MILWAUKEE -- Dale Sveum has accepted an offer to be the next manager of the Chicago Cubs.

Sveum, previously the Milwaukee Brewers' hitting coach, will be officially introduced on Friday morning at Wrigley Field, the team said. He succeeds Mike Quade, who was fired a disappointing 71-91 season that extended the Cubs' infamous championship drought to 103 seasons.

Sveum will receive a three-year contract from the Cubs, a baseball source said.

"He's a good manager," said Cubs reliever John Grabow, who played for Sveum at Double-A Altoona from 2001 to 2003. "Really works hard with the hitters. He was more of a hitting guy when I was in Double-A. He was at the field every day working hard with the hitters.

"It doesn't surprise me he got a big league job by any means," Grabow said. "If you would've asked me in Double-A if he was going to be a major league manager, I probably would've said he's got a pretty good chance."

Grabow said Sveum's communication skills are sorely needed in Chicago after the Quade experience.

"He's the kind of guy who can talk to players, not be their best friend, but get to know them and what they're feeling," Grabow said.

Sveum has little experience as a manager, other than an interim stint for the Brewers late in 2008 after Ned Yost's firing, when he led them to the playoffs. He also served as Boston's third-base coach when Theo Epstein was the general manager.

Epstein, now the Cubs' president of baseball operations, and general manager Jed Hoyer were seen walking into Sveum's hotel Thursday afternoon. They emerged an hour later, walking with Sveum out of the hotel and into a waiting car.