Chicago Sun-Times: All posts by Maddie Lee

With MLB’s front office diversity still lagging, Cubs benefiting from examination of hiring processes

2023-12-14T11:39:24.863-06:00

The Cubs have stated they are committed to diversity in the club’s front office.

Michael Reaves/Getty Images

Meghan Jones had always been drawn to the idea of a career in sports. She was a multi-sport athlete growing up and gravitated towards a team environment.

“I just didn’t know how to get there necessarily, if you weren’t a coach or a player or a GM,” she said. “And so not not knowing the direct path to a front office, I started working in business.”

Two years into her digital marketing and operations job with Discover Financial Services, a stroke of luck opened a path.

She’d inadvertently made a thin and winding connection to the Cubs between graduating and starting her first job. She took up babysitting for a month, and stayed in contact with the family she worked for, a family that knows former Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein through their sons.

So, when Epstein started looking for a new executive assistant in 2016, the family mentioned Jones.

The connection proved fortunate for the Cubs, too. Jones climbed through the ranks, winning the Ron Santo Award in 2021, earning her master of business administration from Northwestern University, helping spearhead diversity and inclusion programs. This offseason, the Cubs promoted her to vice president of baseball strategy, making her the first woman VP in Cubs baseball operations.

“She’s the No. 1 draft pick in the office,” said Jared Banner, who was recently promoted to assistant general manager. “She’s the person that we need the most — my apologies to [president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer] and [general manager Carter Hawkins] on that. But she does so much for us as a group, mainly in filling our blind spots in terms of process, hiring, culture — anything you can name she’s an aficionado in.”

Jones just first needed to find a way into the closed-off world of Major League Baseball.

Both the Cubs and MLB as a whole have been trying in recent years to open that door for more people. Epstein, while voicing his support of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, took a critical look at his own hiring practices and called on the rest of MLB to do the same.

A year later, then-White Sox executive vice president Ken Williams spoke at the GM Meetings about a frustrating lack of diversity in baseball operations leadership.

And MLB made changes to the Selig Rule — which requires teams to consider minorities while filling vacancies for manager and key front office roles — centered around internal promotions and aimed at avoiding “token interviews.” For women and people of color in baseball, feeling during an interview as if a team was simply trying to fill quota had become an all too common experience.

The Selig Rule still isn’t perfect. The Cubs raised eyebrows last month when they hired Craig Counsell as manager and ousted David Ross in one fell swoop, without opening a vacancy. But they were in compliance with the rule, which requires clubs to receive approval from MLB after fully describing their interview process candidates considered.

There may not be a perfect solution.

The Cubs’ hiring of Craig Counsell and immediate firing of David Ross raised eyebrows in light of the club’s statements that it is committed to diversity.

George Walker IV/AP

“But if there’s a commitment and a spirit behind something that everyone agrees should be done, then action should take place,” Williams said after the 2021 GM meetings. “You should see results.”

Recent progress has been incremental and stalled at the top of baseball operations. Al Avila was the only Latino general manager in MLB for years, before the Tigers fired him midway through the 2022 season. Dana Brown became the only Black GM in MLB when the Astros promoted him in January. Farhan Zaidi is now the only Asian head of baseball operations, after general manager Kim Ng declined her mutual 2024 contract option with the Marlins in October.

Ng reportedly made the decision after learning the organization planned to hire a president of baseball operations over her, even after she built a playoff team. She was the first female GM in MLB.

Even one level deeper, the results are mixed. The Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports’ (TIDES) most recent report found that as of Jan. 1 2022, people of color represented 16.1% of team vice presidents, an increase from 15.3% the year before. The percentage of women in those positions dropped from 22% in 2021 to 18.3%. In its 2022 report card, TIDES gave MLB a C- in racial hiring and F in gender hiring for vice presidents.

“It’s certainly valuable to have diversity in the executive ranks, but I also think the way you develop a great, diverse pipeline is by really focusing on that throughout,” Hoyer said in October 2021.

He had just introduced Hawkins as his new GM. After renewing a commitment to diverse hiring practices, he chose a white man who graduated from Vanderbilt University. But the point of emphasizing diversity and inclusion isn’t to mandate the hiring of women and people of color. That would only give teeth to the myth of the “diversity hire” — an insult overqualified people from underrepresented groups constantly battle.

By all accounts, Hawkins, who built a strong reputation as he rose through the ranks in Cleveland, has been a great hire.

