The Cubs’ season came to an abrupt end last week, when the Marlins swept the NL Central winners in the teams’ first-round series. Despite generally strong regular-season play, the North Siders have now failed to advance to a National League Division Series in each of the past three seasons. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein discussed the organization’s outlook in an end-of-season chat with reporters this morning.
Having not quite lived up to lofty expectations in recent years, Epstein acknowledged some change this offseason “is warranted and necessary” (via Russell Dorsey of the Chicago Tribune). There’s seeming room for improvement on both sides of the ball. On the whole, Cubs’ hitters slashed just .220/.318/.387, resulting in a 91 wRC+ that ranked 21st out of the league’s 30 teams. Among everyday players, only Ian Happ and Jason Heyward performed up to or exceeded expectations. Anthony Rizzo was decent but didn’t play at his established levels, while Kris Bryant and Javier Báez scuffled through miserable seasons.
On the pitching side, Yu Darvish again cemented himself as a bona fide ace, with Kyle Hendricks continuing to shine as the #2 option. The rest of the rotation is uncertain, with José Quintana, Jon Lester and Tyler Chatwood all ticketed for free agency. 25-year-old Adbert Alzolay has the inside track on a rotation spot, Epstein confirmed (via Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune), but he admitted the front office will have to look outside the organization for additional pitching help. Whether the Cubs could make any high-priced additions isn’t clear, as Epstein said the franchise is facing a high amount of financial uncertainty in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic (Gonzales link), as is more or less true of all 30 clubs.
Being open to some changes on the roster is hardly the same as desiring massive turnover; GM Jed Hoyer made similar comments last November, but the organization had a generally quiet 2019-20 offseason. The existing core is clearly capable of making another run in the NL Central, assuming the pitching staff is bolstered in some fashion. It remains to be seen if the conditions for a more drastic shakeup present themselves.
The 46-year-old Epstein also addressed his personal future. His contract expires after the 2021 season, and he’s reportedly planning to meet one-on-one with chairman Tom Ricketts in the coming days. Epstein confirmed he’ll sit down with ownership but downplayed the meeting’s significance, calling it a customary end-of-year process. “My expectation is that I’ll be here (next season),” he told reporters (including Jordan Bastian of MLB.com).
That said, Epstein hinted at the possibility that 2021 could be his final year in Chicago. When asked about the prospect of an extension, he noted that changes after a long time spent in one place could be beneficial for both employees and the organization (via Gonzales). As Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com points out (Twitter link), that’s in line with an increasing expectation Epstein might depart at the end of his deal.
If that were to happen, Hoyer would seem an obvious candidate to take over baseball operations. Long-term front office uncertainty aside, Epstein says he’s currently “as invested in the Chicago Cubs as I was at any point in the last nine years,” (Rogers link).
“Epstein said the franchise is facing a high amount of financial uncertainty in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic”
Translation: They are going to claim they are broke all winter.
All teams are not going to be facing a financial uncertainty. No doubt about it. If you didn’t notice there were no fans in the stands. Hard to make any profits when you have no customers. And the future is also very unclear. Until there is a vaccine and people are safe it’s not getting back to normal.
….not just the ticket, but the concession stands,……
….then you uncertainty in their customers many who were laid off and have little to no disposable income to spend on discretionary spending items like mlb.
….JD Martinez…..”glad I am not a free agent this year”…. Many teams do not have money to spend, so there should be depressed prices on free agent mlb players….
Anyone who does not see this as a year of total uncertainty is missing the big picture and the small
Exactly. No ticket money, concessions, parking, programs, etc.
And as you stated with unemployment, are advertisers lining up to pitch their wares on TV to people who can’t buy them?
Hopefully life gets back to normal for a lot of reasons.
Tv is a thing
No they had fans but they were made of paper
Dunno.
I think one can take that statement at face value with no translation necessary.
Every business owner (of any type) will tell you the same thing; 2020 was tumultuous & no of us know how all this stuff is going to affect 2021.
That’s a of crap. They haven’t spent money since they signed Darvish. I’m not counting Kimbrel because his stint has been awful.
???
Ok. Unclear on what is “a of crap”.[sic]
But…just because you don’t count it doesn’t make it any less of a fact.
Ya know?
Sorry load of crap*
The cubs have no financial problems. The ricketts are just cheap. Not sure if castollenos would’ve made a difference. But he was great for the 2 months that had him last year. They didn’t even offer him a deal. By definition that’s cheap.
Maybe they have been?
I really can’t say myself.
I was merely stating that there is a lot of financial uncertainty regarding 2021. I’m not sure how that’s even debatable?
I understand you feel you have some reason to bash the Cubs ownership/spending. Hey, that’s your thing, or whatever. Full speed ahead.
But denying a very real and obvious fact might be limiting your view. Teams took a hit this year. They don’t know what next season is going entail.
