SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer often talks about how easy it is to sell Chicago and the Cubs during recruiting spiels. But during a condensed hiring process with Craig Counsell, according to Hoyer, the manager asked a lot of questions about the club’s plan.
“I’m really excited about our direction and where we’re going, and actually being in our building process,” Hoyer said at the general managers meetings this week. “And I certainly sold Craig on that really hard, not only the core of players we have on the team, but also the young players we have that are mounted on the border, so to speak. And then I also feel like we have financial flexibility. So I believe in that.”
The Cubs setting a record with Counsell’s five-year, $40 million contract, however, doesn’t mean that they’re going to break any record in player payroll next year.
With much of their core under contract for the next three seasons, the Cubs need to spend this offseason. But partially for leverage, they haven’t revealed whether they’ll be willing to go into the luxury tax, which comes with escalating penalties.
“I don’t think that we signaled that we’re going to have some crazy-aggressive offseason,” Hoyer said. “But certainly, I really like our position. And if there are moves, even big moves, that will help us continue that trajectory, we’ll definitely do it. But I don’t think it’s a signal that somehow we’re going to have the biggest and boldest offseason. If we do, it’s because things lined up for us.”
Those comments leave open a wide range of possibilities. But for now, with power hitting a clear soft spot on the roster, it means they’re in the conversation for some of the best hitters available via free agency or trade.
The trade market is expected to be intriguing. Left-handed slugger Juan Soto and first baseman Pete Alonso, whom the Padres and Mets, respectively, could be open to trading, could be fits for the Cubs. And the Cubs are expected to speak to top free agent Shohei Ohtani’s representation.
The Cubs need to replace Cody Bellinger’s offensive production and ideally add more. So, what about Bellinger himself?
“When he came to Chicago, he just feasted on major-league pitching,” Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras, said in his annual GM meetings news conference. “And really, I think Chicago got the comforts of a full ‘Belli.’ So they’re
going to have to loosen their belts to keep Bellinger.”
See what he did there with Belli’s nickname?
The Cubs and Bellinger have expressed mutual admiration. His bounce-back year with the Cubs, which earned him NL Comeback Player of the Year in the Players Choice Awards, went as anyone could have imagined. But he’ll garner plenty of interest this winter. And the Cubs can’t count on Bellinger’s familiarity with the organization to put them over the top.
“Cody did have a great experience in Chicago,” Boras said. “. . . But where Cody can play and play well, he feels he can play well anywhere. And a lot of this has to do with ownership. It has to do with their commitment, it has to do [with] their vision of what they’re going to do to develop the other track to do the things that are necessary to make this club a continual winner over a long period of time.”
When Boras says “the other track,” he means free-agent acquisitions, with the first track being the draft, player development and trades. Coincidentally, Boras also represents Soto and Alonso.
The Cubs, to their credit, were aggressive in free agency last year, making a statement by signing shortstop Dansby Swanson to a seven-year, $177 million contract. But their season ended in disappointment.
They hired Counsell with the hope that he could help them avoid leaving “wins on the table.” But the bigger statement will be how they go about solidifying the roster.
