Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer could sense about a week and a half ago that Cody Bellinger was leaning toward opting into his contract. News of Bellinger’s decision came out this past weekend, but Hoyer had already had time to talk with his baseball operations group about how it figured into their offseason plan.
“It adds clarity to what we need to do, and now it’s just a matter of gathering the information,” Hoyer said Monday, as GM meetings kicked off in San Antonio. “I always say, everyone comes here with a lot of great ideas, and they usually get squashed within the first cocktail party, and then you go back to the drawing board. But we’ll talk to everyone here. We’ll be super active in discussions and see where it leads us.”
This will be a defining offseason for Hoyer, whose contract ends after the 2025 season. After the team narrowly missed the playoffs in 2023 and whiffed again this past season, anything but a postseason run next year would be a disastrous outcome for a rebuild that began midway through the 2021 season.
In his public comments, Hoyer has struck a balance between expressing optimism and pride for the way he and his staff have repositioned the club, while also taking accountability for the Cubs missing the playoffs the past two seasons.
Laying the groundwork for success won’t mean anything if the Cubs can’t take that next step.
The Cubs are expected to make pitching a priority this offseason. On the offensive side, they have little wiggle room as the roster currently stands — although they could always shake things up with a trade. Bellinger opting in for another year brought back one of the Cubs’ most consistent hitters but didn’t fully answer questions about the lineup.
Hoyer said it was “unclear” whether the position player group was settled.
“I felt like it was a productive group in the second half, but certainly looking to improve,” he said.
On Monday, MLB announced Silver Slugger finalists, and Seiya Suzuki was the lone Cub on the list.
His .848 OPS ranked No. 8 among all National League hitters. And Among National-League outfielders, Suzuki ranked No. 4 in weighted runs created (94), according to FanGraphs.
“In general, Wrigley suppressed offenses here, and baseball’s offense was suppressed,” Hoyer said at the end of the season. “Sometimes we have to readjust our numbers in our head. He was a top-10 guy in OPS in our league, and I just don’t think we think about it that way, because the numbers aren’t .975.”
The winners are set to be announced Nov. 12.
Suzuki essentially became a full-time DH in the last month and a half of the season. With Pete Crow-Armstrong claiming an everyday role in center field and Bellinger moving to right. But Hoyer said it felt “premature” to talk to Suzuki about what Bellinger’s return would mean for his role.
“Seiya did a great job when he was DHing,” Hoyer said. “We didn’t have injuries down the stretch, but any time you have depth at a bunch of positions — you lose an outfielder, and all of a sudden, having the ability to slot a guy like that in is really nice.”
While the GM meetings generally consist of more talking and planning than action, Monday did contain a series of roster moves.
The Cubs announced they’d claimed left-hander Rob Zastryzny off waivers from the Brewers. Zastryzny returns to the club that drafted the second-rounder in 2013. He appeared in just 18 games with the Cubs from 2016-2018.
He posted a 1.17 ERA in nine games this past season with the Brewers but was limited by elbow tendinitis.
In a corresponding move, the Cubs designated right-hander Jimmy Herget for assignment. Herget landed with the Cubs in mid-September, claimed off waivers from the Braves. But the team assigned him to Triple-A, and he never pitched for the major-league squad.
Monday was also the deadline to reinstate players from the 60-day IL, necessitating a series of moves to make room on the 40-man roster.
Catcher Christian Bethancourt and pitchers Yency Almonte, Colten Brewer and Enoli Paredes cleared waivers and elected free agency.