Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins is no longer in the mix for the Nationals’ top baseball operations position, reports Grant Paulsen of 106.7 FM The Fan. Hawkins is expected to remain in Chicago, where he’ll continue to work as the team’s #2 executive under baseball operations president Jed Hoyer.
Hawkins reportedly interviewed with the Nats a couple weeks ago. He was viewed as one of the top candidates for the position. It now appears he’ll remain in Wrigleyville for a fifth season. Hawkins, a former assistant general manager with Cleveland, was hired as Hoyer’s top lieutenant during the 2021-22 offseason.
Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reported yesterday that the Nats have also interviewed Guardians assistant GM Matt Forman. Dodgers senior vice president Josh Byrnes, D-Backs AGM Amiel Sawdaye, and Red Sox AGM Paul Toboni have all been tied to the vacancy. It’s not clear whom from that trio, if anyone, has formally interviewed. Interim general manager Mike DeBartolo is also expected to get consideration. The Nationals fired former GM Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez in July.
Please someone take him. You’ll be really good in 2032
Hoyer plays the long game in getting the inevitable 162-0 team… that will come in the year 2125
They will put his head in a jar like Richard Nixon in futurama
The Cubs finished 83-79 in 2023, so not *that* bad, oh, you mean 2032? That’s 7 years away, Brian. Are you alright?
It was a play on a deadline comment Hawkins made on why they had a lack of moves..they want to protect their 2032 season
With GMs being called POBOs and assistant GMs being called GMs, it is hard for an outsider to know which apprentices are really talented or not.
i do think that’s the point
Very few or none of them are really talented as I point out all the time. They just have to be better than the 20 gms with little or no talent.
Unfortunately true, lol.
from my grasp of things, sawdaye and then byrnes are the closest to reaching the gm post from a career standpoint. forman is the sleeper candidate whose name hasnt really been called, and hawkins is either content with the #2 post on the north side, or is really only involved in development/minor league operations and teams are hesitant to hand over the everyday big league post to someone like that.
Cushiony job with no real pressure or responsibilities, or dysfunctional team with questions regarding payroll and ownership
Yeah good assistant gms are payed well and have job security. You not only have to double their salary but give them a lot of years.
He fetch good
It’s going to be tricky for the Lerners to entice anyone with several options to work with them, unfortunately, rare as these opportunities are. Even so, it was time to move on from Rizzo. Hopefully they find someone decent. I suspect they’ll stick with DeBartalo unless he gets poached.
Amen, brother.
Yeah, for some of these candidates, they could arguably have a better resume in five years by staying put than they would by jumping for a new title with the Nats, who may or may not be for sale and whose owners act like they’re comfortable deferring all baseball decisions until after a lock out that they seem not to care about.
Billy Eppler has entered the chat.
In all seriousness, it’s going to interesting who the Lerners end up enticing to take the job.
Wouldn’t Hoyer and Hawkins both be #2’s?
It’s the old story. Sure you wish for him to go without knowing what replaces him. It’s like my apartment building when a crappy neighbor gets evicted. You think Oh boy they’re gone and then you see what takes their place. The fact is Shiny object Jed will always be in charge and the GM will be a puppet and now he has his extension. As for why he didn’t get the job they finally probably heard him talk and that was enough to say ” Pass”. LOL
Aloha uncle! Well, unfortunately Carter who I initially was happy about, is possibly too much like Jed. Often it’s better to have a different thinking right hand instead of a “yes-man,” if you what I mean. BTW did you see that Tucker is now going to Florida to get another opinion on his calf injury? This trade is not playing out well for our Cubs. There’s a good chance that Tucker doesn’t play another regular season game. I just hope Caissie can come back, Seiya can step back up to the plate and Moises stay on fire. I’d actually be okay if Tucker doesn’t play anymore and allow the other folks the opportunity. Take care now. Mahalo
Aloha KG. Well it’s no secret that I was no fan of the Tucker deal from the start. I still say I can make a case where the Cubs offense would have been just as good if not better with Cam Smith playing third and Caissie playing RF all year as it ended up being. Like I was saying in another thread Moises is alas probably another professional DH. He has no position the Cubs need help at. If I could move him for a young controllable BP arm I’d make that deal in a heartbeat. If the Cubs next year have Amaya, Kelly and McGuire I’ll be the happiest guy in town and there’s no reason it can’t happen. The poor kid has to catch to have any chance to improve there and if he’s up with the Cubs that won’t happen. Kirk is a bigger guy but has way more skills that I fear Ballesteros will never acquire. As far as 1B goes the Cubs have Busch and Long here long term so they don’t need him there either. Can he be Schwarber somewhere else? IDK maybe I guess. I don’t know what the plan is for him but to keep him up next year as a DH and waste that utility spot is going to handcuff CC. The Cubs could save lots of money next year by letting Tucker walk, Letting Caissie and Long into the fray instead of Turner and hope Mathis who’s a 3B who had TJ surgery right after they drafted him and I haven’t seen play the field yet turns out OK. Anyway there are way cheaper ways to go and still field a super competitive team if Jed lets the kids play. But I doubt it. Mahalo my friend and see you in the Playoffs.
