The Chicago Cubs shocked the baseball world last week by signing manager Craig Counsell to a record-breaking deal, luring him away from the Milwaukee Brewers and the New York Mets.

On Monday, the new skipper had his introductory press conference in Chi-Town and revealed why he decided to join the Cubbies, a team that just narrowly missed the playoffs in 2023.

Via Marquee Sports Network:

“From a baseball standpoint, I saw quickly that the organization is in great health. Jed presented a very compelling vision of that, it's time to be a Cub right, there's momentum happening here, it feels close, and that means there's a really exciting future ahead of us, and now it's my job to play a part in taking us to the next level.”

The Cubs honestly came out of nowhere to land Counsell, but it was certainly a great move. The former big leaguer is considered one of the best managers around and managed to maximize every roster in Milwaukee for years despite having little star power. The Brew Crew made the playoffs in five of his nine seasons in charge and also won three NL Central titles.

Chicago is certainly trending in the right direction. They have one of the best farm systems in baseball and a promising core consisting of players like Seiya Suzuki, Nico Hoerner, Nick Madrigal, Ian Happ, and others. If they're also able to retain Cody Bellinger and Marcus Stroman in free agency, it would be huge.

Regardless, Craig Counsell is buying into the Cubs' philosophy and appears to be motivated to get this ball club back to the postseason sooner rather than later.