ORLANDO, Fla. -- At the start of each Winter Meetings, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer reminds himself that moves do not need to come to fruition during the annual gathering of baseball’s executives and agents.
“There’s no finish line at the end of this,” Hoyer said this week at the Signia by Hilton Orlando. “A lot of deals happen after this.”
That has been the trend in recent years for the Hoyer-led Cubs. Last winter, Chicago landed star outfielder Kyle Tucker in a trade with the Astros shortly after the Meetings. A year earlier, the Cubs signed Shota Imanaga and re-signed Cody Bellinger after the New Year. Often, the Winter Meetings are where the foundation is set for major moves.
What is more rare is having a day like in 2014, when then-manager Joe Maddon declared that the Cubs “won the baseball lottery” with the signing of Jon Lester at the Meetings in San Diego.
“This is sort of the beginning of the real offseason in a lot of ways,” Hoyer said this week. “I’ve made a lot more deals in the week after or a couple weeks after based on things that happen here, than [I've made] here. If you don’t have close to a deal coming in here, sometimes it’s hard to get there. The Jon Lester thing is not going to happen every time.”
Here is where things stand for the Cubs in the wake of the Winter Meetings:
BIGGEST REMAINING NEEDS
1. Impact starter: While Imanaga’s decision to accept the one-year, $22.025 million qualifying offer kept an important rotation arm in the fold, Chicago still has a need for an additional starter. The Cubs looked into Dylan Cease before he inked a long-term deal with the Blue Jays, and they continue to keep tabs on the top of the market: Tatsuya Imai, Michael King and Ranger Suárez have all been linked to the Cubs this winter.
2. Bullpen arms: The Cubs added veteran righty Phil Maton on a two-year, $14.5 million deal last month and continue to hunt for additional relief corps reinforcements. That could mean targeting late-inning options (Pete Fairbanks, Robert Suarez and Brad Keller are among the free agents still on the board), while also looking for solutions via trades or smaller transactions (waivers and Minor League signings). Chicago has plenty of room after a bulk of its ‘pen hit free agency this winter.
3. Offensive help: There is a realistic chance that Tucker signs elsewhere after his 2025 tour with the Cubs, which would remove an impact bat. Chicago is prepared to offer developmental runway to outfielder Owen Caissie (No. 1 Cubs prospect) and catcher/DH Moisés Ballesteros (No. 2), but it will not rule out adding offense. Alex Bregman has been connected to the Cubs in reports. If the team does not make that high-profile of a splash, at minimum, Chicago needs to add some versatile bench options.
HE SAID IT
“The bullpen, we talked about this earlier this week. What we thought about our bullpen going into the season – just reread it, what we thought – we were wrong. We were pretty wrong on it. We ended up pitching pretty well, but I think [compared to] the start of the season it maybe wasn’t the guys that we expected to do it. So it just shows, I think it’s: Get a bunch of good arms and kind of see what happens. And have enough ability to pivot when you have to during the season.” -- Cubs manager Craig Counsell, on the team’s need for bullpen additions
RULE 5 DRAFT
The Cubs did not make a selection or lose any players in the Major League portion of the Rule 5 Draft. In the Triple-A phase, Chicago first took righty Adam Stone from the Yankees system. The Harvard product made a comeback from multiple injuries in the Arizona Fall League with Mesa, as detailed by MLB.com's Jesse Borek. The Cubs also added righty Zane Mills (Cardinals) and infielder Devin Ortiz (Padres) in the Minor League portion.
MORE FROM THIS WEEK
- Cubs excited to have ‘very motivated’ Imanaga back in rotation. Read more >>
- Hoyer expresses full confidence in Matt Shaw amid Bregman rumors. Read more >>
- North Siders remain open to multiyear deals in bullpen pursuits. Read more >>
- Cubs prospect Caissie in Team Canada’s plans for WBC. Read more >>
THE BOTTOM LINE
“I think we have a lot of energy and we have a real focus in a lot of areas. I think it’ll lead to activity -- I can’t tell you when. That’s my honest thing. We could have an active December. We could have an active January. I don’t know. We’re not going to do bad deals just to do something quick.” -- Hoyer