“I will say this: when you look at our front office over time, I think it’s going to be incredibly diverse,” Hoyer said at Hawkins’ introductory news conference. “Certainly the applicant pool was. And every process will continue to be. And I think we’ve really made great strides in that area.”

The point of emphasizing diversity and inclusion is rethinking the processes that have locked baseball into a predictable loop. Many baseball executives have similar backgrounds to Hoyer and Hawkins. And when hiring managers stick to familiar networks to find candidates, a self-perpetuating cycle develops. Expanding the hiring pool makes for a better chance at finding the best candidate for the job.

As Williams put it: “We have to work hard to understand that no one here is talking about bringing in people that aren’t qualified for the job. Just the opposite. Just giving people an opportunity who are qualified.”

Soon after Hawkins joined the Cubs, the team announced the hiring of Ehsan Bokhari as an assistant general manager. Bokhari, who is half Pakistani and half white, was considered a rising star for his work with the Dodgers and Astros’ research and development departments.

A year earlier, Banner came on as the Cubs vice president of special projects, making franchise history as the club’s highest-ranking Black baseball operations executive. Banner, who played baseball for Amherst College, ascended from Red Sox baseball operations fellow to Mets executive director of player development before landing in Chicago.

Now, Hoyer, Hawkins, Bokhari and Banner make up the core leadership group at the head of baseball operations. And there will be more shifting in the front office. The Cubs have to fill the hole at farm director left by Banner’s promotion — although he said he’ll remain involved in player development. And Jones will build out a baseball strategy department.

“We have a really good mix of people, good diversity in backgrounds and skill sets,” Jones said of the baseball operations leadership group. “And I’m really excited about being able to work even closer with a lot of my co-workers that I deeply respect and admire.”

Jones and Banner worked closely together when Banner took over as head of player development ahead of the 2022 season. The director of minor-league operations wasn’t in place yet, so Jones stepped in to support the transition. And they’ve become good friends.

“He has been incredibly inclusive of me, bringing me into a number of conversations and rooms that I may have not otherwise necessarily been a part of, in order to help intentionally develop me,” Jones said. “And so for that I will always be grateful.”

Sometimes promoting diversity and inclusion comes in the form of hiring practices or programming. Jones, for example, co-founded the CASE (Careers as Sports Executives) Study Program and was a member of the inaugural Cubs Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council from 2020 to 2022. MLB has spearheaded similar initiatives.

Sometimes it’s more subtle than that, holding a door open for the next person and encouraging them to walk through.

Cubs’ bid for Shohei Ohtani ends as he signs monster deal with Dodgers

2023-12-09T14:35:40.075-06:00

Superstar Shohei Ohtani made quite the stir on the free agent market. File photo.

AP Photos

The Cubs’ pursuit of two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani officially ended when he announced Saturday on Instagram that he’d chosen to sign with the Dodgers. His agent, Nez Balelo of CAA Sports, told reporters the 10-year deal was for a record $700 million.

“This is a unique, historic contract for a unique, historic player,” Balelo said in a statement.

It’s the largest contract in North American sports history. Ohtani’s former teammate Mike Trout previously held the record for the largest MLB contract at $426.5 million over 12 years with the Angels.

“To all the fans and everyone involved in the baseball world, I apologize for taking so long to come to a decision,” Ohtani wrote in his post.

He went on to thank the Angels, his team for the first six years of his major-league career, and promise the Dodgers that he’d always strive to be the best version of himself.

“Until the last day of my playing career, I want to continue to strive forward, not only for the Dodgers but for the baseball world,” he wrote.

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A post shared by Shohei Ohtani | 大谷翔平 (@shoheiohtani)

By the end of the winter meetings in Nashville, Tennessee, this week, it was clear the Cubs weren’t the favorites to sign Ohtani. But they were one of the few teams believed to still be in the running, including the Blue Jays — false reports even claimed Ohtani was flying to Toronto on Friday — and Dodgers, of course.

“As I’ve said a lot of times over the years, winning the offseason is probably more curse than blessing,” Cubs president Jed Hoyer said Wednesday. “Certainly there are immensely talented players on the market. But if you go in thinking it’s one of those guys or bust, you can make some really bad long-term decisions.”

He was alluding to the unpredictability of each move, using Cody Bellinger’s signing last season (one year, $17.5 million) as an example. At the time, the uncertainty surrounding a drop in production over the previous two seasons made for a metered response across the industry to the signing. Then he massively over-performed his contract.

