THE VIEW FROM THE TOP
With no glaring needs, Cubs focus on depth in rotation, bullpen
When left- hander Brett Cecil, a 30- year- old setup man who once won 15 games as a starter, signed a four- year, $ 30.5 million contract with the Cardinals two weeks ago, it caused a stir among those with a stake in the free- agent pitching market.
The Cubs are among those teams heading to this week’s winter meetings shopping for free- agent relievers. How Cecil’s signing and other factors — such as a healthy trade market and changes to revenue- sharing and luxury- tax rules — affect prices could affect how aggressive and active the Cubs choose to be.
“I don’t think any one signing is going to have [ a market- setting] impact,” general manager Jed Hoyer said. “Brett Cecil’s a very, very good left- handed reliever. In general, the lack of starting pitching in the market has something to do with the interest in the relievers and the way the postseason played out. What everyone saw was some really good bullpens heavily utilized, and I think that’s something that’s been a big focus.
“But I expect that the relief market’s going to be really active in free agency, and obviously we’re going to monitor that market closely.”
Will Cubs free- agent closer Aroldis Chapman get the five- year, $ 100 million deal he seeks? Will Dodgers free- agent closer Kenley Jansen get anything close? And what about Mark Melancon and the keen interest the Giants are said to have?
This Cubs front office historically hasn’t had the appetite to spend big on closers, and early conversations this offseason suggest that thinking hasn’t changed.
The Cubs are in the enviable position of returning 20 members of their 25- man World Series roster, including all four starting pitchers and all of their power right- handers in the bullpen.
The only starting position player who won’t be back is center fielder Dexter Fowler. But the Cubs expect impact slugger Kyle Schwarber at full strength for spring training after he missed all but four at- bats of last season, and they signed veteran lefty- hitting outfielder Jon Jay as a complement/ mentor for promising young center fielder Albert Almora Jr.
Unlike a year ago — when the Cubs spent $ 274 million in free agency — they already are expected to have a quieter winter this time around.
And after the Jay signing, and adding lefty Brian Duensing for bullpen depth Friday, they figure to spend much of the next month or two continuing to troll for freeagent bullpen depth and work the trade market for younger, controllable starting pitching.
One trade target from recent years, Padres right- hander Tyson Ross, was non- tendered after undergoing shoulder surgery and could be a buy- low, roll- the- dice proposition for the Cubs.
“We talked about this a lot at the end of the winter last year, that we felt we did two offseasons worth of shopping in one offseason,” Hoyer said. “We really liked the talent available to us last offseason. It was a good free- agent market.
“With that in mind, I don’t expect nearly the activity that we had a year ago. Right now, we can go play from an offensive standpoint and feel very good about our group.”
That doesn’t mean they don’t have the will or the resources to strike on an impact move if the deal presents itself — and they have trade resources in young power hitter Jorge Soler and promising switch- hitting prospect Ian Happ.
“We’re going to still continue to look to improve the depth in our bullpen and improve the depth in our starting rotation,” Hoyer said. “Those are things that probably never go away. But fans shouldn’t expect a flurry of things because they got that 12 months ago.”