Perfect timing: Fans return to Cubs Convention as competitive window reopens
Timing is everything, especially when it comes to MLB winter fan gatherings.
There was no Cubs Convention last year due to the lockout, and the 2020 event was scrapped by COVID-19.
The Cubs probably weren't complaining too much, considering they were rebuilding the past two years after jettisoning most of the star players from the 2016 World Series champion roster.
But after going 145-179 and finishing 43 games out of first place in 2021-22, the Cubs are tilting back in the right direction and Friday turned out to be a near perfect time for fans to return to the Sheraton Grand Chicago for the weekend gathering.
"I don't feel like in the offseason I'm yearning for some kind of praise from the fans or love from fans, but you walk in the room and it dang sure feels good," Cubs manager David Ross said. "They support you. They're excited about the new players, they're excited about where we're going. They've got questions and we're going to be able to answer them here.
"Fans are what it's all about, right? They fill the seats, they bring the energy. It's an exciting time for me. It gets the blood pumping for sure."
The Cubs are still looking like the third-best team in the NL Central behind the Cardinals and Brewers, but adding players like Dansby Swanson, Jameson Taillon, Cody Bellinger, Eric Hosmer and Tucker Barnhart move them closer to the top of the division than the bottom, where they've been the past two seasons.
Hosmer was at Cubs Convention Friday after officially signing a one-year, $700,000 contract.
The first baseman was released by the Red Sox in late December and the Padres are still paying the $39 million Hosmer is owed through the 2025 season.
The Cubs also announced they signed Nico Hoerner, Codi Heuer and Nick Madrigal, avoiding salary arbitration with all three players.
"All that really matters is how we play," Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. "I will say that going into the off-season, I thought about how we could maximize the dollars we had and the positions we had and I think we ended up really close to where we wanted to be. From the standpoint, it's really satisfying but ultimately all that matters is how play.
"That's the most important thing but certainly, after we had months of planning meetings, I do feel like we executed what we wanted to execute."
Kyle Hendricks is the lone holdover from the 2016 World Series champions. The 33-year-old starting pitcher also likes the way the Cubs executed this winter.
"You look around here at the faces we brought in," Hendricks said. "Every one is about winning. The priority is winning and every guy we brought has seen a lot of winning at this level. That's going to permeate through the whole clubhouse, through these young guys, too.
"Just kind of having a new core, a new group, the energy you can see is amazing. Everybody's super excited. We want to start spring training right now."