Latest news with #JedHoyer
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cubs' Kyle Tucker Decision Could 'Gnaw' on Fans Amid Latest Rumors
Cubs' Kyle Tucker Decision Could 'Gnaw' on Fans Amid Latest Rumors originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Chicago Cubs signaled during the offseason that they wanted to win a World Series as early as this year. Trying to make a blockbuster trade, the Cubs did exactly that when they landed Kyle Tucker. Advertisement Tucker has been as good as advertised, and as a result, Chicago has been a better team than it has been over the recent years. Sitting in first place in the National League Central, despite struggling over the past 10 games, the Cubs are 49-35 and 4-6 in their last 10. Tucker has been a big part of their success, but there's a hefty price tag that will come along with keeping him. Chicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker (30) celebrates his home run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the third inning at Busch Vizer-Imagn Images When examining the entire situation, including who they traded him for and other factors, Northside Baseball recently noted that this trade could "gnaw" at the fan base for quite some time if Jed Hoyer doesn't secure a deal to retain his star this winter. Advertisement 'If Kyle Tucker walks, this trade could gnaw at Cubs fans for years. Some of that will just be in their heads, since again, Smith might not be this guy if he were still with the Cubs. Nonetheless, dealing a great prospect like Smith means the checkbook needs to be opened to keep Tucker around—if only for our collective mental health,' they wrote. Hoyer also has a contract that he has to figure out himself, as he only has a few months left on his remaining deal. If he can keep Tucker around, make the right moves at the deadline, and more, there would be a reason to keep him, too. Related: Cubs Reportedly Showing Interest in $70 Million Gold Glove to Replace Matt Shaw This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
New York Times
12 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Money won't be an issue for Cubs at trade deadline, but it will be a factor in Kyle Tucker negotiations
CHICAGO – With the Chicago Cubs leading their division and big crowds again flocking to Wrigleyville, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said he's 'very confident' that his front office can access money for significant additions at the July 31 trade deadline. While on pace to win around 95 games, the Cubs still haven't broken away from the pack in the surprisingly competitive National League Central. All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker is only a few months away from becoming the No. 1 free agent on the board, adding to the sense of urgency. Advertisement The Cubs are already down a starting pitcher, Justin Steele, who could have fronted a potential playoff rotation if he wasn't recovering from major elbow surgery. A 13-13 record in June also exposed some of the club's weaknesses. 'This place is full almost every night,' Hoyer said Tuesday at Wrigley Field. 'We'll have the resources to make the moves that we need to make at the deadline.' The Cubs remain one of Major League Baseball's top revenue machines. However, the Ricketts family ownership group and Crane Kenney's business operations department typically run this big-market franchise in a more conservative fashion. The Cubs carried an Opening Day payroll that ranked 10th or 12th out of 30 clubs, according to calculations by USA Today and The Associated Press. That estimated range around $195 million left the Cubs significantly below this year's $241 million luxury-tax threshold. Back in February, after free agent Alex Bregman declined a four-year, $115 million offer from the Cubs and signed with the Boston Red Sox, Hoyer said Chicago's baseball operations department maintained 'a hair of flexibility' for in-season additions but otherwise maxed out its budget: 'Wins are at a premium right now in the National League, so it's not like we're holding back a war chest to get ready for the deadline.' At the time, Hoyer also expressed optimism that the Cubs would reinvest if the club was winning. Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts also gives his top baseball executives wide latitude around the trade deadline. Ricketts, for instance, became personally involved in approving the Nick Castellanos deal in 2019, hoping it would provide a spark. Beyond fans clamoring for the Cubs to sign Tucker to a long-term megadeal, the Cubs are dealing with several different pressure points. Hoyer entered this season as a lame duck, hoping to be rewarded with his own new contract. The organization has also moved cautiously ahead of the next labor deal, unsure of what changes could be implemented after the current collective bargaining agreement expires after the 2026 season. Advertisement At that point, Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd could all be free agents, leaving a much smaller nucleus. Ricketts' long-range goal remains building a consistent, sustainable contender that avoids the extended down periods that marked so much of the franchise's history. Part of the strategy around this trade deadline, then, could be adding players who are already under club control for multiple seasons, such as Miami Marlins pitchers Edward Cabrera and Sandy Alcantara, the former Cy Young Award winner. 'We've kept our books unbelievably clean in the future,' Hoyer said. 'That's been something that, organizationally, we've been really disciplined about. When you look at our books, we're in a really enviable position that way. Now that said, we also have a significant amount of talent that is up after 2026, so there's a double-edged sword to really clean books. But that is something that has been a significant priority for us, and that gives us real flexibility moving forward.' Like clockwork, the announced attendance on a pleasant summer evening at the Friendly Confines was 38,257 for Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians. The Cubs are hoping that Wrigley Field's energy and atmosphere will continue to appeal to Tucker, who was acquired as a rental player in last winter's blockbuster trade with the Houston Astros. The idea was that the Cubs would try to win big with Tucker in 2025 and figure out the rest later. In many ways, the Wrigleyville experience sells itself to free agents. Rather than forcing the issue, it sounds like Hoyer is letting that situation unfold with Tucker's agent, Casey Close of Excel Sports Management. It probably makes sense for both sides to see what the market will bear. 'Kyle Tucker is a player you want to have for a long time,' Hoyer said. 'He's been one of the best players in baseball this year. He does so many things well, and he's really had a significant impact on this offense. Certainly, you want to keep a player like that. You go into the negotiation wanting to keep him. But, obviously, you realize in some way that you must have your limits. Advertisement 'We'll keep all those things internal. But, certainly, I think Kyle is the kind of player you want to keep – I've said that all along. Obviously, we'll be talking to Casey about that at some point. But, ultimately, you have to go into a negotiation with a value. You have to do that with any negotiation.' (Top photo of Kyle Tucker: Geoff Stellfox / Getty Images)
Chicago Tribune
13 hours ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Chicago Cubs will be trade-deadline buyers. But will Jed Hoyer have the OK to go for broke?
