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Good morning to everyone but especially …

THE CHICAGO CUBS AND CRAIG COUNSELL

The Cubs are making money moves. Craig Counsell is heading to the North Side of Chicago in one of the most stunning moves in managerial hiring history.

• Counsell, 53, received a five-year $40 million deal, the highest-paying of any manager, per reports.
• Counsell managed the Brewers from 2015-23 and accumulated a 707-625 record with five postseason trips in the last six seasons.
• However, the Brewers hadn’t won a postseason series since 2018. This past season, they were swept by the Diamondbacks in the Wild Card Series after winning the NL Central.
• Brewers players were stunned by the move.
• Counsell was highly coveted and linked to the Mets and Guardians — more on those two in a bit.

You’ll notice I didn’t list the Cubs. Chicago had David Ross, a beloved former player-turned-manager, at the helm, and he directed a turnaround in 2023. But they lost five of their last six games to miss the postseason (allowing the D-backs in, ironically), and now he’s lost his job. Dayn Perry has four reasons why Counsell’s hiring was so surprising, including …

• Perry: “The Cubs voiced support for David Ross — After the season concluded, lead owner Tom Ricketts had this to say about his manager: ‘I think Rossy did a great job. He creates a great clubhouse culture, the players love playing for him. He keeps a steady, balanced approach game in and game out, that you need over the course of 162 games.’ … Still and yet, Ross lost the job that in an objective sense he probably didn’t deserve to lose.”

The Cubs are arguably in even better hands now. R.J. Anderson explains three reasons why Counsell was so prized, including …

• Anderson: “Works well with front office, clubhouse — As fun as it is to evaluate managers based on what they seem to do on the field — the pitching changes and pinch-hit decisions and challenge requests — their most important work happens behind closed doors. … Counsell also seems to have a good feel for what will or won’t work, and a willingness to express his perspective and push back as he sees fit.”

As for the Mets and Guardians, they also filled their manager vacancies.

• The Mets stayed in the Big Apple, hiring Yankees bench coach Carlos Mendoza as their new manager. He replaces Buck Showalter.
• The Guardians hired longtime catcher Stephen Vogt to succeed the retiring Terry Francona. At 39, Vogt is MLB’s second-youngest manager. He retired from playing in 2022 and served as the Mariners‘ bullpen and quality control coach in 2023.

That leaves the Brewers, Padres, Astros and Angels looking for a manager. Dayn ranked the desirability of the openings, and here’s our tracker. 

👍 Honorable mentions

👀 And not such a good morning for …

THE MICHIGAN WOLVERINES AND JIM HARBAUGH

The Michigan sign-stealing scandal may still be far from over, but it took another step Monday. The Big Ten sent Michigan a notice of potential discipline along with evidence related to the sign-stealing scandal, and the NCAA shared some investigation results with the conference, sources told Dennis Dodd. The school has until Wednesday to respond.

Here’s what could come next, per Dennis’ reporting:

• “The penalties range from a reprimand to probation to a possible TV ban. Other potential penalties include withholding TV and bowl game revenue from the university. As part of those penalties laid out in Rule 19.5 of the sportsmanship policy, a ‘staff member’ can be suspended.”
• “Sources close to Harbaugh and the ongoing situation speculated to CBS Sports that a court action would be filed almost immediately — ‘maybe 10 [minutes after punishment is handed down]’ — to keep the Michigan coach on the sidelines if the Big Ten chose to suspend him. That action would most likely be an injunction or temporary restraining order allowing Harbaugh to continue coaching.”
• “For Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, the Michigan situation is extremely complicated. A suspension would potentially impact the Wolverines’ chances both of winning the Big Ten and obtaining a berth in the College Football Playoff for a run at the national championship. It could also impact the bottom line regarding revenue brought into the conference.”
  

It’s important to remember that both the Big Ten and the NCAA are investigating the matter.

In a separate but related development, a former employee at a Big Ten program stole signs and helped compile a spreadsheet distributed to other Big Ten staffers to use against the Wolverines, per a report.

We’re keeping track of every twist and turn.

👎 Not so honorable mentions