Ohtani’s elbow surgery in September, his second in five years, raised questions. But his camp insisted he’d return to the mound in 2025. And the injury didn’t seem to dampen his market much, if at all.

Risks are worth taking for generational talent — which is why the Cubs pursued Ohtani.

On the field, Ohtani immediately elevates a lineup, and he’s poised to bolster the Dodgers’ pitching staff in ’25. And though he secured a massive contract, he also provides a boost on the business side through international appeal for fans and advertisers.

The Dodgers’ baseball and business operations clearly valued the combination at a sky-high rate.

The Cubs were prepared for the possibility that Ohtani would land elsewhere. And Ohtani making his choice is expected to push what has been a slow market into action.

“I think you have to be careful not to wait around hoping for the perfect sequence to happen,” Hoyer said, “because oftentimes it doesn’t.”

This was the second time the Cubs’ pitch to Ohtani fell short. They also were finalists when Ohtani first came to the majors from Japan before the 2018 season.

“It doesn’t surprise me in the end that he picked an AL team,” Hoyer said back then at the GM meetings, recalling the disadvantage of being unable to offer him the DH position. “But wish we could roll back the clock and take a shot at it again.”

Hoyer at least got another chance to pitch his team to the player who has become the face of baseball.

Cubs’ Craig Counsell peels back layers of his managing philosophy

2023-12-09T07:00:00-06:00

Cubs manager Craig Counsell responds to questions during the Major League Baseball winter meetings on Dec. 5, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee.

George Walker IV/AP

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — When Cubs manager Craig Counsell positioned himself in front of an MLB-branded backdrop for his winter meetings availability this week, it marked the second time he would address Chicago reporters in his new job.

Already, musings on his managerial philosophy are filling in the gaps regarding what to expect from him.

Just as almost a decade of managing against the Cubs gave Counsell a head start on his knowledge of the team, the Cubs’ front office, their fans and the local media got to learn about Counsell at the same time.

President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer applauded Counsell for his track record of leading overperforming teams. Fans on social media pointed to his well-documented tendency to err away from bunting. And his strong reputation for bullpen management preceded him.

In his first month on the job, Counsell has given further insight on topics ranging from his role in player development to his opinion on six-man rotations.

Player development

“After you go through cycles of players, you start to learn how hard the transition is to the major leagues for players,” Counsell said in his introductory news conference last month. “The norm is a massive struggle. That’s the norm. And if you come at it from that place, the problem is that expectations for those players are on the other side of the spectrum. And that’s a hard thing for everybody to balance.”

This past season, slugger Matt Mervis and No. 1 prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong debuted with such lofty expectations. Mervis hit .167 in 99 plate appearances. Crow-Armstrong is still looking for his first major-league hit after 14 at-bats.

“Trying to create some empathy there with that and some understanding with that for the players, and just for the group, all of us, is probably the most important thing to do,” Counsell said of his role in players’ transition to the majors. “And the goal of that is just so that the player gets in a better place, and the player doesn’t have so much on his chest coming into the park every day and knowing he has to do everything for everybody. Because that’s what he feels like.”

Versatility

“Positional versatility creates a good floor for your team so that when things inevitably happen to your team during the season, you’re choosing from better options than just one option,” Counsell said this week. “And so that’s where the players that have defensive versatility are incredibly valuable players.”

On the Brewers last season, Brian Anderson, Andruw Monasterio, Owen Miller, Luis Urias and Mike Brosseau were among those who played multiple positions.

The topic arose in a conversation about utilityman Christopher Morel’s best defensive position.

“I think Joe [Maddon] is very similar; he loved to move guys around,” Hoyer said. “And I think Craig’s the same way. And finding players that are versatile, that can do a lot of different things, I think is going to be a goal.”

Bullpen

“It’s a pitching staff as a whole you have to look at,” Counsell said. “It is different every single season. It changes from the first day, to the 60th day of the season, to the 120th day of the season. And to understand that — that it’s always changing, that it’s never the same, that there is no one rule you can live by in your bullpen — I think is the best way to have a chance to do it successfully each year.”

The Brewers also developed two elite closers in Counsell’s time at the helm: Josh Hader and Devin Williams. But Counsell said he hadn’t uncovered some magic formula.

“Teams are composed differently, and they’re made up differently,” he said. “You have to take advantage of the strengths of your players — find their strengths, understand their strengths, listen to their strengths — and that means that it may be different. So the goal is certainly to find players of that caliber. Of course, that’s the goal. But those aren’t easy players to find.”

