Epstein says better days drawing near for Cubs
MESA, Ariz. — No matter what the record says, Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein insists he sees progress as he begins his third season in charge.
It hasn’t shown at the major league level.
“The people that we have in place in this organization — the coaches, scouts — I believe have impact, and I believe in the processes that we have in place,” Epstein said Thursday. “It takes time to turn our organization around. It takes time to build impact talent and to build requisite depth. But it’s happening. People in those meetings, the people in this organization, really believe that we’re on the verge of something special.
“And we understand that we’re perceived otherwise, and that’s our fault because we’ve been a last-place club the last couple years. We’re not protesting. We need to earn our way into a position where we’re championship contenders on an annual basis, and we feel like that is certainly moving in the right direction.”
It hasn’t been an easy process, and while success might be on the horizon, it doesn’t appear to be at hand.
Pitchers and catchers reported on Thursday, and for the Cubs, it doesn’t look like much will be different this season.
They were relatively quiet in the off-season, although they did hire manager Rick Renteria to replace the fired Dale Sveum and made a run at star Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka, but mostly it looks like they are in for more rough times at the major league level as they wait for their top prospects to develop in the minors.
Their most recent winning season was when they went 83-78 under Lou Piniella in 2009. With four straight sub-.500 seasons, they’ve matched their longest streak since 1985 to 1988.
And another losing season would put them on their longest run since they finished below .500 six years in a row from 1978 to 1983.
For now, the Cubs continue to sell hope, a promise that better days are coming. They tout their minor league system, and while renovations to Wrigley Field remain on hold, they can point to new facilities in the Dominican Republic along with a spring training home that just opened.
They’re hoping Renteria will provide the right atmosphere for young major league players such as shortstop Starlin Castro and first baseman Anthony Rizzo as well as top prospects Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, Albert Almora and Kris Bryant.
They believe they have three solid starters in Travis Wood, Jeff Samardzija and Edwin Jackson, although Jackson struggled last season and Samardzija is a potential trade chip after he was unable to reach a longterm agreement and took a one-year deal.
Jake Arrieta, a candidate to start, might not be ready for the beginning of the season because of tightness in his right shoulder.
General manager Jed Hoyer announced Arrieta’s injury after confirming the Cubs agreed to one-year contracts with starting pitchers Jason Hammel and James McDonald.
Both could be candidates to be traded before the deadline if they succeed, considering that’s exactly what the Cubs did with Paul Maholm and Scott Feldman the past two seasons.
“We know we have some numbers now,” Hoyer said.