Chicago Cubs GM Jed Hoyer was on with David Kaplan and David Haugh today on 87.7 The Game, and Kaplan put it to Hoyer explicitly: if there is a player that the front office tells ownership is the right guy for the team, will the money be there this offseason (or next year, or whenever)?
“Oh, no question.”
Hoyer went on to compliment the Ricketts Family’s patience and the way they’ve bought in to what the front office is trying to do on the baseball side, and added, “There’s no doubt that if we need the bullets, and we need to put the hammer down, we’ll be able to do it. They’ve been totally on board with what we’ve been doing, and we’re excited that they’ve had that kind of patience.”
You can listen to the whole interview here. A paraphrasing of a few of Hoyer’s other notable comments:
All in all, the upshot here is that the messaging heading into the offseason is consistent: (1) the Cubs believe next year will be different, even if not quite the apex of the building process, and (2) they know they need to add externally, and, when they find the right guy(s), the money will be there “no question.”