Cubs president Jed Hoyer is narrowing his search for a new general manager, focusing on candidates with a strong history in player development. A decision could come after the divisional round of the playoffs. Per The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney, among the final candidates are Carlos Rodriguez of the Rays, Carter Hawkins and James Harris of Cleveland, and Jeremy Zoll of the Twins. There may be other candidates, but these four at least are in the running.
Hawkins and Harris both have a hand in building Cleveland’s successful farm system and pitching development team. Hawkins began as an advanced scouting intern back in 2008, elevating to AGM before the 2017 season. Harris is Cleveland’s vice president of player development. Harris actually comes from football, having worked as Chip Kelly’s Chief of Staff when he was head coach of the Eagles.
Zoll is an assistant general manager in Minnesota, focusing on minor league operations. He is a Harvard alum who also worked with the Dodgers and Angels. Exposure to multiple franchises and differing ways of evaluating the game should be a boon to Zoll’s resume. Being a part of Minnesota’s homegrown approach to team-building is also likely viewed as an asset for a Cubs’ team looking to create a better development engine than they’ve had in recent years under Theo Epstein’s reign.
As for Rodriguez, it’s not surprising to see the Cubs explore poaching a Rays’ executive. The Rays have proven adept at building a farm system that should keep Tampa competitive for years to come. Former Rays’ executives hold top positions in Los Angeles, Boston, and Houston, and they’ve proven successful both in and outside of Tampa Bay. Rodriguez is their vice president of player development and international scouting.
For the Cubs, they are desperate to build a development team that can do a better job of sustaining success than their previous efforts. Though the Ricketts Family oversaw unprecedented success in Wrigley Field during the Joe Maddon era, those contenders fizzled out after three consecutive NLCS appearances from 2015 to 2017. Bottoming out with a 91-loss club this year, the Cubs are more-or-less starting from scratch in building a true contender.
It will be interesting to see the payroll ownership provides over the next 2-3 years.
The Cubs need to worry about stockpiling young talent for the next 2 years or so and not worry about major league payroll. Unless you’d be satisfied with them trying to spend and finishing in the middle of the pack. That’s the worst place to be.
Cubs went “All In” on young talent 6 years ago, and while it got them a Title…..it didn’t produce a consistent flow of talent into their big league club.
It’s also my opinion that they traded “the wrong assets” for rental players in the past. They gave up too much future talent to Win a Single Championship.
Torres and Jimenez come to mind immediately, with others on the list.
Cubs lost those trades in my eyes.
Thats because Theo Epstein has proven he knows how to build a winner from scratch but cannot maintain a pipeline of young talent to keep it going. He did the same thing in Boston.
I’m not a Cubs fan, but from an outside perspective, finding young talent wasn’t an issue for them at that time. They drafted and signed a bunch of young hitters that turned out to be really good players. And they were able to find enough pitching to be solid on that side too.
They had something that could have been sustainable, but they went all-in when they didn’t have to and it closed their window quicker than it should have. Trading Torres for Chapman is probably what clinched their title, so it hasn’t worked out long-term but winning a title made it worth it. But they made too many other win-now moves (like trading for Quintana) when they didn’t have to, and that thinned out their farm system. So as their young core got more expensive, they didn’t have any more cheap young talent to plug in and they plateaued.
I personally think if they would have just left their farm system alone and kept building internally, that they could have been a mini-dynasty. But we’ll never know.
Please…….
The easiest thing to do is to find and develop young hitters. It’s pitching and defense that wins. Signing, developing and maintaining pitching is what’s difficult. Epstein’s history is that he can’t do that, and was forever firing pithing coaches.
The way fans think, any free argent pitcher that had a good last year or two is now worth 5/$100-plus on the free agent market. Sorry, only the premier pitchers do it year after year.
Last night Logan Webb shut out the Dodgers for 7-2/3’s innings in the playoffs. Ever hear of him? He’s being paid a bit under $600k for the year. He outpitched Walker Buehler that’s getting $3.75m this year.
This is what teams have to do to be a legitimate contender. And they need to work with those pitchers daily during the season to make necessary adjustments. Signing this years hot pitchers to multi-year contracts has never worked for more than a year or so. Not for Epstein or any other executive/franchise.
P.S. And do not be like the ankle-biter self-proclaimed stat-guru on here that looks at a year-long period of stats and thinks that’s how the man pitched that year. What matters is how he did as the year went along if he was healthy. That’s what the sharp FO’s look at. It’s why the Indians dumped pitchers like Brad Hand on other teams.