Everyone is in a hurry these days, trying to get things done so they can enjoy the spoils of a Chicago summer. But Jed Hoyer is an outlier. The Cubs president is patiently biding his time as the calendar flips to that magical month of July, when the trade-deadline clock begins counting down and fans start getting antsy about the pitching. 'There are 25 or so games until the deadline,' Hoyer said Tuesday before the Cubs opened a homestand with a 5-2 victory against the Cleveland Guardians. 'A handful of teams know exactly where they are, but a lot of teams are in the middle. Look no further than 2023, when all of a sudden we went from sellers to buyers in the last 10 days.' That team was 6½ games behind the Milwaukee Brewers on June 6, and Hoyer was looking at selling. 'We have a long way to go,' he said that day. 'Let's watch and see what happens. My hope is we look back at these questions and they were moot.' The Cubs were 8½ back on July 17 and gasping for air before they won 10 of 11 to get back into contention right before the deadline. Hoyer acquired third baseman Jeimer Candelario from the Washington Nationals at the deadline, and the Cubs moved into wild-card position until falling apart in mid-September, leading to the firing of manager David Ross. Though several players remain from 2023, this is now Craig Counsell's team, and with the Cubs in first and the Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals on their heels, Hoyer is a motivated buyer this month. He's looking for another starter to join Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Jameson Taillon and Cade Horton. The question isn't whether he'll do something but whether it will be small fixes or at least one big-ticket item that could cost him a top prospect. The Cubs entered the season with hopes of being an elite National League team, and now they have realistic expectations of making a postseason run for the first time in years. It's also the final year of Hoyer's contract, and though most believe he'll get an extension no matter what happens, this could be a do-or-die deadline for the longtime Cubs executive. Hoyer clearly enjoys this time of year, even though he looked like he was in a walking coma in 2021 after executing the memorable deadline sell-off of Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and Javier Báez. Not every move he has made this season has worked out, but the ones that have — trading for Kyle Tucker, signing Boyd and Carson Kelly and bringing in Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz and Chris Flexen for the bullpen — have helped make this a team with World Series aspirations. Will he have the wheelbarrow of cash available to make the deadline deals Cubs fans are pining for? Photos: Chicago Cubs beat Cleveland Guardians at Wrigley Field'Financially I'm comfortable that we'll be able to address the needs we need to address at the deadline,' he said. 'That's not something I've really questioned or thought about at all.' Chairman Tom Ricketts, as Cubs fans know well, is not a big believer in long-term megadeals, and the Cubs have only one such player on the books in shortstop Dansby Swanson. 'We've kept our books unbelievably clean in the future,' Hoyer said, while adding he'll have to decide on extensions for some players who become free agents after 2026, including Seiya Suzuki, Nico Hoerner, Ian Happ and Taillon. Justin Steele is eligible after 2027, and of course the Cubs would like to get Pete Crow-Armstrong under wraps as well. 'There's a double-edged sword with really clean books,' he said. 'But that's something that's been a significant priority for us. That gives us real flexibility moving forward.' Hoyer wouldn't rule out getting a rental, someone on an expiring contract who would cost them prospects. He has been open about adding pitching but wouldn't get into whether the Cubs need another right-handed hitter with an 11-13 record against left-handed starters. He pointed to some of the better lefties the Cubs have faced, including Tarik Skubal, Framber Valdez and MacKenzie Gore, and said that's part of the reason for their struggles. 'Certainly it's a trend that we've talked about and noticed,' he said. 'We have been more effective against right-handed starters (38-22) than left-handed starters. We need to be able to feel good in any kind of game and situation.' The Cubs can look invincible one day and mediocre the next, like last weekend in Houston, where they followed a 12-3 shellacking of the Astros on Saturday with a 2-0 loss at the hands of Valdez. They just finished a 13-13 June that saw Ben Brown demoted to Triple-A Iowa and Matt Shaw regress offensively, hitting .193 with a .536 OPS. The offense has kept them on top and continues to be among the game's best, ranking second in the NL in runs and home runs and first in stolen bases. With the wind starting to blow out more often at Wrigley Field, it should benefit Cubs hitters. But it obviously makes things more precarious for the pitchers, and the Cubs have an older bullpen with a couple of youngsters in Porter Hodge and Daniel Palencia as high-leverage relievers. Palencia has been invaluable as a closer, but he's in his first year in such a critical role. In 2016 Hector Rondon was pitching well at the end of games, but the Cubs went for it at the deadline by adding Aroldis Chapman, then one of the most dominant closers in the game. Is Hoyer satisfied with Palencia and the rest of the back end of the bullpen? 