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NL Central Notes: Lauer, Cubs, Hoyer, Pirates

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The shoulder impingement that slowed Eric Lauer last March was more serious than reported at the time, as the Brewers southpaw tells MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and other reporters that there was actually a tear to the shoulder capsule of his throwing arm, as later tests revealed.  The shutdown allowed time for Lauer to recover physically, but he then missed two weeks of Summer Camp on quarantine after being in close contact with someone who was COVID-19 positive.

It all added up to a forgettable debut season for Lauer in Milwaukee, as he was rocked for a 13.09 ERA over just 11 innings.  Acquired along with Luis Urias for Zach Davies and Trent Grisham in a November 2019 deal with the Padres, Lauer is looking to live up to his end of the trade return by matching or bettering his past numbers (4.40 ERA, 20.6K%) over 261 2/3 innings with San Diego in 2018-19.  Lauer does have minor league options remaining, however, which could put him in line for some shuttling back and forth from Triple-A as the Brewers mix and match their starting pitchers to keep everyone’s arm fresh.

More from the NL Central…

  • The Cubs’ payroll situation has been a major focus of the offseason, but president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is “confident” the team would be able to add salary for midseason additions “if we play well and there’s clear things we need to do to add to the team.”  As Hoyer told The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney and other reporters, however, much will depend on such uncertain revenue streams as the number of fans the team will be permitted to allow into Wrigley Field.  The Cubs opened the winter in clear cost-cutting mode, culminating in the trade that sent Yu Darvish to the Padres, and Hoyer admitted that “we were probably on the more pessimistic side of things” in terms of payroll in the wake of the 2020 season.  More recently, a modest spending spree for players on one- or two-year contracts does indicate some willingness on the team’s part to stretch the payroll, or as Hoyer put it, they became “more optimistic or less pessimistic” about their spending capacity.
  • The Pirates overhauled their rotation in the offseason, and while they have a provisional starting five in place, most or all of the arms competing for jobs will probably end up getting starts this season, The Athletic’s Rob Biertempfel writes.  Apart from Tyler Anderson, none of the Bucs’ other starting candidates have pitched more than 157 1/3 innings in a season, so there will be plenty of need for multiple hurlers to cover innings as pitchers rebuild arm strength in the wake of the shortened 2020 season.  “I think we’re talking about like 10 or 11 [pitchers],” Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin said.  Considering how the Pirates remain open to trade ideas, it’s very possible that even more pitchers will be needed should the club move a veteran arm or two at some point prior to the trade deadline.

Cubs, Jed Hoyer Agree To Five-Year Contract

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The Cubs have signed new president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer to a five-year contract that runs through the 2025 season, per a team announcement. Hoyer, the team’s longtime general manager, was promoted to his new post last week when Theo Epstein stepped away from the role.

Jed Hoyer | Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

A new contract for Hoyer doesn’t register as much of a surprise. While he was only promoted to this new post last week, he was entering the final season of a five-year contract as the team’s general manager. There’d be little sense in promoting Hoyer to the top of the baseball operations food chain but leaving him on a one-year deal and having him enter the 2021 season under lame-duck status.

Promoting Hoyer, as owner Tom Ricketts put it last week, offered the organization a “combination of continuity and a fresh perspective that will serve us well as we look forward to another period of sustained success.” That comment certainly indicated that the club planned for Hoyer to be at the helm for the long term, and today’s contract extension solidifies the matter.

“Jed was a key baseball operations leader as we built a team that made the playoffs five of the last six years and won the World Series,” Ricketts said Monday in a new statement announcing the extension. “My family and I believe he is going to be an incredible baseball operations president, and Cubs fans have one of the best in the business leading the team to continue our commitment to sustained success.”

Notably, this won’t be Hoyer’s first time heading up a baseball operations department. He served as the Padres’ general manager from 2009-11 before being hired by Epstein, his former colleague with the Red Sox, to hold that same post within the Cubs organization. Epstein, Hoyer and current Cubs senior vice president of player personnel Jason McLeod all came up through the ranks together in Boston and have all played integral roles in the Cubs’ rise to a perennial playoff contender in recent years.