Jimenez? Sure. There is no rational second guessing of the Torres trade.
It’s true, pitching is a crap chute. Health and consistency play such a huge role and so many pitchers struggle with one or the other. I’m alway fascinated when free agency roles around. The term than some of these guys get is nuts but let’s the honest here most deals no one really expects the pitcher to contribute in the later years
Gleyber Torres has quickly become a below-average major leaguer. There’s absolutely zero question that the Cubs won that trade.
Nah. I think both teams can claim a victory, although Cubs fans still seem a bit hurt by the whole thing. Not sure why.
The Cubs got a closer and a championship, the Yankees got the closer back, and still have a 24-year-old middle infielder who is rightly now back at 2B. He’s a two-time All-Star, has 7.5 career rWAR, and over the last two and a half months of 2021, he slashed .295/.345/.466 once he ditched trying to hit HRs every AB and went back to his line-drive, up-the-middle, opposite-field approach he had when he first arrived. Like a number of major leaguers, he convinced himself he as a HR hitter with the juiced-up ball. Unlike many of those guys, Torres still has top-notch hitting skills and youth on his side.
Flags fly forever.
Theo created that pipeline and used it to get what Boston and Chicago were trying to accomplish for ages…a championship. That pipeline created a nucleus and took what remained to solidify the ML roster. If those players he moved failed at the ML level, he’d be a genius, but as we all know you need to give in order to get. Can’t blame him for doing what he did.
Agree, they traded away much more than they got in return.
Agree with you on the Jimenez/Cease trade.
But without Chapman, no WS Title.
I don’t disagree with your general point that they havent done a good job of developing/sustaining talent, but Jimenez was moved for a young, cheap, and (up to that point) really solid starter AFTER the WS championship. The Torres move has been much discussed, but that brought them brought them Chapman, which was an absolute need and, of course, paid off in their playoff run. Torres has since underachieved, and frankly, I thought they’d regret that move more than they have. If they had Torres today, they wouldn’t be much better off.
the best comment I’ve seen on this post
I find it so funny how many cub fans blame Theo but fail to mention Rickets turned the tap off for any new money suddenly. The Cubs stopped winning because the Cubs stopped spending. That wasn’t Theo. That was Rickets getting squeezed after he got caught trying to skate accessibility laws
You shoot craps. They don’t come down from the sky.
Might be more interesting to see what payroll they provide past 2-3 years when they hope to contend again.
Carlos Rodriguez is referred to by the wrong name for half of this article and Zoll didn’t go to Harvard.
Yes. Somehow the Rays Carlos Rodriguez morphed into a Martinez while the Twins Jeremy Zoll was actually a 2012 graduate of Haverford College in Pennsylvania. lol
oh cool, so Haverford gets a Major Leaguer this year and now may get a GM?
Good catch on the proofreading!!
Tom1344 and A-ARonSpaznik should be on MLBTR payroll!
Haverford is actually the Harvard of Pennsylvania.
Wow, that’s some quality fact-checking and proofreading
I knew who the author was before I looked to be sure. When compared to the quality work put out by the rest of the site’s writers, this guy’s embarrassing. Also when other writers here make a mistake (it happens) and it’s pointed out, they usually acknowledge and correct the mistake… except for TC.
I get that as a weekend writer he’s probably feverishly pumping out content with little time to check his work, but the frequency of the mistakes and how glaringly obvious they are should be alarming to those that run the site, in my unprofessional and unsolicited opinion.
What I’d like to do is see the Cubs find a way to package some of their assets like Contreas or Hoerner or Hendricks and pair them with heyward in a trade to get rid of the last two years of that awful contract. Then the rebuild can truly start. It’ll be a few rough years, but as our draft picks develop and ownership agrees to spend more money the Cubs should be fine.
Pretty sure Heyward has a full NTC, I’m sure he’d waive it to go to a contender right? But what contender would want him?
It’s amazing that Heyward was brought in as a significant player to help win a World Championship, which happened, but he’s now outlived the winning years, and he’s still here as they enter the rebuild years.
There really is no particular reason to move him at this stage because they can’t. They won’t get anything of value and they’d have to pay down the majority of the remaining deal. Use him as part of the 26-man roster in 2022. Maybe he rebounds to 2019-2020 production, and then they would have a chance to move him (while still paying down a lot) in the final year. If he doesn’t rebound, they can cut him in the final year if he’s blocking anyone. Frankly, he’s not worth worrying about at the moment.