Six-man rotation

It’s too early to talk about how the Cubs will order their rotation next year. Offseason additions and spring-training performances will affect those decisions. But as his time with the Brewers showed, Counsell is open to experimenting with setups outside of the traditional five-man rotation.

“There are times in the season when, do I think [a six-man rotation] is helpful for the starting pitchers? Absolutely. I think it’s helpful,” Counsell said. “But I think it has to work [with your personnel], and you can’t do it and let it affect the rest of the roster, or affect the team to the point where you either lose games or you cost yourself big games down the road.”

Cubs, Craig Counsell considering best defensive position for Christopher Morel

2023-12-07T00:05:46.186-06:00

Chicago Cubs’ Christopher Morel celebrates his three-run home run off San Francisco Giants relief pitcher Luke Jackson during the seventh inning of a baseball game Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023, in Chicago. He mostly served as a designated hitter last season.

AP Photos

NASHVILLE – From the opposing side, Cubs utility player Christopher Morel made an impression on then-Brewers manager Craig Counsell.

“He’s put himself in a position where he needs to be in the lineup, he needs to be on the field,” Counsell, now at the helm for the Cubs, said this week at the winter meetings. “And that’s a good thing. Now, where, that’s what we have to figure out.”

Morel mostly served as a designated hitter last season, but he has played third base, shortstop, second base and all three outfield positions in the first two years of his MLB career.

At first, the Cubs thought Morel was best-suited to be a utility player. But as last season progressed, they wondered if locking him into one position would be the best way to set him up to succeed defensively.

This offseason, the Cubs are having him work at first base, knowing it’s a position of need for them.

Though Morel hasn’t been starting at first base for the Aguilas Cibaenas in the Dominican winter league, general manger Carter Hawkins said the Cubs sent coaches to work with him, and he has been taking pregame reps at first base.

“And honestly, him playing third is beneficial for us, as well,” Hawkins said. “I think that’s a potential positional fit for him, too. And really, any reps he’s getting on defense are going to be great for us.”

Counsell is coming at the question with an open mind, knowing the Cubs can work through it this spring. He left open the possibility that Morel could continue to move around the field.

“Finding players that are versatile, that can do a lot of different things, I think is going to be a goal,” president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said. “Because [Counsell] likes to be able to do that, and he did that in Milwaukee.”

Hall of Fame ties

A couple months before former manager Jim Leyland was elected to the Hall of Fame at the winter meetings, he was someone Counsell leaned on for advice as he considered the next phase of his career.

Leyland had managed Counsell early in his MLB playing career, with the Marlins.

“So I had great fondness for him,” Counsell said this week. “I talked to him during the month of October when I was going through this process. I was very interested in how he thought about when he eventually left the place that he had been for a long time.”

Counsell was in a similar situation, weighing his options after spending almost a decade as manager of the Brewers. Leyland managed the Pirates for the first 11 years of his storied career.

“I’m so happy for him, he deserves it,” Counsell said of Leyland’s Hall of Fame selection. “He is somebody that, especially as I was thinking about managing as a job, 10 years ago, he was an inspiration for it, for sure.”

Rule 5 Draft

The major-league phase of the Rule 5 Draft on Wednesday was uneventful for the Cubs. They passed on selecting a player and didn’t lose any players.

In the Triple-A phase, the Cubs selected second baseman Hayden Cantrelle from the Giants’ Double-A roster. Four of their minor-leaguers — infielder Andy Weber (Diamondbacks), infielder Levi Jordan (Reds), pitcher Adam Laskey (Marlins) and pitcher Sheldon Reed (Twins) — were selected.

Cubs leave winter meetings with momentum despite lack of acquisitions

2023-12-06T17:18:35.813-06:00

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 Photos

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is nostalgic about the days when teams would host each other in their winter meetings hotel suites, going through a tried and true protocol to knock out a trade.

“[Now] you do most of the stuff on the phone,” Hoyer said Wednesday. “But it forces some action. And we definitely leave here with a lot more information about things we think we might be able to accomplish than when we got here.”

The gradual trend away from face-to-face meetings paired with Shohei Ohtani’s market-stalling free agency made for a trickle of moves rather than a spike. Finally on Wednesday, the Yankees made a splash, agreeing to a trade for Padres slugger Juan Soto.

As the winter meetings came to a close, the Cubs had yet to make a major acquisition. But they have “lines in the water,” as Hoyer put it. And they have several areas to improve.

