Craig Counsell has an edge in Cubs camp this year - and players are loving it

After the Chicago Cubs didn't immediately ascend to the top of the baseball world after Craig Counsell was hired as the highest-paid manager in the game, he caught plenty of flak from a fanbase that had grown frustrated with the lack of winning in the post-2016 era.

After an 83-win inaugural campaign at the helm, which, coincidentally, was the same record the Cubs had the year prior under David Ross, Counsell guided his team to 92 regular-season wins in 2025 - and picked up the organization's first playoff victories since 2017, falling just one game of an NLCS berth.

Winning has returned to Wrigleyville - and expectations are at their highest point in the better part of a decade, thanks to a very impressive offseason from Jed Hoyer and Carter Hawkins, headlined by the signing of Alex Bregman.

Now, it's on Counsell to keep his hand on the tiller and guide this Cubs ballclub deep into October. And he wasted no time dialing in on the details in spring training - just ask two-time Gold Glover Nico Hoerner.

"He's done a good job this year of using his voice, for sure," Hoerner told 670 The Score. "I love when he does that. He definitely does it more in spring training. He's half-kidding, half really being serious about something in a way that I think keeps it loose but also keeps guys accountable."

Roster stability is something Craig Counsell won't have heading into 2027

Hoerner noted that without major roster or coaching staff turnover, the team was able to immediately get to work - culminating in a widely-noticed 'eyes on the prize' energy around camp in Mesa.

I'm not saying the Cubs are completely pushing their chips in on 2026. However, if there's an added edge to this group due, at least in part, to the familiarity and comfort everyone has with one another, allowing them to be direct about what needs to be done for the team to take the next step, that's just not something Chicago will have past this season.

The Cubs have a ton of impending free agents - and we're not talking about role players, either. Longtime staple Ian Happ, slugger Seiya Suzuki, rotation pieces Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga (not to mention, potentially Matthew Boyd) - and Hoerner are all set to hit the open market at season's end.

So all this to say: good on Counsell for having a bit of an added edge this spring. The clock is running out on this group and, with Bregman leading the charge from the clubhouse, it's all hands on deck for the Cubs this year to bring a championshop back to the North Side.