Theo Epstein Steps Down As Cubs President Of Baseball Operations

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1:48PM: In a press conference this afternoon, Epstein told MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian and other reporters that he “won’t be paid in 2021, which is appropriate and the right thing.”  The salary was not a “primary” factor in his decision to resign but it was “part of the equation.”  As per the reported terms of Epstein’s last contract extension, he was set to make roughly $10MM in 2021.

11:04AM: Theo Epstein has stepped down as the Cubs’ president of baseball operations, as per a team announcement.  The move is effective as of November 20.  General manager Jed Hoyer will step into Epstein’s role.

Epstein issued the following statement:

“For the rest of my life, I will cherish having been part of the great Chicago Cubs organization during this historic period.  All of the things that have made this experience so special — the fans, the players, the managers and coaches, ownership, my front office colleagues, the uniqueness of the Wrigley experience, the history — make it so tough to leave the Cubs.  But I believe this is the right decision for me even if it’s a difficult one.  And now is the right time rather than a year from now.  The organization faces a number of decisions this winter that carry long-term consequences; those types of decisions are best made by someone who will be here for a long period rather than just one more year.  Jed has earned this opportunity and is absolutely the right person to take over this baseball operation at such an important time.”

“I am grateful to everyone with the Cubs: to the Ricketts family for this opportunity as well as for their loyalty; to the fans for their support and the depth of their emotional connection with the team; and to the players, coaches, staff and my front office colleagues for their friendship, excellence and dedication to helping us accomplish our initial goals of regular October baseball and a World Championship.”

There was widespread speculation that Epstein would leave the organization after the 2021 season, when his contract was up.  (Epstein himself is on record as saying that remaining in one job for too long a period isn’t necessarily beneficial to either the employee or the team.)  Today’s news jumpstarts that timeline and removes any lingering “lame duck” feeling over the Cubs’ decision-making process this offseason and throughout 2021.

Of course, the next round of speculation immediately turned towards whether or not Epstein could be turning towards another challenge — namely the open president of baseball ops positions with the Mets or Phillies.  According to MLB Network’s Jon Morosi, however, Epstein will not be immediately taking another job and will instead take 2021 off.  Epstein confirmed the same in a letter to friends, ESPN.com’s Jeff Passan reports, saying that “Next summer will be my first in 30 years not clocking into work every day at a major league ballpark.…I do plan on having a third chapter leading a baseball organization someday, though I do not expect it to be next year.”  Despite Epstein’s declaration, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine tweets that the Phillies are still planning to “aggressively” pursue Epstein’s services.

Since joining the Cubs in October 2011, Epstein oversaw an extensive, multi-year rebuilding process that delivered the most sustained run of success at Wrigley Field in over a century.  Over the last six seasons, the Cubs have captured three NL Central titles, reached the postseason five times, and finally ended their World Series drought by capturing the championship in 2016.

Over nine seasons in Chicago and nine seasons as the Red Sox general manager, Epstein has long since booked his ticket into Cooperstown, with three World Series titles (and two broken curses) on his resume.  Epstein is still over a month away from his 47th birthday, so there is plenty of time for him to add further chapters to his already legendary career.  As The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark wrote in a piece this morning, that next step could be a CEO role with a team rather than working as a president of baseball operations, perhaps looking “to form an ownership group with like-minded people and/or longtime associates, then attempt to purchase a club.”

Hoyer’s contract was also rumored to be up after the 2021 season, but he and the Cubs are putting the finishing touches on an extension, The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma reports.  Hoyer has been one of Epstein’s chief lieutenants for a total of 17 seasons in both Boston and Chicago, and he also has past experience running a baseball ops department when he was the Padres’ general manager in 2010-11.

With the baton officially passed, Hoyer will now be in charge of what could be a transformative offseason in Wrigleyville.  As successful as the Cubs have been under Epstein, there is also some sense of underachievement, as the team hasn’t won a playoff series since 2017.  The core group of the 2016 championship team has gotten older, more expensive through arbitration and, in some cases, less effective on the field.

The Cubs now seem open to trading from this veteran core in order to both save payroll space in the wake of pandemic-lowered revenues and to perhaps spark something of a rebuild on the fly.  In the press release, both Hoyer and team chairman Tom Ricketts used the phrase “sustained success” to describe the Cubs’ next phase, and while this offseason’s moves will ultimately tell the tale, there isn’t yet any indication that the Cubs aren’t planning to contend in 2021.

