A Chicago Cubs fan and Chicago White Sox fan watch team introductions for a game on Aug. 9 at Guaranteed Rate Field in Chicago.
Paul Sullivan Chicago Tribune
Is this Jed Hoyer's last chance to build a championship team on his own?
It certainly appears as though Hoyer feels that way. The Chicago Cubs' polarizing president of baseball operations is showing a renewed sense of urgency in the last week after four years of the team treading water.
The acquisition of star right fielder Kyle Tucker and the dumping of Cody Bellinger's contract on the New York Yankees -- with the assumption the savings will go toward other areas of need -- are reasons to believe this is Hoyer's "go for it" offseason, much like former Cubs President Theo Epstein's signing of Jon Lester during the winter of 2014-15.
Hoyer, naturally, downplayed speculation there's added pressure on him to get it done in the final year of his five-year contract.
"I always say 'all in' is sort of a narrative," Hoyer said Tuesday on a Zoom call with reporters, hours before finalizing a deal to send Bellinger to the Yankees for Cody Poteet, a nondescript, 30-year-old pitcher coming off arm issues.
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The Bellinger deal screams "salary dump," so maybe the narrative is "half in."
But the offseason is really just beginning, and Hoyer said his uncertain future doesn't factor into the equation.
"Honestly, my own situation, that's not a concern," he said. "I don't look at it that way. I've been in the game a long time. I'm confident in my abilities and my resume.
"My job always is to be the best steward of the organization, try to make good decisions for the Ricketts family, try to make sure that I'm setting us up for a good future but also trying to set us up for an exciting present. I don't think this (Tucker) deal is in any way in conflict with that."
Hoyer's resume includes three championships working under Epstein in Boston and Chicago and a 311-336 record as Cubs president. He has a lot of friends in the business and would get a lot of likes on LinkedIn, so there's no reason to worry about having to sell his North Shore mansion.
But he remains an enigma. Hoyer has been very proficient at dumping players when they demand to be paid but not so much at building a bullpen or winning a division title against small-market opponents.
Hoyer's Q-rating rose significantly Friday after the Tucker deal was announced. It was the boldest move of his presidency, outside of cutting ties with popular first baseman Anthony Rizzo in 2021.
But that Q-rating slid back down four days later after getting little in return for Bellinger. Cubs fans assumed Bellinger was worth more than a swingman, but obviously the salary dump was the main reason for the deal. Bellinger easily could've started at first base for the Cubs and DH'd on occasion, but that wasn't considered.
Still, it's hard to criticize Hoyer until we see what he does next. Asked if he would be making a presentation to Japanese pitcher Roki Sasaki, Hoyer said nothing, smiled and put up his arms like a human shrug emoji.
The Zoom call was telecast on Marquee Sports Network, and its chyron read, "President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer provides updates on Cubs offseason." The shrug seemed like a perfect illustration of Hoyer's intentions. Who knows what he'll do? Maybe not even him.
Hoyer had yet to address the Bellinger move by Wednesday, wisely conducting his videoconference before the trade was finished. But anyone paying close attention knows the Cubs won't push past the luxury-tax threshold.
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As Chairman Tom Ricketts repeated in February, "You can only spend every dollar once," a philosophy he should put on an Obvious Shirts T-shirt and wear to spring training every year.
Bellinger's two-year stay in Chicago provided some memorable moments, but not enough in the end to make the signing a total success. When he inked a three-year, $80 million deal with two opt-outs in late February, I wrote that agent Scott Boras had "waved the 'L' flag" by failing to secure a long-term deal for his client.
When I brought it up to him at Cubs camp in Mesa, Ariz., Boras disputed that narrative.
"If you don't think Cody Bellinger had choices that were different than this ...," he replied, suggesting it was Bellinger's choice to stay put with the Cubs ahead of other lucrative options.
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Either way, fans greeted the signing as though the Cubs were going for it in 2024, and by "it" I mean a division title, not a World Series. Hoyer's arrow was pointing up, but I warned he couldn't get too cocky because Bellinger would opt out if he had a good year.
Instead, Bellinger's 2.2 bWAR in 2024 was not in line with a player owed $47.5 million through 2026, so he opted in. And when Bellinger exercised his 2025 option in November, he forced Hoyer to find someone able to take on the contract without flinching.
After losing superstar Juan Soto to the crosstown New York Mets, the Yankees were eager to gamble on Bellinger and even got the Cubs to chip in $5 million, a drop in the wheelbarrow to Ricketts.
So in the end, Hoyer waved the "L" flag on Bellinger, while Boras found his client a perfect home where Clay Bellinger, Cody's father, once played. Bellinger has another shot at free agency if he rebounds in 2025, which I'm betting he will.
The Cubs clubhouse will miss his presence, but having Tucker will make up for the loss. Hoyer has some money now to rebuild the bullpen and bench, after getting rid of the bench players whom manager Craig Counsell decided not to play much in the second half when the Cubs finally started winning more.
The 2025 team should have more of Counsell's imprint on it, which can only help in the long run. He also has a good managerial resume, but it's missing a long playoff run.
How will he and Hoyer change the Cubs narrative in 2025?
Insert the shrug emoji here.
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