Uncle, these are my thoughts on Moises.
The kids only 21 now (I believe). He has done nothing but hit wherever he’s been. First of all, I’d want a whole more, than a bullpen arm – especially if that arm comes with a huge monetary commitment.
But re Moises. The thing that separates him from other LH bats that haven’t given us consistent production, is that Ballesteros hits the ball successfully to all fields. And has the power and the stroke to routinely hit homers to LC.
IMO Moises should be kept here because I believe he could become a special, consistent bat in this lineup. PCA, Busch and Ballesteros would give the Cubs 3 strong, affordable LH bats in the middle of the lineup, for years to come.
Bone- That’s all quite true but think of the consequences for Counsell. You have 9 position players for sure with the 8 you play in the field. If Suzuki isn’t one of those 8 IE if Happ – PCA and Caissie is the OF then Suzuki sits and is now a PH with the extra C and Moises on the team. That’s 11 guys leaving Counsell with only 2 utility guys and 2 DH’s . So you have a guy who can’t play anywhere in the field at all. I’m not sure Counsell is going to fall in love with that.
The roster construction is certainly a huge consideration unc. But I really love LH bats that can use the entire field. Busch and Moises can do that – hopefully PCA will evolve a bit more in that direction. The 3 of them project to be in the top 6 in the batting order for years to come. I’m not yet sold on Caissie – I’m hoping the kid they drafted this year, comes along quickly.
But I doubt Happ is resigned after next year – I’d try to trade him this offseason when he still might bring that RP you mention or a young prospect, like a Zyhir Hope in return.
Finally, Moises is young enough to improve his defensive value to where he’d fill the 3rd catcher slot, that you said you would carry.
I’m most interested in seeing how they can improve the RH hitting and power going forward.
Aloha Uncle, you probably heard Hoyer today saying that they are “hopeful” about Tucker and that he “ran” yesterday. I don’t know what to believe out of Tuck or this FO. The CBS article said that Tucks return wasn’t imminent and if he does return he’ll be in a limited capacity. I say move on and set the roster now. But I know all the “shiny object” fans are holding out hope he returns and back to his April ways. Guess the next few days will tell the story. Have you heard anything about Caissie and his condition? Take care now. Mahalo!
I try not to listen to Hoyer or Hawkins speak as a general rule because when I do I get dumber and at 69 my brain is already foggy enough. Haven’t heard a thing about Caissie which is weird but not unlike this team. I think they were just looking for an excuse to shut him down so they wouldn’t have to answer the inevitable questions that would come. Aloha and go Cubs.
Aloha Uncle, I’m with you. I didn’t like the Tucker trade, nothing against him I wish they had traded for him years ago when we had Jhey. Putting that aside, had we entered this season with Paredes, Cam and Shaw, I could have seen Isaac starting at 3rd and Seiya in RF, then depending on competition and development of the younger players, who knows! Cam could be at 3rd if the FO thought he was ready over Shaw and Caissie could take over RF if Seiya’s defense didn’t improve.
To your other point. I really like Moises but I think he’s not going to have a chance to develop as a catcher for our Cubs which makes him a dh only. If no Tucker trade, now the organization has some great pieces: Moises, Alcantara, possibly Shaw if Cam surpasses him, Triantos and others to get an ace or strong #2 starter and as you said under control for years!
In addition to the bad Tucker trade, how about the bad Pressly and Morgan trades?! I was upset to see Alfonsin traded to Cleveland. 3 bad trades and Jed gets an extension?! SMH! The Tucker trade could affect the organization for years. Let’s hope the fo can draft and develop players well in the next so many years. Mahalo!
Ownership is checked out. Hawkins would just be a stooge if he came here. Smart decision to stay put in a good situation with the cubs. There will be a better organizations with vacancies in the future.
Aloha Lerner, I understand. I wanted Jed to leave after this season and with the way the Tucker rental trade has turned out, followed by a bad trade for Eli Morgan and Pressly, I thought for sure Hoyer was gone. Instead by the trade deadline the biggest move made was extending Jed, which tells me he’s onboard with whatever the Cubs ownership is thinking. Thus I hope the team is sold to new owners and Jed is let go. Maybe Hawkins can work with someone else. Take care now. Mahalo
Hi, kgcubs
Do you really think that the Cubs have “lost” the Morgan, Pressly, and Tucker trades so badly it should cost Hoyer his job? Tucker has put up numbers far in excess of what Houston has gotten out of Cam, Paredes, and Wesnewki, and even with his injuries, Tucker has had a huge impact on turning the Cubs from a non-playoff .500 team to a team with one of the best records in all of baseball all season long. Morgan and Pressly didn’t work out, but it’s not like the Cubs gave up anything material in the process.