Front Office/Coaching Notes: Red Sox, Venable, Marlins, Denbo, Cubs, Epstein, Hoyer

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The Red Sox are beginning the process of bringing in candidates for their managerial opening. Cubs coach Will Venable has already come in to interview, while George Lombard of the Dodgers and Don Kelly of the Pirates are likely on the list of incoming interviewees, per MLB Network’s Jon Heyman (via Twitter). Venable has been a popular managerial candidate recently. He interviewed for openings with the Astros and Giants last season, ultimately returning to the Cubs to serve as their third base coach in 2020. The former player moved back into the dugout for the 2018 season after being hired by the Cubs as a special assistant. For the Red Sox opening, however, Alex Cora continues to be seen as the favorite, though he will not be able to interview for the role until his suspension lifts after the conclusion of the World Series.

  • The Marlins are looking to hire a Team President that can complete their upper leadership group in the player ops department. That means augmenting and supplementing the work of Gary Denbo, their Director of Player Development and Scouting. Derek Jeter and Denbo are close, making it easy to presume that he could be a candidate to fill Michael Hill’s Team President role, but that’s not the case, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Jackson provides a quote from Jeter that shines some light on his thinking for the position, as Jeter said, “Gary has done a great job where he is right now. You look at how you build an organization; you have to have a great scouting department and a great player development department. Gary deserves a lot of credit for what we’ve been able to do to this point. Where he is right now is where he is most important.”
  • The Cubs and Theo Epstein remain aligned on the current plan for Epstein to play out the last year of his contract before likely departing after 2021. Executive VP and General Manager Jed Hoyer does not share Theo’s exit strategy, however, and it seems right now as if he’ll stay on to fully take control of the Cubs’ baseball ops department after Theo departs, writes The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney. Hoyer has served as Theo’s partner in the front office for many years, but Theo still steers the ship, as was the case specifically with the Cubs’ rigorous approach to COVID-19 testing this year when they were the only team in the majors without a positive test. Hoyer will preserve a healthy dose of continuity when Theo leaves, but there will be change when the buck officially stops with him.

Theo Epstein On Cubs’ Trade Deadline Plans

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Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein spoke to media members including Russell Dorsey from the Chicago Sun-Times on Friday, tackling a wide array of topics including the trade deadline, the Cubs’ intentions, and the trade landscape in the league as a whole.

“There are a lot of years when we know we have an impactful move or two in us. It’s just a matter of finding it and executing on it,” said Epstein in a quote provided by Dorsey. “This year, the moves might be more complimentary and there might be more internal solutions.”

Epstein has a history of getting out in front of the Cubs’ deadline plans with the media and setting expectations for a fanbase that annually eyes a blockbuster deal. Epstein is setting expectations below that level. Specifically, Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer are hunting for a lefty for the bullpen, per Bruce Levine of 670thescore.com (via Twitter). Of course, Levine clarifies, the real intent is acquiring any bullpen arm that can retire left-handed batters.

The Cubs have but one southpaw in the pen as of now: Kyle Ryan has appeared in 9 of the Cubs’ 25 games thus far, but a .364 BABIP and 50% FB/HR ratio have contributed to a substandard 7.04 ERA/7.61 FIP. His 4.06 expected FIP may give rise to the notion that Ryan’s seen some bad luck on batted balls in the early going. Brad Wieck, the other lefty on their Opening Day roster, was placed on the 45-day IL with a strained hamstring. The towering southpaw made just one appearance before heading to the injured list.

The lefty specialist may not be the marquee addition for which Northsiders hunger, but Epstein offered a sunny outlook on the potential impact of the non-blockbuster acquisition: “We’ve done some pretty big trades at the deadline most years, but the smaller moves where you get incrementally better in a couple of different areas, especially to address certain needs can make a big difference as well.” 

One of those big acquisitions from previous years will return to the roster shortly. Jose Quintana simulated a 2-inning outing yesterday in what could be a final tune-up before returning to the rotation, per Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times (via Twitter). Overall, Quintana has provided the Cubs with reliably back-end-quality innings, though it’s been delivered in an up-and-down fashion that teases greater potential.

