Joe Girardi could very well end up like Bryce Harper, making good money from a team that wasn’t his first choice. If, that is, the Cubs are indeed Girardi’s first choice and he ends up being passed over for a rookie manager. The former Marlins and Yankees skipper has actually been a candidate with the Cubs twice before, in 2006 and ’13, and is assumed to be again even though he’s not been officially named as such.
The Peoria native, Northwestern alum, and former Cub has very obvious ties to the organization and has plenty of experience from 1,782 games as a manager.