Chicago Cubs’ GM Jed Hoyer spoke with the media last night at the Winter Meetings, and although we discussed his admonition that no deals were imminent, I wasn’t able to get into the other stuff because rumors started blowing up.
You can see much more from Hoyer here, here, here, here, and here, among other places, but I want to touch on a couple things he said.
Hoyer’s most interesting comments were about the lack of a veteran leader on the positional side of the roster last year, calling it a “miscalculation” on the part of the front office.
“I did think there was a bit of a void, to be honest with you,” Hoyer said. “That’s not to say we don’t have a bunch of guys that have leadership qualities. We absolutely do, but we have such a young group. Having someone that’s been through the game a little bit longer, with more perspective, that can help out with some of the difficult times, is important. We had that in ’15, ’16, ’17. We were lacking that last year.”
Without more context, it’s an odd thing to hear about a roster that featured Ben Zobrist, Anthony Rizzo, and Jason Heyward. As Hoyer said, though, it wasn’t that there weren’t guys with leadership qualities, but clearly there is something more here – maybe he’s talking about someone, like David Ross, who is almost like a player coach. Apparently that guy in 2017 was Jon Jay.
While I have no doubt that finding the right veteran professionals to keep other players focused and properly calibrated after early-season losses (getting past it, but also staying hungry) is a just and legit focus for the front office this offseason, I also can’t help but wonder if it’s something of an easy focal point if you don’t otherwise want to talk about offensive shortcomings.
It’s clear that the budget for the front office is not going to support a spending spree, and, absent a special layout from ownership for a particular player, they may well have to focus on things like “veteran leadership” rather than “huge-ass offensive numbers.”
To that end, though, Hoyer denied that it was a matter of their budget changing after Theo Epstein’s end-of-the-season press conference, and what seemed like a greater sense of urgency for dramatic changes:
Cubs GM Jed Hoyer said nothing has changed in regards to the team's payroll parameters since the start of the offseason. JH: "It's a fair question. And, no. Nothing. Nothing has changed in that regard."
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) December 11, 2018
Nevertheless, Hoyer continued to emphasize the need for the big improvements to come internally, and it’s safe to presume that nothing has changed on the financial side in the other direction, either. Hoyer did say that it’s not like the Cubs are going to be out there telling the world what their financial situation is, specifically, because it doesn’t help them. So if you’re the type who wants to cling desperately to hope, there you go.
On reports that Kyle Schwarber was deemed “untouchable,” you almost don’t even need to hear Hoyer refute it, because you already know what he would say: the Cubs don’t have untouchables, but they’re not going to trade guys they believe in (like Schwarber) unless it really improved the team. The Cubs still believe in Schwarber. (As they should.)
The crowded relief market still hasn’t sorted itself out, but you can expect the Cubs to be involved there one way or another, whether this week or later. There is too much of a need in the bullpen, and too many good options available out there.