Quintana’s return, along with the return of Tyler Chatwood, will give manager David Ross some decisions to make regarding his rotation. Yu Darvish, Kyle Hendricks, and Jon Lester figure to have themselves a seat when the music stops, but Alec Mills and Adbert Alzolay may be relegated to pen duty or sent back to the alternate site until the Cubs are in need of additional starters. Alzolay gave the Cubs a solid outing last week before being sent back to the alternate site, while Mills remains in the rotation at least until Chatwood returns.

Those seven starters may be partially responsible for the Cubs’ sobering deadline plans, but the pandemic also plays a role. Epstein pontificated, as he is wont to do, on not only his team’s deadline hopes, but what the market holds for the league as a whole: “In the game overall, you might still see those big moves, if there’s a perfect match and one team’s long-term needs complement another team’s short-term needs, you may see a big trade. But there’s certainly obstacles to that industry-wide and in our situation.”

Epstein and other decision-makers have to weigh considerations beyond their teams’ on-field needs this year. The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney provides this quote from Epstein on the logistical and social scrutiny required of teams in the time of COVID:

“Every team is going to be cognizant of who they’re bringing in and how responsible they would be and how much you can count on them. Also, if acquiring the player puts them in an untenable situation, it might be hard to acquire somebody who’s got a great setup with their family in a certain spot geographically. Then you’re going to pull them out of there and put them into a situation where they’re not set up to have stability or set up to have success. You have to weigh it from that end, too. Impact on our group and on the execution of the protocols, but then also impact on the individual and making sure you’re asking something realistic of somebody.”

Quick Hits: Hoyer, Cubs, Moreland, Jays, Phillies

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“The activity of our offseason isn’t indicative of how much we’ve been on the phone and have been working,” Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer told ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers as part of a Q&A session.  It has been a quiet winter in Wrigleyville, as the Cubs have been limited to minor league signings and a couple of low-cost MLB contracts as the club is seemingly operating with a very limited amount of available payroll.  The Cubs have yet to make any major acquisitions or trade away any big in-house contracts to free up more luxury tax space, though while Hoyer admitted “this is obviously likely to be one of our less active offseasons,” more transactions could be on the horizon.  “We’ve been incredibly active making calls and exploring options,” the GM said, adding that he expects “the trade market will continue to be an active place well into February.”

Here are some more notes to kick off both Groundhog Day and Super Bowl Sunday….

  • Before re-signing with the Red Sox, Mitch Moreland received offers from at least two other clubs, the Boston Globe’s Peter Abraham writes.  “The biggest thing for me was I’ve enjoyed my time in Boston.  It feels like home for us and there’s a good group of guys.  I’m comfortable there,” said Moreland, who has played the last three seasons with the Sox.  “It’s a good family atmosphere, too, and that means a lot to me.”  Moreland was eager enough to return to Fenway Park that he re-signed despite the fact that the Sox don’t yet have a manager in place in the wake of Alex Cora’s firing.
  • Blue Jays bullpen coach Matt Buschmann has been named as director of pitching development, the team announced.  Buschmann will work in both roles for the 2020 season.  A veteran of 11 pro seasons (including a brief stint of 4 1/3 innings with the Diamondbacks in 2016), Buschmann retired after the 2017 campaign to take on an assistant director post with the Giants before joining the Jays for the 2019 season.
  • The Phillies’ lack of starting pitching upgrades have left David Murphy of the Philadelphia Inquirer pessimistic about the club’s chances of competing in 2020.  Though the Phils landed one of the winter’s biggest free agent arms in Zack Wheeler, Murphy feels much more rotation help was necessary given how Jake Arrieta, Vince Velasquez, and Zach Eflin posted middling numbers last year, and even Aaron Nola’s solid year was a step back from an outstanding 2018 season.  The shortage of pitching especially stands out in the NL East, where the Nationals, Braves, and Mets are all deep in rotation options.