“Now that they’ve gone through this period of building up their minor leagues,” MLB super agent Scott Boras said in his annual winter meetings news conference, “I think they’re ready to look into major free-agent talents that allow them to take a step above where they’ve been in the last year.”

The pitching market started to move early, so there’s more clarity on Cubs pitching targets than hitters.

The Cubs are in discussions with the Rays about a potential trade for Tyler Glasnow, sources confirmed, but contrary to some earlier reports, they had not discussed young utility player Christopher Morel. They’re also not the only team interested in the 30-year-old right-hander.

Trading for a player in his last year of club control such as Glasnow makes sense from a cost-control perspective. It allows the Cubs to allocate money to other areas of need. But it also gives the team time to evaluate young pitchers such as Jordan Wicks, Hayden Wesneski, Cade Horton and Ben Brown to get a better sense of the long-term impact they could make on the rotation.

Some of the top free-agent pitchers — Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery, to name a few — were still available as of Wednesday evening.

Positionally, the Cubs are focused on the corner-infield spots. First base was a revolving door for most of last season. Late in the year, their solution was a platoon of Cody Bellinger and Jeimer Candelario, when he was healthy. Both players are free agents.

One potential fit is Rhys Hoskins, who missed last season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Boras, his agent, agreed at the general managers meetings last month that Hoskins could be a candidate for a pillow contract in his first year back from injury. The Cubs worked out a similar deal with Boras last year for Bellinger, who successfully used last season to boost his earning potential this year.

At third base, the Cubs at least have options in Nick Madrigal and Patrick Wisdom. But Madrigal, two years removed from surgery on his right hamstring, landed on the injured list twice last season with a strained hamstring.

“When Nick was playing well and healthy, I thought he was really good defensively at third; we were a better team with him in the lineup,” Hoyer said. “He just got hurt a lot, and we weren’t deep enough to respond last year.”

The Cubs are also making plans to replace Bellinger’s offensive production.

Re-signing him could present itself as a way to both achieve that goal and address first base. Hoyer declined to talk about specific free-agent targets, but he has consistently spoken highly of Bellinger.

“We have a good relationship,” Hoyer said. “We were texting the other day about his [most improved player] award. And he’s got nothing but positive thoughts about the organization; we have nothing but positive thoughts about him.”

Cubs manager Craig Counsell making impact in several areas of organization

2023-12-05T20:08:55.429-06:00

Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell responds to questions during the Major League Baseball winter meetings Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.

AP Photos

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Among the rows of computers occupied by the Cubs’ research and development department, general manager Carter Hawkins spotted a bespectacled man in a hat and sneakers.

“I was like, ‘Who’s our new R&D guy?’ ” he said. “And it was [new manager Craig Counsell] on the computer, sitting next to our analyst. Fit in perfectly.”

Counsell was in the Cubs’ offices last Friday, wasting no time giving his input on a wide range of topics. That included critiquing the interface of a specific computer program.

“I’m the outside eyes,” Counsell said Tuesday at baseball’s winter meetings. “I have opinions, and I’m going to share them. And I think that’s healthy.”

Team president Jed Hoyer smiled when asked about the interaction.

“All these Red Sox/Cubs people think the same way,” he joked. “It’s nice to get some people that think a different way and have had different experiences. And we can definitely learn from that. And one aspect to Craig, he’s not afraid to tell us when it’s that way.”

Counsell’s first month as Cubs manager has been busy. He has been assembling his coaching staff, familiarizing himself with his roster, talking to a few but “not a lot” of free agents and meeting tons of new people.

Asked what the most challenging part has been, he answered, “Probably Monday, when I walked into the room and there were 30 new faces and I had to introduce myself to everybody.”

But he also has been energized by that aspect of joining a new organization after his previous status as the National League’s longest-tenured manager with the Brewers. And he has more introductions to come.

“As a manager on the other side, you have a pretty good sense of the core of the big-league team,” he said. “And so, moving yourself past the core of the big-league team to get to understand important prospects on the team, that’s probably been the part that you spent some time learning.”

The Sho’ goes on: Cubs believe they haven’t been eliminated from Shohei Ohtani race

Counsell is still in the research phase of that process. At the same time, he is close to putting the finishing touches on his coaching staff. He has yet to name a bullpen coach, but he took a significant step when he chose Ryan Flaherty as his bench coach.

“I didn’t know Ryan well going into this search,” Counsell said. “But I’ve always had great respect for him. He’s done really good things quickly in his coaching career. He’s earned an excellent reputation. And he’s been very good with players. . . . It’s really hard, as you start coaching, to separate yourself as a coach and still be great with players. And I think Ryan’s has done an excellent job of that.”