'Bullpens are a little like starting pitching depth,' he said. 'You're always looking to fatten that area up, to get better. All that said, he's been really good. Brad Keller has been really good, and we've got Hodge back. Our lefties have pitched really well. 'In general, bullpens are a volatile area, but obviously our guys have pitched really well. But it's an area you never look at as a set position. You've got to always look to add, if you can.' This could be a special season for the Cubs and for Hoyer, who has experienced great success working under Theo Epstein in Boston and Chicago but not much since succeeding Epstein as Cubs president. It's not a stretch to say getting this team to the World Series might be an even bigger accomplishment than winning it in 2016, when Epstein got most of the credit. Other factors play in. Re-signing Tucker is not a given, and if he does leave there's no certainty the Cubs will be this good again in 2026, despite the emergence of Crow-Armstrong. Would Hoyer be reluctant to part with top prospect Owen Caissie, knowing he's the likely replacement in right field if Tucker leaves? And even if Hoyer gets his extension, as expected, there's no certainty he'll have a better shot than he does this season. Does he go for broke or make some smaller moves? Cubs fans will have to be patient with those questions. Hoyer is in no rush to answer them.
New York Times
13 hours ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Kyle Tucker, ‘Cubby Capitalism' and the start of a very important July
CHICAGO — The daily grind of annoying 'Sign Kyle Tucker' content has been going on all season, and though it's a little tiresome now, that's just the additional cost of trading for a star going into free agency when you're a big-market team averse to big-market signings. Antsy content draws angsty reactions and that's the circle of life in the modern sports media ecosystem. Advertisement But anyone with a brain knows what's going to happen. Tucker is going to free agency and he's going to make a lot of money here or somewhere else. He's having a helluva walk year to set it up, which obviously benefits his current team. It's a win-win, and Cubs president Jed Hoyer can fly the W flag on that offseason trade. When he traded prospect Cam Smith for one year of Tucker, Hoyer took the kind of gamble you want to see from your team's top decision-maker. And it's paying off. 'Obviously, Kyle Tucker is a player you want to have for a long time,' Hoyer said before Tuesday's 5-2 win over the visiting Cleveland Guardians. 'He's been one of the best players in baseball this year, and he does so many things well. … I think that you certainly want to keep a player like that. You go into negotiations wanting to keep them, but obviously, you realize at some point you must have your limits. … We'll keep all those things internal.' What happens to the Cubs' self-imposed financial limits will be the kind of conversation that ignites a hot stove come December. But it's July, so we can stop being stupid about Tucker for a month. July means it's time to over-obsess about the trade deadline, not free agency. And while it's a couple of weeks too early for that, too, at least it's more timely. The Cubs (50-35) are coming off a .500 month, but they're still leading the NL Central and they're going to win more than 90 games. 'Listen, we've had a lot of conversations with teams, we'll continue to have a lot conversations, but these things ramp up,' Hoyer said. 'You take a little break at draft time and then they ramp up again after that. So I think that when it comes to acquiring depth, we're on the lookout, we're talking, but with the realization these things usually stretch towards late July.' Advertisement I texted Hoyer around the third inning to see if he could trade for a pinch-runner after the Cubs got thrown out at home and picked off twice at first base in a wild second inning in which they also scored three runs. We'll keep his response off the record, but while the Cubs have a first-place team, they also have real needs if they're serious about being prepared for the postseason. They could use a reliever, another starting pitcher, a late-inning reliever, a right-handed hitter to provide depth, maybe a closer, possibly a third baseman depending on Matt Shaw's performance, and definitely a reliever. The one thing you can be sure about is that the Cubs will get some reinforcements on the pitching staff. 'I think that bullpens are a little bit like starting pitching depth,' Hoyer said. 'I think you're always looking to kind of fatten that area up. You're always looking to get better.' The Cubs are buyers; the only question is what they can buy. Neither prospects nor money should be factors in the acquisition process, so it depends on the market. 'I think acquiring guys that can provide depth, I know we can do that,' Hoyer said. 'I think it's just a question (of whether) we can find guys that are better than our current alternatives, and that is how you actually get better as a team. That's a little bit more difficult.' When it comes to dealing out future hope for present help, well, Hoyer did trade Smith, last year's first-round pick, for Tucker. He's not prospect-hugging right now, but he's not going to trade rookie starting pitcher Cade Horton for a few months from a reliever either. 