawkins were college teammates at Vanderbilt. Do you think that that helps at all to have that existing relationship?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah. I mean, it's funny. There's different connections, and certainly Ryan and Carter have a connection. I don't know if it helps me at all that they have that connection. Maybe it will, but I think my connections were through some Vanderbilt people as well. Pedro Alvarez who Ryan knew very well is a friend and somebody that I've worked with a little bit.

More so it's just how Ryan has done his job the last four years as a coach is what really interested me in him.

Q. You are having all the conversations. Has anything surprised you or stood out about how everything was at the organization, the front office, or coaches?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Look, if you are in one place for a long time, it's almost like you're learning -- there's a part of it where you're learning a different language. In terms of just the information systems that a team uses, it's a different language than that and just learning to speak that language a little bit and learning to read that -- it's hard, I will tell you that, because you want to speak the same language that everybody is speaking in how we do evaluations, how we consider player development, things like that.

So that's the part that getting up to speed, you know, it does not happen overnight. It's going to take a while for sure.

Q. Depending on inventory, are you a proponent of six-man rotations? Of course, it depends who you have, but knowing for the first time this year that the starting pitchers dropped under an average of five innings for the first time, is that a reality that managers have to look at down the road?

CRAIG COUNSELL: It's really -- I always think it's personnel-based. I do think -- look, there's times in a season where if you have optionable starters and you can go to a sixth pitcher, it's going to help just for recovery. But it has to work, and it involves roster movement, and it affects the bullpen.

It's really personnel-based to me. Are there times in the season when do I think it's helpful for the starting pitchers? Absolutely, I think it's helpful. But I think it has to work, and you can't do it and let it affect the rest of the roster or affect the team to the point where you either lose games or you cost yourself games down the road.

Q. With Jim Leyland going in the Hall of Fame, what was your experience playing for him, and are there things that he did as a manager that maybe you can now reflect back on?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Look, Jim was my first manager in the Big Leagues essentially, and so I have great fondness for him. I talked to him during the month of October when I was going through this process, and I was very interested in how he felt about when he eventually left a place that he had been for a long time.

So I consider him a friend, first of all, but I'm just thrilled for him and so happy for him. He deserves it. He is somebody that -- especially as I was thinking about just managing as a job ten years ago or whatever, he was an inspiration for it for sure. You're kind of, like, can you live up to somebody like that? It's always something you have in the back of your mind.

Q. Christopher Morel has some brilliant moments, but some uneven types of seasons and stretches. He's been playing in the Dominican Republic this winter. Is there a message to him, what you guys are looking for this winter and coming into Spring Training?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Yeah. I think just from looking at Christopher and just -- you know, across the field, he's put himself in a position where he needs to be in the lineup. He needs to be on the field. That's a good thing.

Now where? That's what we have to figure out. I think to sit here on December 7th or whatever -- December 3rd -- and say we've got to have it figured out or that he might be a versatile piece. Like, yeah, Mookie Betts was a versatile piece for a pretty good team.

I think he has earned his way into a lineup. There's no question about that. He's an exciting young hitter. Just the nature of -- he's kind of forced his way into lineups. And the Cubs have up to this point moved him around the field because he's forced his way into the lineup. That's a good thing. I see that as a really good thing.

The positional part, we're going to have to figure that out, and that's going to be part of the challenge of Spring Training. But I don't know if I'm going to tell you, like, this is the position. I don't think that helps the team.

I think positional versatility, it creates a good floor for your team so that when things inevitably happen to your team during the season, you are choosing from better options than just one option.

So that's where the players that have defensive versatility are incredibly valuable players.

Q. (Indiscernible)?

CRAIG COUNSELL: The one thing I saw last year is as the season went on, Sei became a very dangerous hitter. To the point of, like, there were stretches where he was a scary, scary bat in the lineup and someone that you had to really, really be careful of as an offensive player.

I think he keeps taking steps forward as a hitter in the Major Leagues, and one more step and we're talking about a really scary offensive player for the rest of the league.

Q. How would you describe your philosophy when it comes to guys wanting to play 162 games? A guy like Dansby who wants to be in the lineup every day, maybe there's that tradeoff where he's better if you do find rest occasionally. How do you kind of view that concept and handle that with players?

CRAIG COUNSELL: I think the first thing is just getting to know the players for sure is the first thing you have to do. I'm not opposed to players that -- players that want to play every day, who would be opposed to that? That's a good thing for the team.

Does it make you the best player you can be? Is it the best for the team? Those are the things that we have to figure out and we have to assess. And really we do that -- I don't know. Again, that's not a decision we're going to make on March 15th either. That's a decision you make as the season goes on.

Really you make it as: What's best for the team? I think that's how you make the decision. It's not what's best for the individual. It's what's best for the team.

Q. You said you haven't met with Ohtani. Knowing who you are, is that supposed to be an indication of the team's interest in him? You know what I'm saying?

CRAIG COUNSELL: Look, I don't think this is my spot to talk about individual players. It's a great question, but not the spot to talk about it.