It’s a different dynamic from the one Counsell had with Pat Murphy, who was his bench coach in Milwaukee and replaced him as manager there. Counsell and Murphy have known each other for decades. Murphy coached Counsell at Notre Dame.

“Part of this is about change,” Counsell said, touching on a theme that extended back to his introductory news conference. “I’m looking forward to a new, fresh set of eyes there to help me see different things.”

The rest of the staff has remained largely intact since Counsell took over, other than the departures of former bench coach Andy Green, who joined the Mets’ front office, and assistant hitting coach Johnny Washington, who left to take the hitting-coach job with the Angels.

“There’s some really good tools there [on the staff] that I think we can use, and hopefully make better, and in the end just to help players,” Counsell said. “That’s what our job is as coaches.”

Cubs believe they haven’t been eliminated from Shohei Ohtani race: Sho’ goes on

2023-12-05T18:59:19.051-06:00

More information trickled out Tuesday about superstar Shohei Ohtani’s free agency. File photo.

AP Photos

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Jed Hoyer, the Cubs’ president of baseball operations, pushed back on a report Tuesday that the team is no longer in the race for star pitcher and slugger Shohei Ohtani.

“I don’t know where that came from,” Hoyer said. “There’s nothing to report whatsoever. . . . On all the Ohtani stuff, just like I would any free agent, I’m not going to talk about discussions or meetings or where it is. I’d keep that quiet, like anything else.”

Hoyer did say the Cubs haven’t been given a “status check” from the Ohtani camp — although that doesn’t mean Ohtani hasn’t narrowed his choices. Similarly, the Cubs haven’t given Ohtani’s camp a status check of their own.

“The truth is that with this free-agent pursuit and others, very few people are aware of what’s being discussed or what’s going on — on purpose,” Hoyer said. “I think that all sides have kept it that way. And I think it’s going to stay that way.”

Not everyone has been so tight-lipped. During Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ scheduled availability Tuesday, he spoke openly to reporters about the Dodgers’ meeting with Ohtani, revealing that they hosted him at Dodger Stadium for two to three hours earlier this week.

“We want to respect Shohei’s wishes [and his agent Nez Balelo’s] wishes as far as being private,” Roberts said. “So I think that we took the necessary ways to do that, to honor his wish. But obviously, people talk and things, and so I don’t think that I need to share what we talked about.”

Still, the news that Ohtani met with the Dodgers appeared to run counter to the secrecy that has characterized his free agency.

“In this case, there’s real secrecy, but everyone knows there’s secrecy,” Hoyer said when asked how the dynamic compared to previous experiences with free agents. “I think there’s been others that are really secret that no one knew about. So I’ve seen this kind of secrecy before, but it wasn’t necessarily ‘public secrecy,’ if that’s even a thing you could say.”

All Cubs manager Craig Counsell would say, even after being informed of Roberts’ comments, was that he personally had not met with Ohtani. Asked if others in the Cubs’ front office had met with him, Counsell repeated, “I have not.” He declined to comment about whether that indicated anything about the Cubs’ interest level.

“I don’t think this is my spot to talk about individual players,” Counsell said. “It’s a great question but not the spot to talk about it.”

Ohtani is expected to command a record-setting contract. Over the years, Hoyer has been open about his reluctance to offer long deals to free agents, preferring shorter contracts with higher average annual value. Shortstop Dansby Swanson, whose signing defined the previous Cubs offseason, inked a seven-year, $177 million deal. But Hoyer doesn’t have a steadfast rule against long contracts.

“It’s hard to see into the future that well,” he said Tuesday. “You’re betting on human beings with bones and ligaments and all those different things. But certainly, there’s times when a player’s talent has it make sense to do that.”

As much as Ohtani’s addition would improve the Cubs, their offseason plan doesn’t completely hinge on landing him.

“You may have one thing you really want to get done, but ultimately, I also think you can get in trouble trying to time things out,” Hoyer said. “The timing doesn’t always work. Sometimes you have to, if this deal makes sense, if it’s all aligned, you have to do it and realize the repercussions of that.”

Although the free-agent market has been slow-moving to this point, Hoyer said the Cubs “have lines in the water” and have had a lot of conversations. Because the market is top-heavy and “not the deepest,” in his estimation, he predicted there would be numerous trades around MLB this offseason.