Cubs Notes: Deadline, Castellanos, Hamels, Morrow

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The latest out of Wrigleyville…

  • The Cubs’ acquisition of Nicholas Castellanos didn’t become a reality until around 20 minutes before yesterday’s 3pm CT trade deadline, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine reports.  The Cubs and Tigers had been in talks about Castellanos prior to Wednesday, though discussions didn’t reignite until almost literally the last minute, as the trade was finalized with eight minutes to spare.  As Cubs GM Jed Hoyer told The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney and other reporters, the turning point was ownership’s decision to okay adding roughly $2.5MM of Castellanos’ remaining salary to Chicago’s payroll.  The trade pushes the Cubs to the very edge of exceeding the $246MM maximum luxury tax penalty threshold, as Roster Resource estimates the Cubs’ luxury tax number as slightly less than $245.66MM.
  • While the Cubs have played some inconsistent ball over the first four months, they’re still tied with the Cardinals atop the NL Central.  Since the team was always in contention, Hoyer said his front office didn’t really think about a larger shake-up that would’ve seen Chicago subtract from its Major League roster.  “There’s the idea-generation time and then there’s like: What deals are we actually going to work on? None of those deals actually made it to that point. Yeah, of course, people called about our players, but our focus was on trying to add to this group,” Hoyer said.
  • While an official announcement has yet to come from the team, it is looking like Cole Hamels will be activated off the injured list to start Saturday’s game, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian tweets.  Hamels has been on the IL since June 29 due to an oblique strain, and has completed two rehab outings in the minors.  Prior to his injury, the veteran southpaw was looking good in his first full season as a Cub, posting a 2.98 ERA, 8.76 K/9, 2.77 K/BB rate and a 51.1% grounder rate over 99 2/3 innings.
  • Brandon Morrow’s status is much less certain, as Hoyer said that while the Cubs are still “cautiously optimistic” that the reliever will be able to contribute, it would “be foolish at this point to make any decisions assuming that he was going to be a big part of this bullpen.”  Morrow hasn’t pitched since July 15, 2018 due to a biceps injury and then offseason elbow injury.  The former closer has experienced at least one setback during his recovery process from that procedure, and with only two months remaining in the season, Morrow is running out of time to get healthy and fully prepared for a return to Major League action.

Latest Reactions to Slow-Moving Offseason

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The offseason continues to move painfully slowly. With spring training on the horizon, there’s not much time left for the staring contest between teams and players to break. Indeed, the past week has yielded more news by way of shouting from players, agents and union reps than by way of actual major league signings. We’ve collected some of the reactions from around the baseball community…

  • As one might expect, the colorfully hyperbolic Scott Boras has offered his input on the subject (via Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports), comparing the market phenomenon to the act of murder. “The difference between an accident and murder is intent,” Boras says. “Teams are intentionally murdering seasons and fans are dying with it.” Boras also says that the biggest issue is competition, adding that losing is only acceptable if there is an actual effort to win.
  • “The list of available free agents could fill out a 25-man roster and contend for a playoff spot,” writes Rustin Dodd of the Kansas City Star. Dodd also includes quotes from Peter Moylan, which provide some interesting insight into the point of view of a lower-tier MLB free agent. Moylan describes his situation in terms of the uncertainty, telling Dodd that the only thing that is a “little frustrating” is the unknown. Moylan’s examples of the unknown include not knowing where he’ll be in two weeks, not knowing where he’ll be playing during the regular season, and the resulting inability to line up housing for either. The 39-year-old righty pitched to a 3.49 ERA across 59 1/3 innings last year for the Royals, and has publicly stated his desire to remain with the team.
  • The MLBPA is “laying the dynamite around itself” with its threats of spring training boycotts and accusations of collusion, writes Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Davidoff describes Brodie Van Wagenen’s recent statement as a “boiling point of sorts,” and wonders what can possibly be accomplished by all this “saber-rattling.” Davidoff seems to downplay the anger and threats from the union and player representatives, pointing out (by way of recent words from Brandon Moss) that they chose to sign a collective bargaining agreement that rewards tanking and penalizes clubs for spending too much.
  • Tom Verducci of Sports Illustrated opines that the players “bargained for luxury, not labor” in his take on the subject. Verducci also highlights Moss’ words, describing the current CBA as “the deal that stiffened the soft cap created by a luxury tax threshold that hasn’t come close to keeping up with growth in revenues and payrolls.” He adds that the union celebrated something of a “Pyrrhic win” in its prevention of an international draft, which Verducci calls a bluff.
  • The mystery of the bizarre offseason before us can’t be solved by simply crying “collusion,” Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet.ca writes, drawing attention to multiple factors in this offseason’s pace in a piece that’s definitely worth a full read. Some of those factors include a logjam at the top of the market (perhaps caused by CBA incentives for teams to tighten their purse strings), and the perceived value of youth in baseball.
  • For his part, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer is surprised that he’s headed to Arizona with so much offseason left to go. In an interview with Jesse Rogers of ESPN, Hoyer chalks the hot stove freeze up to something that seems quite simple on the surface: both players and teams feel justified in their positions. “Every team has their internal rankings,” he tells Rogers. “Every team has their evaluations which they will never reveal. Those rankings guide them through the market. Both sides of the market can always move or activate and free things up. To this point, we haven’t gotten there.”

