When David Ross signed with the Chicago Cubs before the 2015 season, we all suspected it was but a small piece of getting Jon Lester – the real prize – on board with the Cubs, as well.

And while that may have been true to an extent, I think Ross has more than shown that his value extends beyond how much better he can make Jon Lester (who has, perhaps not coincidentally, been selected as a finalist for the 2016 NL Cy Young award) on the mound.

Indeed, after his second and final season with the Cubs, David Ross is hanging up his cleats for good, as expected, but that doesn’t mean it’s the last we’ll see of him in baseball. It may not even be the last we see of him in Chicago.

At Cubs.com, Carrie Muskat writes about Ross’ last season, the quick and burning love Chicago has felt for “Grandpa Rossy,” and … what his future might hold for him.

Although Ross isn’t quite sure what he’ll be doing next year (renting a house on the beach apparently tops the list for now), he does plan on sitting down with the Cubs President of Baseball Operations, Theo Epstein, to discuss a role with the team.

Apparently, a more formal chat has been postponed until after Thanksgiving, so both can “catch their breaths,” but it does sound like that meeting will happen. “I still want to stay in the game and do something,” Ross told Muskat. “I want to stay in it somehow, some way, and be connected.”

He added that he does have some priorities – time with his family would seem to be a big one – and that he’ll have to discuss things with his wife and kids. But Ross intimated that he doesn’t want November 2 to be his last day on a baseball field in some capacity. Moreover, I’m betting that if he is going to return in some sort of coaching or supplemental role in the near-term, it will be with the Chicago Cubs. And you shouldn’t take that for granted.

Ross has played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball with five different teams, but it may have been the Chicago Cubs that stuck with him the most. Maybe he’ll stick with them, too. To be determined. You can read more on Ross’s swan song at Cubs.com.

Talk about going out on top in your playing days, eh? Homering in a one-run game that gave the Chicago Cubs their first World Series title in 108 years.