Winter meetings: MLB eagerly awaiting Shohei Ohtani’s decision

2023-12-04T21:33:22.232-06:00

Superstar Shohei Ohtani’s free agency has been the talk of the Winter Meetings.

AP Photos

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Baseball executives weaved around vacationing families Monday at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center, crossing indoor rivers and passing Christmas trees.

MLB’s annual winter meetings had kicked off, bringing hope that having agents and representatives from every team under the same roof would ignite a spike in transactions. But there was also a sense that many free agents and teams were waiting for superstar Shohei Ohtani to decide on his landing spot, with his announcement freeing up the market.

As of late Monday, the Cubs had yet to make any major-league acquisitions, but they were included in reports of teams vying for some of the top free agents — including Ohtani — and trade targets.

‘‘When you have someone as unique as the players at the top of the market, that just creates a new dynamic,’’ Cubs general manager Carter Hawkins said. ‘‘But there will always be something really interesting every offseason. And I think we’ll look back and say we tried to make the best decisions we could, and there’s just unique circumstances this time. There will be unique circumstances next time.’’

Hawkins declined to comment about specific free agents, and president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer was not made available to the media, with the Cubs citing personal reasons for his delay in getting to Nashville. But Ohtani’s whole free-agency process has been shrouded in secrecy. No one is sure when the highly coveted two-way player might make his decision, let alone where he’ll land.

The Cubs are one of a handful of teams reported to be in the running to sign Ohtani, a group that also is thought to include the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Giants, Angels and Braves. His contract, no matter where he signs, is expected to shatter records.

Cubs zeroing in on finalists for bullpen coach

If the Cubs miss out on Ohtani, it won’t derail their offseason. But if they are able to win the sweepstakes for his services, they would give their lineup a massive boost immediately and strengthen their rotation beginning in 2025. (That’s when Ohtani is targeting a return to the mound after surgery on his right elbow. He’s set to serve as a designated hitter next season.)

Hawkins has another theory about the slow free-agent market.

‘‘Honestly, I think everybody getting sick [at the GM meetings last month] slowed the market down,’’ he said. ‘‘The narrative hasn’t picked up in the media, but I just think about all the calls that I made, and guys were like, ‘I’m sorry, man, I can’t talk.’ ’’

The Cubs have several areas of need as they seek to avoid the disappointment of this past season. The playoffs are in sight, but they need a productive offseason to get there.

Cody Bellinger hitting free agency immediately weakened the Cubs’ lineup. He was their best hitter, providing consistency and power. In addition to supplementing the rotation, rounding out the bullpen and filling positional holes, the Cubs have to — at the very least — find a way to replace Bellinger’s offensive contributions.

The Cubs’ progress last season, though they fell just short of a playoff berth, should strengthen their pitch to free agents who want to go somewhere competitive.

‘‘We make a free-agent video every year, and the highlights from this year’s free-agent video have a lot of action from 2023 of guys that are still on our team and will be on our team for a long time,’’ Hawkins said. ‘‘And I think that part resonates, too. You see the excitement at the ballpark, but it’s not excitement from the 2016 World Series; it’s excitement from Christopher Morel hitting a walk-off home run against the White Sox.’’

When the Cubs signed manager Craig Counsell to a record five-year, $40 million contract, Hoyer said it wasn’t a signal that they were going to have ‘‘some crazy-aggressive offseason.’’ But a team doesn’t oust its sitting manager for another if it isn’t serious about winning.

‘‘Certainly, I really like our position,’’ Hoyer said at the time. ‘‘And if there are moves, even big moves, that will help us continue that trajectory, we’ll definitely do it.’’

Cubs zeroing in on finalists for bullpen coach

2023-12-04T20:01:29.383-06:00

AP Photos

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Cubs are narrowing their list of candidates for bullpen coach to a set of finalists early this week, sources told the Sun-Times.

The full breadth of the Cubs’ search wasn’t clear, but internal candidates who got interviews included minor-league pitching coordinators Casey Jacobson, James Ogden and Carlos Chantres. Assistant pitching coach Daniel Moskos is expected to return in the same role next season. In the hierarchy of coaching positions, the Cubs see assistant pitching coach and bullpen coach on the same plane, just with different responsibilities.

General manager Carter Hawkins confirmed at the winter meetings Monday that the remaining members of the Cubs’ 2023 coaching staff are slated to return under new manager Craig Counsell, but he declined to specify the role each coach would take.

‘‘Excited about that,’’ Hawkins said. ‘‘Just doing some things around the fringes, and look forward to announcing that soon.’’

