Hoyer's focus shifts to rounding out Chicago Cubs roster
After a slew of subtractions this winter - Yu Darvish, Kyle Schwarber and Jon Lester head the list - the Cubs finally changed direction last week.
They signed three free agents: left fielder Joc Pederson, starting pitcher Trevor Williams and reliever Andrew Chafin. They gained potential infield depth by claiming Sergio Alcantara off waivers from the Tigers.
With pitchers and catchers scheduled to be on the field at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona, next Wednesday, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said more additions are likely coming in the days ahead.
"We're having conversations with a number of other players," Hoyer said Monday. "There are no guarantees anything gets done, of course, but certainly our hope would be to continue to round out the roster."
After trading Darvish and $56 million of his remaining salary to the Padres in late December, Hoyer's outlook was bleak when he was asked about the Cubs' diminishing payroll.
"Once we get back to a place where we feel like we want to step on the gas again, we will financially," Hoyer said. "We will be in that market again just as soon as we have a team that has the bones necessary to do that. We are at this period at the end of the window where I don't think that would make a lot of sense right now."
Signing Pederson isn't exactly breaking the bank at a reported $4.5 million this season with a $10 million option for 2022 that includes a $2.5 million buyout.
And Williams comes pretty cheap at $2.5 million for one year.
Still, Hoyer sees the investments as positives.
"Throughout the offseason, I think we've talked about a (payroll) range, we talked about there were timing issues," Hoyer said. "We thought we might be a little bit lower on that range. As we got deeper into the offseason, we got some better news on a few things and we were able to kind of move up a little bit into the higher end of that range. I think that helped us round out the roster."
While declining to identify specifics of the better news, MLB's announcement last week of attempting to play a full 162-game schedule this season with fans coming back in increasing numbers apparently was enough for Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts to green light more spending.
"We're looking to continue rounding out the roster," Hoyer said. "Yeah, we'll probably add a little bit of payroll over the next week or so. There's no necessity, I guess, to cut. Try to add pieces that can help us win."
Pederson fills the hole in left field left by Schwarber. Williams could emerge as the No. 3 starter behind Kyle Hendricks and Zach Davies, who was acquired in the Darvish trade.
After jettisoning Darvish and losing Lester, Jose Quintana and Tyler Chatwood via free agency, finding more rotation help tops Hoyer's list.
"Pitching, yes, I think that's a concern," he said. "That's something we have to continue to add. Not that it keeps me up at night, but if there's an area that when I wake up in the morning and think about how to deal with it, it's definitely the pitching."