Jon Heyman, SI.com

The Reds have hired Dusty Baker as manager, SI.com has confirmed. An announcement is expected Sunday.

Baker, fired after the 2006 season by the Cubs, was a three-time winner of the Manager of the year and came the closest to managing the Cubs into the postseason before falling to the Marlins in the NLCS in 2003. But Baker guided the Cubs to two straight losing seasons and was replaced by Lou Piniella before this season.

It was reported by ESPN that Baker, an ESPN analyst, received a three-year deal. He replaced Pete Mackanin.

Baker has a 1,162-1,041 career record with the Giants (1993-2002) and Cubs (2003-06).

The Reds are coming off their seventh straight losing season, their longest such slump in a half-century, and are looking to develop stability in an organization that has had two owners, three general managers and four managers since 2003.

The 58-year-old Baker was fired by the Cubs after they finished last in 2006. Lou Piniella replaced him and led the Cubs to the division title this season. Chicago was swept in its first-round playoff series against Arizona.

Baker managed the Giants for 10 years, leading them to the World Series in 2002. He left San Francisco after a falling out with ownership and went to the Cubs, leading them to the NL championship series in his first season.

Chicago had another winning record in 2004, its first back-to-back winning seasons in more than three decades. But the team unraveled in his last two years, and the Cubs didn't renew his contract after an NL-worst record of 66-96 in 2006.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report