(Audacy) The 2022 MLB season is in the books and while the Houston Astros can celebrate, the rest of the league is already looking forward to the offseason and beyond.
Free agency begins Thursday after the World Series ended Saturday. It’s a quick turnaround for players and general managers alike.
Outfielder Aaron Judge and right-hander Jacob deGrom highlight the free-agent class, but there are many under-the-radar players who will be prioritized by teams. While throwing money at players is one way to persuade them, being open and honest with them is another factor.
Two-time World Series champion and current Cubs manager David Ross joined the new Audacy Original Podcast “Baseball Isn’t Boring” to discuss the importance of prioritizing free agents.
Making a decision as a free agent may seem simple from an outside perspective: either sign with the best team or sign for the most money. But it isn't necessarily that easy. If a team shows a lot of early interest in a player and prioritizes him, sometimes that’s all it takes. Ross reflected on how during his playing career, he signed with the Red Sox ahead of the 2013 season after they sold him on how they needed his leadership after an ugly 2012 season.
“That was everything," Ross said. "As a player you want to feel important. You want to matter. I was a backup and for them to show me – I mean dollars matter – but with the way they pursued me and the way they wanted to make something happen and the way they put their best foot forward right away. That was everything. It was an easy decision. There was nothing else even close because of how hard the Red Sox were pushing, like, ‘We want David Ross, he matters.’ And to come from a career .220 hitter and a backup catcher, that was everything for me.”
It isn't often that a player or team sees such immediate dividends from an offseason signing, but that’s what happened for Ross and the Red Sox. Boston won the World Series in Ross’ first year there, and he asked executive Ben Cherington afterward what the real reason behind pursuing him was.
“He said, ‘Your reputation was really good in the game and there’s run production and there’s run prevention,'" Ross said. "'Looking at your numbers, you prevented runs and you won a lot of games when you were catching. That’s something we felt like we needed, that was a perfect fit for us.'"
“That was really cool to hear him say that and the fact that he identified me was special because that hasn’t always been my reputation too. I was proud that I was able to go somewhere like Atlanta and change my reputation to somebody that was a good teammate and valued others and winning and some of the mindset changes that I had went through as I matured and grew up was really cool for me to know that other people were out there saying that and seeing that.”
Ross went on to help end the Cubs’ long drought with a World Series title in 2016. He retired on top and returned to the Chicago organization after the 2019 season to replace Joe Maddon as manager.
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