Theo recognizes talent. His weakness both in Boston as well as in Chicago seems to be in his inability to negotiate both 1) in trades, and negotiating contracts.
Heyward is an albatross. If they’re serious about rebuilding, they’ll eat his contract and dump him to give a young player a shot
No one is taking Heyward. I believe the Cubs are better off releasing him than keeping him on the team.
Cubs ownership doesn’t want to spend money now or in the future. After the Cubs won the World Series ownership turned their attention from the team to buying up the Wrigleyville neighborhood. Especially after losing money last season Tom Ricketts is apparently on a mission to try to recoup every penny. Ricketts might be thinking that if small market Tampa can succeed with a small payroll why can’t major market Chicago do the same.
@daddytbone
You hit the nail on the head regarding Ricketts priorities. Once he got the WS trophy, his priorities changed on a dime. He has been complaining that the return on investment is not what he is expecting. I believe Tax law allows a quicker depreciation period in the early stages of a purchase of a sports franchise. Well, it’s no longer in the early stages. Poor Tom. So now he’s trying to turn ‘Wrigleyville’ into ‘Rickettsville’. And without a winning team, it’s not going to go well.
So he’s has to spend this offseason, if nothing else just for good public relations.
Wow! Impressive mind-reading skills!
Really amazing that you know exactly what’s on Ricketts mind and how much money he wants to spend. Why are you on these threads when you could obviously make good money telling people what they really want? Be proactive and spread your wisdom across the land.
Cubs are not going to trade Hendricks, Nico, or Wilson. 1. It’s wayyy too hard to find a cornerstone catcher, and it just so happens the cubs have one that loves playing for the Cubs, 2. Nico is part of the future we have to hold on to him, he was very good this year even if it was hampered due to injures and he’s still only 24. 3. Hendricks is just too good of a pitcher to trade, were gonna need Hendricks in a couple years and he’s one of those guys that’s not gonna regress anytime soon, and I’m willing to write off this season because of A. He’s had a amazing track record in the past, and parting ways after only one bad season would be a bad look on the team, B. Hendricks is still only 31, he’s not gonna really regress for a couple years, and the City loves him.
I disagree with points 1 and 3.
Contreras only has one year left and the Cubs will have to pay through the nose to keep him on a team that won’t do anything substantial for a least 3 years. Seems pointless to re sign him unless you plan on flipping him in a couples years time, which is not an ideal scenario to rely on. The time to trade him is now.
Also, Hendricks has shown decline and is 31, he will not be his former self in 3 years and to count on that would be foolish. Right now, you can trade him for a decent haul to jumpstart the rebuild and should do so.
I agree on Nico though, he should be kept around to see if he can continue to develop.
Agree, you don’t trade a catcher like Contreras without having someone to replace him – and they do not have that person ready. Contreras can be resigned, he has stated numerous times that he wants to stay in Chicago.
Also you don’t trade a pitcher like Hendricks, he will age well as he doesn’t rely on a 95 MPH fastball. Plus he still has time remaining on his contract and has been reasonable with his contractual expectations.
thank you
Why would the Cubs need to trade Heyward. He’s helping them lose which is what teams should be doing in a rebuild. He’s also got a no trade. He’s not going anywhere. Some guys who make so much money have less than zero trade value. It’s impossible to trade those guys even if they have don’t NTC. The lesson don’t sign free agents but fans will fawn over this years crop and in two years there will be several heyward tupe bad contracts too.
Bad contract swap.. Didi and Scott Kingery for Heyward. Cubs send 8 million in 23 and a top 15 prospect , Phillies can add Medina, Brogdon or Hammer to the deal for a better prospect . Both teams pray for a resurgence in 22.
Why not just eat the money and release Heyward? Heyward would bring back negative value packaged with anyone else on the roster or in the farm system.
The Heyward money is no problem at all. It’s only 2 more years and they have no major monetary commitments. Giving up positive assets to get off him would be the absolute worst thing they could do. They’re better off cutting him and eating every penny of the money. If they wanna trade those guys, trade them on their own or in a package without Heyward to acquire more young talent.
why? with a low payroll, it’s the perfect time for them to just be eating that contract. Why would you reduce the player return to move the $ now?
incoming “have to hire the Rays guy” comments
You’re first!
Martinez?? It’s Rodriquez! smh Who ever writes this stuff needs to get ther $hit together.