Cafardo’s Latest: CBA, BoSox, Bautista, Votto, Tigers, Yanks, Hoyer

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The absence of a new collective bargaining agreement has representatives for top free agents like Yoenis Cespedes and Edwin Encarnacion concerned, and could lead to delays in signing, writes Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe. The current CBA, set to expire Dec. 1, includes a $189MM luxury tax threshold. Big-spending teams that are near the $189MM figure could hold off on adding high-end free agents (Cespedes and Encarnacion, to name a couple) until the CBA situation is resolved because they might face penalties under the next agreement if the luxury tax number doesn’t increase. One club it will affect is the Red Sox, according to Cafardo, who expects them to pursue Encarnacion if the threshold rises. Otherwise, they’re likely settle for a less expensive bat like Carlos Beltran.

More from Cafardo:

  • Free agent outfielder/designated hitter Jose Bautista “loves” both Boston and Fenway Park, making the Red Sox a potential fit for the longtime Blue Jay, per Cafardo. Further, Bautista has fans in Red Sox manager John Farrell and third base coach Brian Butterfield, both of whom were previously in Toronto. If the 36-year-old doesn’t end up rejoining them in Boston, the Rangers, Astros, Orioles, Cardinals, Giants and Braves are also possibilities (the DH-less National League doesn’t seem ideal, though). First things first, Bautista will have to reject Toronto’s qualifying offer by Monday – which seems like a formality.
  • Reds first baseman Joey Votto could waive his no-trade clause if his hometown team – the Blue Jays – attempts to acquire him, Cafardo suggests, but he adds that a deal is unlikely. Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported earlier this week that the Reds have “no intention” of trading Votto, who is owed $179MM over the next seven seasons.“We’ve traded away a lot of players we’ve drafted and developed. He’s one of the few that remains,” said GM Dick Williams. “There’s a sentimental connection with fans no doubt. But it doesn’t have anything to do with attendance and draw. It’s about performance. He delivers.” The 33-year-old Votto did indeed deliver in 2016, slashing a remarkable .326/.434/.550 with 29 home runs in 677 plate appearances.
  • The Tigers’ plan to get younger and cut payroll is “probably going to be a three-year process,” general manager Al Avila told Cafardo. Avila revealed that he isn’t worried about the luxury tax, saying, “I don’t know what [the luxury tax threshold is] going to be. We’re going to make this change in our business philosophy. We were just trying to get younger and whatever that ends up being, it ends up being. The market will decide what will happen.” The Tigers are reportedly willing to discuss trades involving some of their biggest names, including first baseman Miguel Cabrera, ace Justin Verlander and second baseman Ian Kinsler, and Avila has made it clear that he’s “open-minded in listening.”
  • Yankees left fielder Brett Gardner is a good bet to draw trade interest, reports Cafardo. He’s coming off a 2.4-fWAR season, his fourth consecutive campaign with at least that total. Depending on what happens with his 2019 club option, the 33-year-old Gardner will collect either $25MM or $35.5MM over the next three seasons.
  • Having signed a five-year extension in September, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer is clearly content as a prominent member of the World Series champions’ front office. However, president Theo Epstein’s second-in-command would like autonomy over a baseball department someday. “At some point I would relish [being in charge] again. I aspire to that,” Hoyer said. “But I’m in no hurry. I’ve had opportunities to have that role and I turned them down to stay in Chicago.” Hoyer was previously with the Padres as their GM from 2009-11, but he left San Diego to reunite with Epstein, his former Boston colleague.

Cubs Extend Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, Jason McLeod

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FRIDAY: The Cubs have now announced the Hoyer and McLeod contracts, which run through 2021.

