One month ago, Chicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts made clear the organization’s path forward in the offseason would include financial flexibility.
How the Cubs allocate their payroll falls on president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer.
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“The ball’s in Jed’s court when it comes to how and where he puts financial resources to work,” Ricketts said Sept. 10. “He’s got a lot of flexibility, so we’ll let him do it. Let him decide what he wants to do.”
During the annual end-of-season news conference Monday at Wrigley Field, Hoyer noted Ricketts’ comment is “what someone in my position wants.”
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“You want the autonomy to make what you feel are the right decisions,” Hoyer said. “I have total confidence that if we get to a place where we ask for a significant amount of money to sign one player or several players, I have no doubt that we will have his blessing. And I have no doubt that resources will be there.”
Potential franchise-changing roster decisions loom for Hoyer, who typically does not divulge the team’s offseason strategy because of competitive advantage factors. He echoed last year’s “intelligent spending” philosophy, which saw the Cubs sign right-hander Marcus Stroman (three years, $71 million) and right fielder Seiya Suzuki (five years, $85 million plus a $14.625 million posting fee).
A strong finish — they went 39-31 after the All-Star break and their pitching staff posted the third-best ERA in that span — gives the Cubs momentum into the offseason. That means only so much, however, if the front office doesn’t sufficiently address the roster deficiencies beyond depth pieces.
“I know that we have some holes to fill and we’ll be aggressive to try to fill those holes in the best way possible,” Hoyer said. “I think we can definitely compete next year. We want to build a team that we feel like has a chance to compete for the playoffs.”
Coming off a 74-88 record, the 11th-worst in Major League Baseball, the Cubs’ offseason direction seemingly hinges in part on the framework of any big-money free-agent contracts. Hoyer sounded risk-averse to recent deals signed by the type of star player the Cubs need.
Long-term contracts for Bryce Harper (13 years, $330 million from the Philadelphia Phillies), Corey Seager (10 years, $325 million from the Texas Rangers) and Francisco Lindor (10 years, $341 million from the New York Mets) likely will be painful at the back end for those teams. But the teams believe the deals will pay off after ideally winning at least one World Series title.
“The nature of baseball contracts is challenging that way,” Hoyer said, “because we’ve all seen contracts of certain lengths that can really bog a team down. And it’s easy to talk about the player you’re acquiring, but if that contract ends up hindering the ultimate goal here, which is to build something special and sustainable and lasting, then it wasn’t a good transaction. So that’s sort of the lens I want to look at everything through.
“We absolutely want to compete next year. We want to add players that can help us in 2023, but we also want to do it with a real eye on the future.”
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Extending arbitration-eligible players such as outfielder Ian Happ and shortstop Nico Hoerner also appears to be part of the Cubs’ offseason vision. Happ, in his final year of arbitration, and Hoerner, eligible for arbitration for the first time, are projected to earn $10.6 million and $2.2 million, respectively, in 2023, per MLB Trade Rumors’ annual projected arbitration salaries.
Without going into specifics, Hoyer said the Cubs have taken the first steps toward contract extensions.
“Certainly there are players that we’d love to keep in a Cubs uniform for a long time,” Hoyer said. “And hopefully we can work hard on those and get some across the finish line.”
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Continuing to infuse the big-league roster with players drafted or acquired within the minor-league system is a key part of the Cubs’ attempt to do what they could not consistently pull off during the previous rebuild — sustain major-league success.
As a big-market team, though, they need to flex their spending power at some point, and this free-agent class features available upgrades at key spots. Will the Cubs be willing to invest the years and dollars it would take to sign one of the top-tier shortstops?
Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson each, to varying degrees, would bolster the lineup. Hoerner impressed the Cubs with his work at shortstop, but his presence should not dissuade them from pursuing one of those shortstops as they look to improve the lineup’s power production.
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Improved pitching depth was one of the Cubs’ biggest developments during the 2022 season. Hoyer wants to get to the point where they can build their bullpen internally, but they aren’t there yet, so he expects to bring in veteran relievers.
Hoyer wouldn’t directly address whether it’s important for the Cubs to acquire a top-of-the-rotation starter, instead touting the value of adding quality innings.
“We’re actively looking for quality innings, pitchers we feel like we can work with and potentially make better,” Hoyer said. “So we’re far from done when it comes to building the pitching staff, especially in the bullpen, and we know we have holes to fill. But I feel good about the number of arms we have and I think some of those guys will continue to take a step forward.”
Without revealing any concrete plans, Hoyer clearly knows which areas of the roster the Cubs must improve. The path the front office takes in pursuing those upgrades will serve as the true test of how seriously the Cubs should be considered playoff contenders in 2023.
