New Cubs Manager Craig Counsell Would Have Been The Highest Paid Player On The Oakland A’s

The Chicago Cubs hired Craig Counsell as manager on Monday, in a stunning move that involved firing current manager Dave Ross concurrently.

But the fact that he jumped to a division rival and replaced an incumbent manager is just the start of what makes this signing surprising. On top of the procedural oddities, Counsell is getting paid an incredible amount of money.

According to reports, Counsell agreed to a massive, 5-year, $40 million deal with the Cubs, making him, by far, the highest paid manager in the sport. But it also would have made him, somehow, the highest paid player on the Oakland Athletics in 2023.

Pitcher Trevor May was the highest paid player last season, at just $7 million. Aledmys Diaz was just behind at $6.5 million. Both were at least $1 million behind what Craig Counsell is going to make to sit in the dugout.

It's hard to decide if that reflects more poorly on the A's and their ownership's "investment" in the team, or the Cubs and wildly overvaluing managers. Frankly, both are probably equally absurd.

MILWAUKEE - OCTOBER 04: Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell is seen prior to Game Two of the Wild Card Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at American Family Field on October 04, 2023 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

Why Are The Cubs Paying Counsell So Much Money?

It's a great question, without an obvious answer.

Counsell and the Brewers have consistently delivered relatively strong performances, given the team's payrolls. But that likely comes down more to roster construction, good fortune, and random chance. Especially considering he's won just one playoff game since 2018 and never advanced past the NLCS.

The Brewers under Counsell have had star players like Christian Yelich, Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes, along with quality complimentary pieces like Freddy Peralta, Willy Adames and dominant bullpen arms like Josh Hader or Devin Williams.

Counsell didn't draft, develop, or sign any of those players. He just put their names on a lineup card, penciled in Burnes to pitch every fifth day, or brought in Hader to pitch the ninth inning.

Obviously that's an oversimplification of a manager's job; likely their biggest role is managing personalities in the clubhouse. But what actually impacts a team's success, by a wide margin, is the quality and performance of the players on the field.

There's an argument to be made that good managers may help get the best out of players, but at the same time, players know that their contracts and value come from their performance. Even if they hate their manager, there's a strong individual incentive to play well. On top of the competitive nature of professional athletes.

Managers like Bob Melvin or Buck Showalter were lauded in 2022 for guiding teams with big personalities and payrolls to successful seasons. By the end of 2023, both were no longer with the same organization. Dave Roberts with the Dodgers has been frequently criticized, yet his teams have won more games, by far, than any other in the sport since 2017.

Invest In Players

It's impossible to quantify how much managers are worth to a team's win-loss total. Maybe it's one win, maybe it's zero. Maybe it's five.

But by far the biggest impact on a team's success is having good players. The A's clearly don't care about building competitive rosters, but the Brewers did. While hardly the Mets, they spent $137 million on payroll in 2022 and $126 million in 2023.

No one should begrudge Counsell for making as much money as he can; anyone in his position would have been crazy not to take his offer. But it's a sign of how odd ownership priorities can be that he'll make more than the majority of the Cubs' roster in 2024.

Maybe it'll matter, maybe it won't. One thing's for sure though, the A's are really freaking cheap.