'I think right now what's in front of us is we have a really good team,' Hoyer said. 'I'm really happy about that. We also think we have the ability to be really good for a number of years. And so I think you're always weighing those things. In this job, it's one of the most difficult things to calibrate, the value of one year versus the value of other years and trying to always do that and get that mix right.' Advertisement As for money, the Cubs came into the season with a smaller payroll than the year before, a maddening scenario back in February and March when they missed out on Alex Bregman. They have been able to muddle through just fine, and if Hoyer wants to add a pitcher with years left on his contract (like the Pirates' Mitch Keller), he shouldn't have any restrictions from the business side or ownership. 'Financially, I'm comfortable that we'll be able to address the needs we need to address at the deadline,' Hoyer said. 'That's not something I've really questioned or thought about at all.' Hoyer's contract is up at the end of the season, but that's ceased to be a conversation point. With the way his team is playing, he should be able to command a nice payday by the end of the season. The Cubs players have proven they're worth a bigger investment and a few more big swings from Hoyer. 'I feel like this team has played really well,' he said. 'Obviously, this place is full almost every night.' That's just Cubby Capitalism. The more people who come to Wrigley Field should mean more money in that mythical wheelbarrow that's supposed to be parked outside of Hoyer's office. You couldn't find many empty seats at Wrigley Field on a glorious, warm Tuesday night. The fans ripped up in applause in that wild second inning when Michael Busch and Carson Kelly combined to drive in three runs. And when Seiya Suzuki hit a solo homer in the sixth, it felt like a summer dream in Chicago. "you look happy" yea, seiya just hit a homer — Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) July 2, 2025 The Cubs are averaging around 37,000 fans per game, good enough for seventh in baseball. Although Wrigley Field hasn't seen much of an attendance bump compared to this point last year, with the hot summer months coming up and an expected bump in September, the Cubs should easily eclipse 3 million fans for the first time since their last pre-pandemic season in 2019. Advertisement Tickets are expensive, beers and Pete Crow-Armstrong jerseys are selling briskly and there's a buzz on the North Side again. If all goes well this month and Hoyer's bets continue to hit, everyone — from him to Tucker to the beer vendors to chairman Tom Ricketts — is going to be making money hand over fist. (Photo of Seiya Suzuki: Daniel Bartel / Getty Images)
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cubs Eyeing Angels' Taylor Ward to Solidify Offense
Cubs Eyeing Angels' Taylor Ward to Solidify Offense originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Despite sitting atop the NL Central and boasting one of the best offenses in the majors, the Chicago Cubs are expected to be among the most active teams at the trade deadline. Advertisement President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer already told the media that Chicago plans to target a top-of-the-line starting pitcher. However, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic believes the Cubs' desire for rotation help should not deter the organization from acquiring further offensive firepower. 'The win-now mode puts Matt Shaw under the microscope at third base, where his defense has been spectacular and his offensive production has been lacking,' wrote Mooney. 'Looking ahead to potential October matchups, it would make sense to add another right-handed hitter to pair with first baseman Michael Busch. Justin Turner's postseason experience brings a lot of intangible value, but he's 40 years old, and he hasn't gotten into an offensive rhythm as a Cub yet.' Mooney lists Los Angeles Angels outfielder Taylor Ward as a player the Cubs are monitoring as the trade deadline nears. Los Angeles Angels left fielder Taylor Ward (3) gestures after hitting a two-run home run in the first inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Angel Lee-Imagn Images Ward, 31, is slashing .216/.287/.481 this season. While the numbers are not impressive, Ward's 20 home runs and 57 RBIs make him a top bat available at the deadline. Meanwhile, the Angels, currently two games back of the AL Wild Card, may be reluctant to sell. Advertisement Yet, with another year of arbitration, Ward could fetch the Angels a solid trade package while settling towards the bottom of Chicago's lineup. Ward's power separates him from other bats, whether in the outfield or replacing Justin Turner at first base. With the Cubs and Hoyer desperate to win now, making a move for Ward seems like a sensible deal. It provides them power, increases their depth, and gives them another outfield option if superstar Kyle Tucker elects to leave in free agency. Related: Cubs Monitoring Diamondbacks 39 HR Slugger Ahead of Trade Deadline This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