Ergo: uncertain fiscal future.
Uh?
Scott Boras Agency represents Nick Castellanos. Need I say more?
@wrek
And he hit what … .225 for the Reds? Letting him go is not what the problem is.
That’s kind of a narrow-minded way of thinking about it. “He sucked, so he doesn’t count”. So what, is Kimbrel now automatically off the books because it hasn’t worked out? That’s like saying “The Pujols deal shouldn’t limit the Angles’ ability to spend. He’s old and slow now”.
@Patches
Translation: It will not just be the Cubs. All teams will be financially strapped.
They keep using the money excuse, the money uncertainty excuse, but they keep getting knocked out of the playoffs by teams with MUCH LOWER payrolls.
They’ve been doing that for a couple of years now. They supposedly had to scrape together the cash for Kimbrel, which looks mostly like sunken cost at this point
That’s nothing new!
Cubbies have been broke for a loonng time!
In hindsight, the 1060 project was poorly timed.
If Epstein is going to leave, he’s probably going to go all for 2021. However, this team should probably look at a rebuild effort, trade away veterans and soon to be free agents this offseason or next offseason, and try again in 3-5 years
Why rebuild after placing 3rd in the NL?
I don’t buy that. I don’t see Theo ruining his reputation by undercutting the long term success of the team just so he can have another ring. Anything the cubs win in the next few years he can stake claim to even if with another tra.
Why should Ricketts let Epstein spend 1 more dime on FA pitching or any other FA for that matter? He’s doing it wrong.
Wrong? He won a World Series… for a team that hadn’t won it 108 years
I’m sure he means since 2016. The Cubs won it in 2016 with the greatest collection of young talent, maybe ever? For this collection of talent to be one and done is a travesty. Yet Cub fans see one and done as the goal and wish to put Theo in charge for life. Weird.
Yeah, those Jon Lester and Yu Darvish deals sure look terrible. LOL. Gimme a break. Same tired old lines defending owners for penny pinching by blaming the front office for lacking a crystal ball.
LOL-good organizations get rid of over hyped players and replace them because they stock their farm system with position players AND pitching not trade them for garbage. But hey, they won once. Darvish did not deliver anything in 2 yrs and 60 games for $127 mil. So much for sustained winning in the post season. ZERO post season wins to go with September chokes in 3 consecutive yrs yipee! That’s old Cub loser talk-
It takes scouting not a crystal ball. Double LOL
Every team has some bad contracts, genius. It’s damn rare that they can “get rid” of them. And btw, Darvish has been an absolute stud and lost that last playoff game because they were shut out. Double duh.
Cubs well on the way to another 100 years of nothingness.
It’s been 5 years. Totally on their way to another 100 year draught. When you’re 130 when they win again. Congrats on being the oldest man alive and the only one to see 2 cubs world championships.
Where would he go? I’ve been racking my brain since I read the last article about Theo. I think the obvious place is Cleveland but they have a really good homegrown front office. Maybe the Angels? Or the Mariners could give up on DiPoto since he hasn’t worked out as well as they hoped. I just don’t know… Truth be told, I’d like him to come home even though I don’t dislike Kayne Bloom.
Chaim Bloom lol
New York Mets
Why would cle want him? He doesn’t know how to win without having access to top 5 budgets
I wouldn’t doubt him going to Cleveland. Ending over 210 years in championship droughts would make him even more a GM HoFer. He’s already there now. Breaking 2 of 3 of the longest American sports drought before he was 43. If he do what he did in Boston and chicago in Cleveland he will be the greatest gm of all time. Then he can go around the league end the Dodgers, A’s, and win one in Seattle too. Assuming LA or Oakland don’t win this year.
DiPoto is doing just fine, thank you. Nevertheless, bring Theo in as President of Baseball Operations!
The Cubs should have traded Bryant last offseason or the one before. He had lots of value back then. Unfortunately he had a bad season at the worst time.
They can still trade him at the deadline or next offseason if Bryant performs well. Sure they won’t get as much as they would have last offseason, but it’s probably marginal, and we’ll worth it to go for it with him this season and possibly next season. They can cut ties next offseason
This upcoming offseason Bryant will have a total of 1 season of control left. Coming off a bad season he will have little value. Sure if he has a good to great season next year the Cubs will be able to get something for him but nowhere near what they could have gotten in the past.
Irony if Epstein didn’t hold him down for a 3 weeks he would be a FA this offseason.
They can still non-tender him to do that. It will be a salary dump if they do trade him.
Going to need to trade him for pitching.
Atlanta has a surplus of starters, who were injured or had terrible years.
Timing is everything. Trade high, not low. Theo’s inaction will prove costly. He blew the trade window and waited too long. Instead if restocking the farm he will get B and mostly C prospects. But he will move on before they develop so he doesn’t have to care.
