David Ross Explains Choosing Cubs Over Red Sox In 'Crazy' Free Agency

David Ross’ free agency wasn’t without drama.

Ross, who spent the last two seasons with the Boston Red Sox, recently signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the Chicago Cubs. The decision capped an interesting offseason on the open market that culminated with a “crazy” final day, the catcher recently told WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford.

“Kind of the deciding factor with Chicago was that I have some friends there, (manager) Joe Maddon’s approach to the game and how he treats players. That is a really good dynamic for my family,” Ross told Bradford by phone last week. “If you get in at midnight, you’re not expected to be at the yard at 2 o’clock. Those sort of things weighed on my mind a little more.”

News of Ross’ agreement with the Cubs surfaced Friday, Dec. 19. However, it wasn’t before an interesting sequence of events in which an inaccurate report initially indicated that the veteran backstop had agreed to a contract with the San Diego Padres. The whole situation — even the level of interest he received in free agency — took Ross by surprise.

“It was a really weird day,” Ross told Bradford. “I went to sleep (Dec. 18) and got up the next morning and my agent told me the Padres had made another offer. I told him I was going to work out and we would talk when I got out. I literally got out of the gym, turned on my radio and they said, ‘David Ross had committed to the Padres.’ I couldn’t believe it. So I got my agent on the phone right away to try and figure that out. For about two hours of my day, it was crazy.

“I had turned (the Padres) down twice, saying no right away. I hadn’t fully committed to the Cubs, but I had. I wanted to be a man of my word. Me and (Cubs president of baseball operations) Theo (Epstein) go back to 2008 and I respect him. Once Boston was off the table, I had already put my heart with Chicago.”

By choosing Chicago, Ross will be reunited with Jon Lester, who signed a six-year, $155 million contract with the Cubs earlier this offseason. The battery mates worked well together in Boston, which might have convinced Chicago to offer Ross a two-year pact in the wake of inking Lester to a long-term deal.

“I don’t know what pushed the Red Sox out, but I think the two-year deal may have been a little more than they wanted to go, to be honest with you,” Ross told Bradford. “They didn’t say that, but I think that’s where they were at. I don’t know if Lester had anything to do with it. They told me it was independent of Lester. They didn’t stop their pursuit of me after Lester signed. But they might have been more aggressive if Lester came back.”

The Red Sox ultimately acquired catcher Ryan Hanigan from the Padres to serve as Christian Vazquez’s backup in 2015. Boston also has top catching prospect Blake Swihart coming up through the system, so the club’s bases certainly are covered.

Ross also indicated to Bradford that the Red Sox were “a treat to deal with” this offseason, as the catcher had an agreement with his former organization that he’d kept it looped in throughout his decision-making process.