Former Cubs catcher David Ross, who is considered a leading candidate to succeed Joe Maddon as the team's manager, was asked during Sunday's Baseball Tonight show if he'd be interested in the job if the Cubs called.

"I think it's one of the best jobs in baseball," said Ross, who currently works as an analyst for ESPN. "I've got a lot of close ties with those guys. I think the interest would be there. I think my heart is drawn to that dugout a little bit.

"The rumors are flattering. It makes you think about a lot of things. I've got a nice job here at ESPN that I enjoy and gives me a lot of free time with my three kids."

The Cubs are moving on from Joe Maddon, the manager who led them to their first World Series title in 108 years, team president Theo Epstein and Maddon announced Sunday.

Maddon, 65, is officially a free agent after the Cubs missed the postseason for the first time in five years. A nine-game losing streak in late September sealed the fate of the Cubs, and possibly Maddon, as well.

Maddon and Epstein made the announcement in St. Louis, where the Cubs are trying to play the rare recent role of spoiler in keeping the Cardinals from clinching the NL Central.

Joe Maddon is in the final year of his five-year deal as manager of the Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs were eliminated from the playoff race on Wednesday night.

"We'll make that over the next couple days and move it on from there. But I'm very pragmatic. I'm very optimistic," Maddon said earlier in the day. "I'll just leave it with that. I'm very optimistic right now. I'm very optimistic about the future."

The manager added he hoped to return, saying: "That's what I signed up for in the beginning. It's always the intention, to stay for a really long time."

Theo Epstein is dismissing rumors that he could return to the Boston Red Sox and says he's focused on his job as president of baseball operations for the Chicago Cubs.

Epstein was the general manager for the Red Sox from 2002 to 2011.

"I'm here [with the Cubs]," he said. "We have a lot we need to work on to get back to the level we're accustomed to. I'm invested in that. That's what I'm focused on."

Epstein has two years left on an extension he signed after the Cubs won the 2016 World Series.

The Milwaukee Brewers clinched a postseason berth on Wednesday, eliminating both the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets in the process.

The Brewers have been red-hot in September, winning 19 games. They stand at 88-70 after being just three games over .500 on Sept. 5.

"What we just accomplished is really against all odds," Ryan Braun said. "Incredibly difficult to do what we just did. I think we're 17-2 in our last 19 games. We've had so many guys contribute, so many special moments. We obviously enjoyed playing this month."

Milwaukee lost National League MVP candidate Christian Yelich to a fractured kneecap Sept. 10.

The Brewers have now made the postseason four times in the past 12 seasons.

Kris Bryant sprained his right ankle after landing awkwardly on a wet first-base bag while trying to beat a double play on Sunday at Wrigley Field.

An MRI on Monday revealed a Grade 2 sprain, according to a source. The Chicago Cubs may not have Bryant for the final six games of the regular season.

While speaking to the Chicago Sun-Times, Scott Boras questioned why Major League officials haven't done more to ensure player safety.

Bryce Harper, another one of the agent's clients, suffered a significant bone bruise and hyperextended knee when he slipped on a wet base in August 2017.

"What have they done since Harper? The answer is nothing," Boras told the Sun Times. "They're focused on other factors, economic factors, all things relating to how they can administer the game, and yet the safety of players and resolution of this issue has gone without any attention.

"The integrity of our game is going to [be] damaged when the safety of players is not at the forefront, and Major League Baseball has dropped the ball on the wet bag subject."

Paul Goldschmidt and the Cardinals celebrated the franchise's first postseason berth in four years with a champagne toast in the clubhouse.

Goldschmidt hit a tie-breaking double in the ninth inning and the Cardinals clinched a playoff spot by rallying past the Cubs 3-2 on Sunday for their first four-game sweep at Wrigley Field in almost a century.

"Just relentless on our guys' part," manager Mike Shildt said. "That's the way we play baseball. That's the way we compete."

Anthony Rizzo will have his sprained right ankle immobilized in a boot for five to seven days and then will be evaluated.

Rizzo had to be helped off the field Sunday after turning his ankle while fielding a sacrifice bunt. He underwent an MRI on Monday that revealed a moderate lateral right ankle sprain, according to the Chicago Cubs.

"I have every intention of doing everything I can with the training staff to be back on the field with the boys," he said. "I think in a few days, really, will tell us a lot more."

Chicago Cubs first baseman Anthony Rizzo had to be helped off the field after turning his ankle while fielding a sacrifice bunt.

The team announced that he has a sprained ankle and will undergo an MRI Monday. X-rays did not reveal a fracture.

Gary Pressy has played the organ at Wrigley Field for 2,679 consecutive Chicago Cubs games -- and counting. That streak, however, will come to an end after this season.

The 61-year-old Pressy, who began his career with the Cubs in 1987, is retiring after this season.

"I've been there a third of a century, 33 years, and I think the cup is full," Pressy told the Chicago Tribune on Friday. "I was debating it back and forth, but I really just wanted to spend more quality time with my family. Around the All-Star break I really got to thinking about it and made my decision."