ORLANDO, Fla. — Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer always tries to tell himself the same thing at the start of Major League Baseball’s annual winter meetings.
There is no finish line at the end of the three-day gathering.
“People take things a hair more seriously when they’re here and try to move the ball forward, so this is sort of the beginning of the real offseason in a lot of ways,” Hoyer said Monday in Orlando. “And as a result, people are more willing to exchange ideas, be creative and work late and sort of be in the same place. So interesting things always happen. There’s always ideas or things that come up here that haven’t before, which is one of the nice things about the winter meetings. That’s kind of how it is already, and I expect it to continue.”
The Cubs’ priorities at the winter meetings remain focused on pitching.
After signing veteran Phil Maton, Hoyer believes the Cubs will be in the market for another high-leverage reliever.
“Whether we end up signing someone or not, I don’t know,” Hoyer said. “Depends on how other teams value them, honestly. But we can definitely be in that market and we’re obviously going to sign more relievers.”
Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer responds to questions during the Major League Baseball winter meetings Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
Shota Imanaga’s return by accepting the Cubs’ qualifying offer “gave some clarity, as far as available dollars,” Hoyer said of the rotation, “and we knew going in there was a possibility that could happen.” Hoyer stated the Cubs are “definitely” still looking for another starter but also hybrid pitchers who can start and be used out of the bullpen, citing Colin Rea as an example.
Although their focus is on pitching, the Cubs must build a quality bench and look for potential offensive upgrades, depending on how the free agent and trade markets develop. Part of the Cubs’ offensive improvement for 2026 will center on their younger hitters continuing to develop.
Asked what makes the Cubs confident they can get the offensive version of Matt Shaw they saw in the final 2 1/2 months of the season over a full season rather than the first half performance, Hoyer downplayed connections the Cubs might have to third basemen on the market without referencing any of those free agents by name. That third base free-agent group notably features Alex Bregman and Eugenio Suárez.
“Honestly, I’ve been surprised by the number of media reports that link us to different guys,” Hoyer said. “There’s zero lack of confidence in that. Actually, I would say the opposite. I think that when you look at his overall second-half numbers and what he did in the minor leagues, those struggles are to be expected at the beginning. The outliers are the ones that don’t have that. What he did on defense was amazing.
“I actually thought there were a lot of huge positives last year. If you had told me at the beginning of the year this was going to be the totality of his season, I would’ve been like, I’m good, we’re in a good place.”
A union between the Cubs and Bregman would make sense. They could use more proven production that Bregman could provide to replace Kyle Tucker, and Shaw still gives them value with his ability to play multiple infield positions. Signing a hitter like Bregman can also help the organization avoid going into the next offseason with shortstop Dansby Swanson as their only player on a guaranteed multi-year deal. The two sides nearly found common ground this past spring, when the Cubs offered him four years, $115 million with opt-outs after 2026 and 2027; Bregman ultimately signed with the Boston Red Sox to a three-year deal, including an opt-out following the 2025 season that the 31-year-old triggered to become a free agent again.
The Cubs, though, have been saying all the right things about Shaw and their long-term belief in him since the season ended. They will need Shaw to take another step forward in his offensive maturation, which for Hoyer means more consistency from the 24-year-old.
Shaw posted a .198/.276/.280 slash line with two home runs, 11 doubles, 15 RBIs and a .556 OPS in 232 plate appearances in the first half, which included a demotion to Triple A, compared to a .258/.317/.522 mark and 11 home runs, 10 doubles, three triples, 29 RBIs and an .839 OPS in 205 plate appearances in the second half.
“His downs were pretty down, learning how to kind of smooth that out a little bit,” Hoyer said of Shaw. “That doesn’t mean the second year can’t be a huge year, but I expect, sort of guys learn to league, learning what pitchers are doing to them, they learn their own swing, I expect kind of more gradual improvement.”