Cubs President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer and General Manager Carter Hawkins met with media in Mesa, Arizona Wednesday, which was also the day that Cubs pitchers and catchers officially reported for Spring Training at the Sloan Park complex, though many players have been in camp already for a couple of weeks.

There wasn’t any real news made at this presser. Most of it was just reiterating things that were said at the Cubs Convention, or over the winter in general.

Many Cubs fans, myself included, felt that the 2025 season was sort of like where the Cubs were after 2015, a team that went pretty far but had “unfinished business.” That was exactly the term Hoyer used in describing the atmosphere in Mesa. He said, “Expectations are high, which is great. The excitement in camp is palpable, players and coaches are excited about our group.”

Clearly, it’s not an exact comparison. The 2016 team was widely considered to be a World Series favorite and came through. The 2026 Cubs, while a serious contender, aren’t quite perceived in that way. Nevertheless, I personally think the Cubs have as good a chance as any to win it all this year.

Hoyer was asked whether the team was still looking at signing players, and he said that he is still on the phone with agents about guys who have yet to sign. But when Bruce Levine asked a question that appeared to specifically be about Zac Gallen (and you might have seen some recent Gallen-to-the-Cubs rumors), he said, “I’m not going to address specific free agents.”

You can read that however you want, but I’m pretty sure the Cubs aren’t signing Gallen to an eight-year deal (which is one rumor that spread on social media recently). Hoyer did add that they feel the team is in a good place to add at the deadline, if needed.

Hoyer and Hawkins talked about the way the Cubs Pitch Lab has worked well to make pitchers “the best version of themselves,” as Hawkins put it. He specifically referenced Matthew Boyd and the improvements Boyd made last year, and feels the same thing could be done with Hunter Harvey, who has had recent seasons ruined by injuries.

It was noted that Justin Steele, who is throwing bullpen sessions, won’t be ready for Opening Day. That’s something I think all of us pretty much knew already. I would expect Steele to be placed on the 60-day injured list today, which is the first day he’s eligible for that placement (it’s the day for each team when pitchers and catchers report). This would make Steele eligible to return in mid-April, but I don’t think he’ll be ready by then and I believe the Cubs will not rush him back.

Further to that, Hoyer noted the additional starting pitching acquisitions made this offseason as a way to address the way the rotation got “thin” at the end of the season and in the postseason. In addition to Boyd, Cade Horton, Jameson Taillon, Edward Cabrera and Shōta Imanaga, who will be the five rotation starters on Opening Day, the Cubs have Colin Rea in the pen as a potential swingman, and Javier Assad and Steele as guys who could join the rotation later on, as well as a potential Horton-like promotion of Jaxon Wiggins sometime during the season.

So that would make the Cubs at least nine deep for rotation options, not even counting a potential mid-season acquisition.

There were a few comments made about Matt Shaw and his playing some outfield, with Hawkins saying, “He will put in the work needed,” and about Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch taking steps forward and that those two also know what they need to do in order to continue the progress they made last year.

Lastly, Hoyer was asked about the World Baseball Classic and whether the 12 Cubs who are going to play in the tournament would be a “disadvantage” to the team. He said it was anything but that, it was “fun” to watch the WBC and it gives an opportunity for minor league free agents to play. He was especially excited for Seiya Suzuki to go and play for Samurai Japan, because Suzuki suffered an injury just before the last WBC in 2023. You might recall that Samurai Japan dedicated their win to Suzuki and held up his jersey during their title celebration.

The first Cubs full-squad workout will come on Monday, when team Chairman Tom Ricketts usually addresses the team, and the first game is a week from Friday.

It’s not there at the time of this post but the entire Hoyer/Hawkins presser should be available on the Marquee YouTube channel sometime later today.