Cubs eye veteran leaders for young team

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Besides looking for bullpen help and another starting pitcher, the Cubs are searching for players who will be good role models for the current youngsters on the roster.

"I think people forget how young guys like [Anthony] Rizzo and [Starlin] Castro are," Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said Monday at the Winter Meetings. "They need some positive examples."

The Cubs are hoping new first-base coach Eric Hinske can fill that role as well.

"He did a great job as a bench player and being a team leader," Hoyer said of Hinske, who played last season for the Arizona Diamondbacks. "It was always about having different influences on the coaching staff for our players. You want to have different avenues. [Players] might gravitate toward the guy who has been teaching for a long time, or they might gravitate toward the guy who just came off the field."