By Will Sammon, Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma
The Chicago Cubs are planning to hire Quintin Berry as their new third-base coach, sources told The Athletic, adding a base-running expert who previously worked with Craig Counsell and the Milwaukee Brewers.
Berry, 39, helped burnish Milwaukee’s reputation as a team that does the little things well. He spent the past four years as the first-base coach, a promotion he earned after two seasons as the organization’s minor-league outfield and base-running coordinator.
Counsell’s contract with the Brewers expired on Oct. 31, 2023, allowing Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer to pursue the manager even though David Ross already held that job at Wrigley Field. At that point, Ross’ coaching staff had been largely settled. Firing Ross and hiring Counsell in November did not leave much time to make staff changes.
Counsell is expected to retain many key elements of that staff and create more continuity, but the Cubs manager dismissed several coaches after the last game of an 83-win season. The Cubs finished 10 games behind the Brewers in the National League Central, compiling the same record as they did in Ross’ last year as manager.
It would have been unusual if there wasn’t some level of staff turnover in Wrigleyville. And it was natural for Counsell to survey the options in Milwaukee, where he grew up and worked as a player, a special assistant in the front office and the major-league manager for more than 1,300 games.
Known for his speed and instincts, Berry appeared in parts of five major-league seasons with five different teams, including the Cubs and Brewers toward the end of his playing career.
The Cubs signed Berry to a minor-league deal during the summer of 2015, and carried him on their active roster for two playoff rounds that year. The Cubs envisioned Berry in a potential Dave Roberts moment, knowing how a pinch-runner helped lead the 2004 Boston Red Sox toward an epic comeback. The hope is Berry can now help Cubs players master the small details that can win games.
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