“Jed and Jason are simply the best at what they do and have played fundamentally important leadership roles in helping the Cubs build a healthy and thriving organization,” said Epstein. “We feel honored to have the stability and support that we enjoy throughout Baseball Operations and look forward to many years of working together in Chicago.”

WEDNESDAY, 8:13pm: FanRag’s Jon Heyman reports that Epstein’s deal actually guarantees him a bit less than $50MM, but it can exceed the $50MM threshold based on incentives. ESPN Chicago’s Jesse Rogers tweets that both Hoyer’s deal also goes through 2021, and Heyman tweets the same regarding McLeod.

3:12pm: USA Today’s Bob Nightengale tweets that Epstein’s contract is believed to be worth more than $50MM in total, which would make him the highest-paid baseball executive on record. Additionally, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports that both Hoyer and McLeod have received extensions with the Cubs as well (Twitter link).

3:06pm: The Cubs announced this afternoon that president of baseball operations Theo Epstein has signed a five-year contract extension that will run from 2017-21. Epstein had been in the final season of his current contract and was widely expected to receive an extension to keep him in his current position atop Chicago’s baseball operations hierarchy. In the press release announcing the extension, Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts offered the following statement:

Theo Epstein

“In the five years under Theo’s leadership, he has brought in a strong executive team and acquired and developed some of the best players in the game.  Now, the results are on the field.  My family and I have no doubt that we have moved closer to our goal of delivering Cubs fans the World Series Championship they deserve.”

Ricketts also added that the extension “ensures the baseball operations team assembled by Epstein will continue its remarkable tenure of building a consistent championship contender.”

Epstein, 42, has been at his current post with the Cubs since Oct. 2011. While the early stages of his tenure were mired with losing clubs, he, alongside general manager Jed Hoyer, senior vice president of player development Jason McLeod and the rest of the Chicago front office have taken the Cubs from a cellar-dwelling team to a powerhouse that will finish with the best record in baseball this season after finishing with 97 wins a year ago.

The Cubs appear poised not only for success in 2015-16, but for the foreseeable future, as the core of Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras, Kyle Schwarber, Javier Baez, Kyle Hendricks and Jon Lester, among others, are all controlled through at least the 2020 campaign. While certainly not all of those players are locks to remain productive — specifically Lester, who will be 36 by the time his current contract expires — the Cubs have the payroll capacity to supplement that enviable core group of players as needed.

While the Epstein/Hoyer/McLeod regime has had the occasional misstep (see: Edwin Jackson and, so far anyway, Jason Heyward), the Epstein-led Cubs have been largely successful in their moves, be they free-agent signings, trades or draft selections. Since Oct. 2011, the Cubs have acquired Hendricks and Christian Villanueva in exchange for half a season of Ryan Dempster; acquired Carl Edwards and Justin Grimm for half a season of Matt Garza; acquired Addison Russell in exchange for a year-and-a-half of Jeff Samardzija and a half season of Jason Hammel (whom they later re-signed with solid results); and, of course, most notoriously, acquired 2015 NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta and setup man Pedro Strop in exchange for a half season of Scott Feldman and Steve Clevenger.

The team has also picked up Hector Rondon in the Rule 5 Draft and made a number of savvy free-agent additions including Hammel (twice), Lester, John Lackey, Ben Zobrist, Dexter Fowler (after initially acquiring him for Luis Valbuena and Dan Straily) and David Ross. Beyond that, the Cubs have drafted well, landing Bryant and Schwarber as well as top prospects such as Ian Happ and Albert Almora. Chicago has also been active on the international front, outbidding the competition for Jorge Soler and spending aggressively on prospects such as Eloy Jimenez and Gleyber Torres, the latter of whom was used as the centerpiece of the trade that brought Aroldis Chapman to Chicago this past summer.

McLeod has been an oft-rumored candidate to join another organization in a higher role and was recently one of the prime candidates for the Twins as they search for a new president of baseball operations. And Hoyer, conceivably, could have drawn interest elsewhere for a team willing to bestow the president title upon an experience general manager. While the length of the extensions for Hoyer and McLeod aren’t yet known, the trio of extension ensures that the same brain trust that architected the current Cubs roster will be in place for several years to come.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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