Theo will bring home the 1st WS championship in Seattle..
So Dipoto builds it and Epstein wins with it?
At least the Cubs can, in normal years, go out and buy a few good arms. Try being a Pirate fan. We can maybe buy a career AAA pitcher, at best.
I’d hate to be a pirates fan. My buddy is a fan of everything Pittsburgh but he hates the pirates with a passion. Just imagine having your ace or the future with gerrit Cole. And not even offer him any deal of any kind. I hate the Yankees but it would be awesome to see Gerrit Cole go back to PNC and throw a perfect game with 22K
We don’t hate the Pirates. We hate the cheap owner and his horrible hamdlinf or the team.
I appreciate the job that Epstein has done in his time with the Cubs. They should be the favorites in the division next season. He’s been talking change since the end of the 2018 season. I wish he would act, not just talk. I expect the “core” 5 back.
Agree on Theo.
Any of the four playoff qualifiers can win the division next year.
I think at least two of the five will not be on the team. Unless they take a pay cut, I am guessing Kyle and Kris will be either non-tendered or traded.
Cohen should wait and see what happens with Epstein before making a long term commitment to Anderson
Theo works through 2021, then becomes Commissioner of Baseball!
If Rickett’s family spent as many $s on their baseball operations the last couple of years to fill very apparent holes, as they spent on their political aspirations, the last 2 years would have had much different results IMHO.
The rixketts have spent more money around and on wrigley than the actual team. There’s not a single cubs fan myself included that give 2 s**** about their partnership with draft kings. Use that 100mil to extend your players sign new players. Its pathetic they dont want to improve the team.
The Cubbies don’t really have much of a future. Too many expensive misses.
Even with Darvish and Heyward having good “years,” would you want either one of them signed long-term for their current costs? Add in the Kimbrel miss and yikes.
Losing Gleyber Torres for a few months of Chapman still hurts too. Epstein gets soooo much credit, but if you really look at what he’s had to work with, there are a lot of misses in Chicago. This could have been a much better team, with a longer window.
@goawayrod
You think losing Torres for just “a few months” of Chapman “still hurts”. Hilarious! That trade won them a world championship!!
Pretty incredible Theo is still just 46 years old. He’d still be considered too young for the job a generation or so ago.
I know covid is a big unexpected wrench, but it’s been amazing how little the cubs have spent for the last 3 years.
Maybe they shouldn’t have tried to be super shady with the Wrigley construction
Cubs payroll was in top 3-5 the past few years. They spent plenty.
Yes, spent money on BAD contracts.
Hands tied. Couldn’t improve the team or most likely just to cheap to do so!
I mean new money
I know they are spending on current players. Talking about supplementing
Run the same team out there 4 years in a row. Expecting a different result. That is the definition of crazy.
Cubs are at risk of becoming Phillies after they won their World Series, and also the Giants after they won multiple World Series. The GM forgets the business plan that brought them there, and instead gets too attached to the players, and often times it’s because he drafted them, therefore he will always be biased thinking they are more valuable than they probably are. It’s better to trade guys a year too early than a year too late. The Phillies and Giants were stuck with veterans beyond their prime and pinned down by big contracts. If the Cubs try to keep this core around, we will see them in trouble as well.
I think it’s necessary to trade these guys in the next year as opportunity presents. The only guys I’d keep would be Heyward because no one will take that contract, Rizzo because it’s good team image and you need someone to keep fans engaged in a big market, Hendricks for the same reason as Rizzo, but on the pitching end.. Everyone else, see ya. You could make deals and re-tool as opposed to rebuild, similar to how the Red Sox did before they won their 2013 World Series. One guy I wish the Cubs would have jumped all over last offseason was Alex Verdugo. He would have been a perfect fit for this team, and the Cubs could have used Bryant to lure the Dodgers in and pull them off acquiring Betts.
Theo is going to escape the boat before it starts sinking. The Cubs core position players are going to be broken up this off season and they have a bottom third farm system. Theo is going to get out before they have to rebuild again.
White Sox would take Heyward in return for Rodon and Lopez I think. Then they could bring back Quintana on a budget contract to fill out their staff, and be ready to compete next year. (awaiting Cub fan apoplexy).
Heyward getting old and had one good year.
$65 mil left on contract.
No thanks!
Sox have younger Engel controlled until 2024!
With Theo’s track history of signings since 2015/16 as a owner I would say there’s no money as well , realistically there really wasn’t any more money to spend anyways without being taxed to death .. Cubs are in a bad place , Contracts coming due , Bad Draft after bad drafts , bad contracts and players not living up to potential or players just not being that good . I’m guessing us fans will unfortunately be living through another rebuild .. We may get to one more playoffs in 2021 but I doubt we see another playoff game unti 2024/25 at the earliest..
WOW!
He hasn’t aged well.