NEWSLETTER
Not that you’d expect Chicago Cubs GM Jed Hoyer to be out there proclaiming the fact of, or the parameters to, the Cubs’ interest in free agent starter Yu Darvish, but when he hops on MLBN radio to discuss the team’s offseason, you’ve still gotta give it a listen.
And even while Hoyer did little more than express generalities about the Cubs’ meeting with Darvish and their impression of him, it’s still an interesting couple minutes to listen to about how the Cubs vet their targets:
#Cubs GM Jed Hoyer confirms having a "really nice meeting" this week with Yu Darvish on #PowerAlley pic.twitter.com/XGnf2zUIoP
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) December 20, 2017
It’s interesting to hear Hoyer say that the front office has already met with “six to eight players” this winter as part of their normal process. Then again, maybe that doesn’t tell us all that much. After all, it’s fair to presume that he could be referencing Darvish and Shohei Ohtani, since we already know about those meetings, as well as the four pitchers the Cubs have signed already: Brandon Morrow, Steve Cishek, Tyler Chatwood, and Drew Smyly. Maybe you throw an Alex Cobb in there, and you’ve got your group.
In any case, it’s good to know that the face to face time – even when we don’t hear about it – is an important part of the process for this front office to ensure that the guy is going to be a good fit in what has been a fairly stable and positive clubhouse over the past few seasons.
