Roundup: Cubs fire manager Sveum
The season for managerial changes began Monday with one skipper getting fired and two receiving contract extensions.
The Chicago Cubs fired Dale Sveum after two seasons. He had one year left on his contract.
"Today, we made the very difficult decision to relieve Dale Sveum of his duties as Cubs manager," president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said in a statement. "Dale has been a committed leader for this team the last two seasons, and I want to thank him for all of his dedication and hard work. I have a lot of admiration for Dale personally, and we all learned a lot from the way he has handled the trying circumstances of the last two years, especially the last two weeks, with strength and dignity."
The Cubs finished 127-196 under Sveum, including 66-96 and last in the National League Central this year.
The club will begin pursuing a new manager immediately. Epstein said a new skipper will be named before the general manager meetings in November.
There is speculation that the Cubs may pursue New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi, who played catcher for the Cubs. Girardi has not made a decision on his future.
Other managers were given new deals with their clubs:
---The Minnesota Twins re-signed Ron Gardenhire to a two-year contract.
Gardenhire, 55, was in the final year of his deal. He was on the hot seat after the Twins lost more than 95 games for the third straight year. That had not happened since the franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961. The Twins finished 66-96 this year.
Gardenhire is 998-947 (.513) since taking over as manager in 2002. His resume includes six American League Central Division titles. In that span, the Twins only advanced to the AL Championship Series once in 2002. Gardenhire was named AL Manager of the Year in 2010 and has finished second in the voting five times.
---The New York Mets gave Terry Collins a two-year contract extension that includes a club option for 2016.
The team is also retaining Collins' entire coaching staff.
Collins, 64, has a 225-261 (.463) record in three seasons. The Mets finished 74-88 this year, good for third in the National League East.