The Sun-Times previously has reported that pitching coach Tommy Hottovy, hitting coach Dustin Kelly and third-base coach Willie Harris will return in the same roles.

The Cubs had four openings on the coaching staff to fill this winter. The team parted ways with bullpen coach Chris Young, who is now with the Mariners as a special-assignment coach and scouting cross-checker, and catching and game-strategy coach Craig Driver after the season.

After the Cubs fired manager David Ross, bench coach Andy Green joined the Mets’ front office, overseeing their player development. Assistant hitting coach Johnny Washington left to become the Angels’ hitting coach.

The open job as assistant hitting coach presents an opportunity for John Mallee, who was the Cubs’ hitting coach in 2015-17 and was Triple-A Iowa’s hitting coach last season, to join the major-league coaching staff in that position. Before the Cubs fired Ross and hired Counsell, they added Mallee to the staff in an unspecified role.

The Cubs hired Ryan Flaherty as bench coach last week.

‘‘He’s able to connect with a lot of different types of players,’’ Hawkins said of Flaherty, noting that he’s the son of college coach Ed Flaherty. ‘‘He understands the game on a lot of different levels. He understands the newer aspects of the game but also can speak to the older, more nuanced aspects of the game.’’

Hawkins and Flaherty played college baseball together at Vanderbilt. After his major-league playing career, Flaherty rose through the Padres’ organization to bench coach last season.

Front-office movement

The Cubs made former vice president of player development Jared Banner’s promotion to assistant GM official. Hawkins said the Cubs will consider internal and external candidates to fill the position of farm director.

‘‘Really excited to have Jared in the opportunity that he’s in,’’ Hawkins said. ‘‘Just an unbelievable teammate, great worker, has experienced a lot of different things through his career.’’

Banner began his front-office career with the Red Sox and oversaw the Mets’ farm system before joining the Cubs as vice president of special projects. He headed the Cubs’ player-development department for the last two years.

Quotable

‘‘Going into this season, it easily could be said any of the teams could have a great year and win the division.’’ — Reds manager David Bell, on the National League Central.

Former Cubs manager Lou Piniella falls one vote short of Hall of Fame selection

2023-12-03T18:47:09.185-06:00

Chicago Cubs manager Lou Piniella announces that he will retire from coaching at the end of this season during a baseball news conference at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, July 20, 2010, in Chicago.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Lou Piniella’s time with the Cubs, and his managerial career, ended sooner than he expected. In August 2010, he already had announced his intention to retire after the season. But after a Sunday game against the Braves at Wrigley Field, he stepped away to spend more time with his mother, Margaret, who had health issues.

“I cried a little bit after the game,” Piniella said that day. “You get emotional. I’m sorry, I’m not trying to be. This will be the last time I put on my uniform.”

It was the end of a distinguished career at the helm of five major-league clubs spanning several decades, but on Sunday, Piniella fell one vote shy of election into the Hall of Fame. The Contemporary Baseball Era Committee elected only former manager and White Sox coach Jim Leyland, who was named on 15 of the 16 ballots.

Eight managers, executives and umpires were on the ballot. Candidates needed 75% of the vote to be elected. Piniella received 11 votes in his third time on the ballot. He also fell one vote short in 2018.

By the time Piniella arrived in Chicago, he had built a legacy. The former rookie of the year, one-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion followed a successful playing career with a more notable managerial career. The three-time manager of the year was known for his passion and demonstrative ejections, and he won almost everywhere he went.

Piniella began with two winning seasons with the Yankees, plus another half-season interrupted by a stint as general manager. His next stop was Cincinnati, where he led the Reds to an improbable World Series victory in 1990. Piniella then spent a decade in Seattle, where he led the Mariners to their first playoff berth, plus three more.

In October 2006, Piniella joined the Cubs, who hoped he could spark a team that had missed the playoffs the previous three years. The Cubs went 316-293 under Piniella in three-plus seasons and made two trips to the National League Division Series, though they were swept both times.

Piniella might not have reached the same status in Chicago as he did in Seattle — where he’s regarded as a legend — but fans at the 2020 Cubs Convention reacted with raucous applause to the news that Piniella would be among Marquee Sports Network’s pool of analysts.

“I was a little concerned about how I’d be received by the people in Chicago because I left there at the end of August,” Piniella said when he popped in at spring training that year. “Because I didn’t finish my last season. I went home.”

He was thrilled to hear that fans received the news well.

“I almost cried,” he said.