Cubs G.M. Sends More Signals Team May Not be Active in Harper, Machado Negotiations
Multiple reports have surfaced this fall that the Cubs won't be active players in free agency
By James Neveau ••
The question of whether the Chicago Cubs will be players in free agency this winter has been coming up a lot in recent days, and G.M. Jed Hoyer gave another indication that the team might be hesitant to pull out their collective wallet this year.
In an interview at the General Managers’ meetings in California, Hoyer said that the team believes the solutions to their problems are “internal” and that they are leaning toward not diving into the deep end of the free agency pool.
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Head coach Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks watches as his team takes on the Carolina Hurricanes at the United Center on January 6, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Guillen had a solid start to his tenure in Chicago, posting three straight winning seasons, and even though he was able to have a winning record in two of his final four years with the team, he was still let go amid acrimonious circumstances at the end of the 2011 campaign.
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Smith won 81 games while he was in charge of the Bears, including 10 in his final season with the team, but was fired by G.M. Phil Emery after he missed the playoffs.
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Piniella was the first manager in 100 years to lead the Cubs to back-to-back playoff appearances, but his team failed to win a single game in either of their playoff years, and he ultimately stepped down from his position during the 2010 campaign.
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Del Negro coached for two seasons with the Bulls, putting up identical 41-41 records in both campaigns. He was fired after his second season despite making the playoffs on two different occasions.
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Quade wasn’t retained by Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer when they signed in Chicago, and with good reason. He went 95-104 in parts of two seasons with the Cubs, but never really could get the team trending in the right direction.
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Thibodeau had some serious success with the Bulls, bringing them to the Eastern Conference Final in 2011, but he couldn’t quite get the team over the hump, going 255-139 in those five seasons at the helm.
Sveum had a rough time with the Cubs, going 134-202 in two full seasons on the North Side. His coaching did help players like Starlin Castro and Jeff Samardzija, but ultimately he couldn’t get the team moving forward fast enough for Epstein and Hoyer to keep him.
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Ventura had a winning record once in five seasons with the team, and finished in fourth place in the American League Central in his final three seasons in charge.
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Trestman was hired by Emery to replace Smith, but things didn’t go well for him, as he was fired after two seasons. He went 13-19 with the Bears, including a 5-11 record in the 2014 campaign.
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Renteria was a solid manager, winning 73 games for the Cubs, but when Joe Maddon became available, the team made the tough decision to let him go.
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Arguably the most successful coach of the Quenneville era in Chicago, Maddon has led the Cubs to four straight playoff appearances, and he helped them to win their first title in 108 years when they captured the World Series crown in 2016.
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The first coach hired by G.M. Ryan Pace, Fox couldn’t turn the Bears around, going 14-34 in three seasons at the helm.
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Currently in his fourth season with the Bulls, Hoiberg has had mixed results, with one playoff appearance and a 113-144 record thus far.
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Renteria has found a new home with the White Sox, winning 129 games in two seasons on the South Side. The team is currently going through a rebuilding process, and Renteria recently signed a contract extension that will keep him around for at least a little while longer.
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Nagy was brought in to be an offensive guru for quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, and while the book is still being written on his tenure, he has done a solid job so far, going 5-3 in eight games.
“Given where we are as a roster, (we) will probably be more focused on trade talk,” Hoyer said. “We do feel like our answers are internal. We need to focus on getting our players to maximize their potential. With that said, I think we’re open to business and listening and that will probably be our focus more than shopping at the top of the market.”
The Cubs are likely heading into luxury tax territory after agreeing to pick up the contract option for pitcher Cole Hamels, and other contracts like Jason Heyward, Tyler Chatwood, and Yu Darvish are also potentially hindering their ability to take on another big contract in the offseason, as penalties for exceeding the luxury tax number multiply exponentially if teams exceed it for multiple years in a row.
As a result, multiple reports have swirled that the team may not get involved in negotiations for some of the higher-profile free agents this winter, including Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, but the team has not explicitly said that they will not be involved in negotiations for either player.