Maybe after the Braves get swept, AA will become available. Freeman too for the Cubbies.
This is at least the 2nd article I have read by tc zencka that was a complete pos with errors. Mlbtr needs to dump this person.
How can we believe anything is fact in any articles ?? Is it all made up?
Well, it IS called Rumors.
This all falls on Tim Dierkes. If he’s content paying writers who consistently fruck up people’s names and present misinformation instead of facts, that’s on him. QT Zyngaga is the main reason why I didn’t keep my subscription to the Rumors family of sites after my free trial ended. Kind of hard to justify dishing out the 30 bucks a year for pathetic garbage like this.
How the hell do you go from Rodriguez to Martinez? How lazy is TP Zinka? HOW DO YOU MIX UP HARVARD AND HAVERFORD? At this point it’s become comical. These aren’t just typos. They’re blatant errors.
It really makes you question anything he’s written.
Or she. I don’t know lol.
twitter.com/tczencka
Man, woman, or bearded lady? You decide.
The Cubs are also looking for more armchair GMs. Note your interest in the comments.
Indians guys always draw attention, yet who really was the last successful one chosen by another team?
They should hire Neal Huntington
Like most former Pirates GMs, I’ll bet he’s available.
Our workplace society has become so driven by SPEED that is prioritized by those at the top as well as the blind reliance on the all knowledgeable, infallible, computer that people are becoming dead from the neck up. The simple pride that is taken with respect to a job that is done well, and just plain common sense have gone out the *drive-up” window.
(How many times have you gotten screwed at the drive-up window by having your order either wrong or incomplete? Did they even say they were sorry?)
Employees are so brain dead or scared of getting in trouble with the higher ups that NOBODY has any semblance of compassion and will not think outside the box for fear of creating a policy precedent. They just blindly follow the black & white procedures and/or the all powerful computer. They then resume texting to friends or posting to social media WHILE WORKING, after having been interrupted by the customer who serendipitously expected the person to ACTUALLY DO THEIR JOB. (Steps down from soapbox)
Ummm…
The White Sox fans are eerily quiet. I hope they’re ok.
Ha! ChiSoxFan is still trying to wrap his head around Heuer & Madrigal for a set-up guy.
Cubs opening day line up next season. I should at least be considered for new GM.
Madrigal 2B
Marte CF
Rizzo 1B
Schwindel DH
Contreras C
Happ LF
Wisdom 3B
Heyward RF
Simmons SS
Bench: Hoerner, Ortega, Barnhardt, Duffy
Leaves plenty of money for pitching, better defensively. Brennan Davis coming by June 1.
For all the armchair GM’s in the comment section, the Cubs are not going into a 3-yr rebuild. It would crater Ricketts already damaged area investment plan. They will spend on one big bat this offseason, and lots of pitching. They have to. Ever since the network launched, this is a new era of Cubs baseball. You will never see the extended tanking of 2011-14 again. If anything the Cubs will become the new Mets. Lots of investment for very little return. But stop with all this “the Cubs are rebuilding”. No they aren’t. They’re doing exactly what they said — retooling. They’ll be trying for the division as soon as 2022. It’ll all depend on what get out of Nico, Nick, & Happ imho. Unless Ricketts sells everything. Then… all bets are off.
Cubs should try to lure Rick Hahn or Kenny Williams away from the Sox – so the Cubs never get fleeced by the Sox AGAIN!
Yeap..like the Madrigal-Hauer trade for Kimbrell. Go and hide under your bed, or as I told you before, pay more attention to your wife like you do for the Cubs. We all know you are not a trully White Sox fan, but a frustraded ex Cubs fan whom nobody cared when you switched teams, hiding your frustrations against the Cubs. Because of that, you have never been welcomed here at White Sox Nation, and frustrated fans like you, with your comments showing your Cubs hatefulness, make people thinks all true WSox fans are as stupid as you.
Yep – like the Quintana trade!
Hahahahahahahahahaha!
Sox haven’t won a playoff game since the Quintana trade.
Madrigal is going to be a stud
@Bone Spurs-N-Harmony
Lucas Giolito would beg to differ with his 4-1 victory in Game #1 of last year’s ALWC series versus the A’s. You might recall Giolito was perfect through 6 innings with his no-no broken up in the bottom of the 7th when former Cub Tommy La Stella grounded a lead-off single to CF.
Hand up. I was wrong.
Not sure how they’ve messed this up. I told Jed to go and get Hawkins but I meant LaTroy