This is why I find the intensity of the Hoyer hatred so odd as expressed on this site’s comments. Rarely are examples ever provided that measure up to the vitriol. Would I like Hoyer to have done more this season (and prior seasons)? Hell yes. Do I think the Cubs should ever be able to justify one or more rebuild years? Hell no. Not for a big market club. They should be contending every year (absent a plague of injuries), but that seems like a problem with ownership, not FO.
I, too, would love to see the Rickets sell the team. And if that meant Hoyer departs as well, no problem. I’m not enamored with him. But this year the Cubs have had one of the best records in MLB all year long, they’re in great position to be WC1, their farm system is highly regarded, and their roster has got a nice mix of promising rookies, solid pros who came up as promising rookies in the Cubs farm system, contributing castoffs from other teams, and some big free agent signings and players gathered in big trades. This has been a great season and you’ve got people on these boards calling for Hoyer’s head.
Aloha Chicago, I used to be a big Hoyer fan. Am appreciative of his work for the farm system. He made trades that Theo should have and we are blessed that for Javy came back PCA.
Years ago with the trainwreck of the JHey signing, nothing against him, I was thinking of all scenarios to offload him, including for Tucker. I would have liked Kyle then, get him acclimated to one of the hardest parks in baseball to hit and play in because of the natural elements and seasons that that location is in. Totally different from the controlled environment he’s played half his career in Houston.
As the Houston GM said, it was a no-brainer to trade 1 year of service for 14 years of control and a high upside on prospect Cam Smith. I didn’t like the trade because the team gave away our starting 3rd who turned it around and was an All-Star this year for Houston before his injury. And a possible future 3b or OF in Cam. I’m amazed and impressed by Cam who only had 2 months in the minors to be brought into the majors. He needs more development but I still think his ceiling is high.
To Tucker, I was concerned that he didn’t profile well for Wrigley. He’s never had a season of 6.0 WAR ever but I think last year if no injury he gets there possibly to 7.0+. Taking into account that Wrigley is a tougher park, I still felt he could get 6.0 WAR. If at the beginning of the year you asked me who would be the WAR leader today, even I would say Tucker. But guess what, he’s not. Even before his horrible slump his home and away splits were showing the disparity. His defense has not impressed me especially in Wrigley and he’s -2 OAA. Many think he’ll be a future DH as his defense could be regressing.
Today Nico leads the team with 6.3 WAR, followed by PCA with 5.9. I think Tucker is at 4.7. That means he’s a very good player but not elite and for the FO to give up so much talent and control, like the Yankees did for 1 year of Soto, I’m sorry, there are expectations. Tucker has not fulfilled them. I realize he was injured but I also ask myself how durable is he, especially in a place like Wrigley? I think he profiles better in NY, LA, Boston maybe Philly. There’s more but sadly this trade didn’t work out as expected, at least for me. I don’t think the team should extend him, go with the youth and strengthen the pitching staff. I’ll talk about Pressly, Morgan and others later.
I like that the team is finding ways to win and generate offense without Tucker as it shows the team, the potential for the future. Take care now. Mahalo
Are the Cubs the first team to have 8 players with 50 or more RBI’s in a season?
Did you think this was ChatGPT? Actually, I just tried ChatGPT, and it said yes… Maybe. And then gave me a code to run. lol.
That’s why I asked here.
Aloha Uncle, I’m with you I try not to listen to Jed too often, he “hides” a lot of information with “answer no answer” response if you know what I mean. They way this FO has dealt with injuries is very concerning. Look at last year with Dansby. Then the whole Tucker broken finger debacle doesn’t come to light until Milwaukee’s Pat Murphy on Chicago radio says he thinks Tuck is playing injured! Then all of a sudden the FO released a statement about the broken finger?! Now we fans are in constant suspense “will he or won’t he play” and I feel they know the answer but will wait til the last minute to tell you and I. To your point about Caissie, that could be part of their plan, wait til they can’t put it off anymore and say no Tuck, Caissie coming back from his concussion. I just hope they can get a little win streak going here to secure the #1 WC and get home field advantage. So in case Tuck doesn’t come back, it won’t hurt as much since his splits shows he’s better on the road. We’ll see! Don’t worry about your age, I think the Cubs FO takes years off of all our lives, lol! Mahalo and go Cubs!