MESA, Ariz. \u2014 As the Chicago Cubs\u2019 front office worked to build its 2016 roster, then-team president Theo Epstein seemed singularly focused on what could go wrong. His insistence on going through various doomsday scenarios and then figuring out how to solve them bordered on obsession.<\/p>\n
But the need to build out a roster so deep that it would overcome any surprise and clear any hurdle wasn\u2019t borne out of paranoia. Years of experience had taught him that there were no shortcuts to building a championship club, and no potential danger was too small to consider. Everything had to be considered and addressed. It was an exhausting task, but one that paid off in a season the Cubs and their fans will remember forever, the ending of 108 years of misery with a World Championship.<\/p>\n
Now, as the Cubs approach a season with the highest expectations since Epstein\u2019s departure, those headaches belong to Jed Hoyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, it\u2019s a super-healthy mindset,\u201d Hoyer said with a laugh as he looked over at general manager Carter Hawkins. \u201cI think that\u2019s most of the conversations I have with Carter. Just where are the pitfalls? If this guy gets hurt, who slides in? I think that\u2019s very natural.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hoyer is nearly five years removed from a few-day stretch that set the course for this current Cubs group. The disbanding of the World Series core at the 2021 trade deadline might have been overdue, but it was a difficult moment for the organization and fans. The amount of talent shed from the big-league roster meant that, as much as everyone wanted it to be a quick turnaround, building a contender would be an arduous process.<\/p>\n
But that process has finally begun to unearth on-field results. Last year\u2019s postseason appearance is just the start. That\u2019s the hope in Cubs camp, at least. Now the goals are loftier.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know the expectations are high, which I think is great,\u201d Hoyer said. \u201cIt\u2019s what you want. The excitement in camp is palpable. The players are talking about it. The coaches are talking about it. They\u2019re excited about our team. They\u2019re excited about our group, both from a talent standpoint and from a camaraderie standpoint.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many of the guys were here last year, and I think they feel like we had a really good season, but there\u2019s unfinished business. I think in a lot of ways that\u2019s the best kind of spring training, when there\u2019s a hunger.\u201d<\/p>\n
The realistic setting of higher goals \u2014 every team is optimistic coming into the spring, but this year feels different for the Cubs \u2014 comes with a change in focus for the front office. The mindset can shift from accumulating impact talent to working around the periphery of the roster.<\/p>\n
The big moves have been made to make this team a legitimate World Series contender. A rebuilt bullpen, along with the additions of Alex Bregman and Edward Cabrera, are the types of moves fans have been waiting for. The type of activity that shows the Cubs are actually willing to go the extra mile to fill their needs and complete an offseason that actually raises expectations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt makes it even more exciting when No. 3 (Bregman) comes here and he\u2019s got a locker now,\u201d starter Matthew Boyd said. \u201cWe get Cabrera. Those are the things that (make you) go, \u2018Okay, cool.\u2019 We know our mission.\u201d<\/p>\n
Those are the moves that everyone notices, that get the headlines and move the needle. They\u2019re the additions that have to be made to catapult a team from also-rans to setting the pace.<\/p>\n
But the transactions that often go overlooked can make a difference in the end, too. Games are often won in the margins. A random out by a reliever who began camp as a non-roster invite. A stolen base by a speedy bench player that set up a game-winning RBI. A huge pinch-hit by a veteran bat in a critical August game. Those players may not be well-known, but they can make an indelible impact by season\u2019s end.<\/p>\n
That is what the front office will continue to focus on as the season approaches.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe \u2018D\u2019 word, right?\u201d manager Craig Counsell said. \u201cYou\u2019re just going to keep saying, depth, depth, depth. At this time of year, with a mountain of games ahead of you, there\u2019s a lot of unpredictability about it. So you build depth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even as his free agency drags on, the Cubs are unlikely to land starting pitcher Zac Gallen. The longer he lingers on the market, the more concerned the Cubs front office will be that Gallen can even be an effective starter this season without a normal spring training to ramp up. A one-year deal, or an opt-out after one year, makes little sense when it means losing a draft pick. Gallen should have other suitors who would be a more logical fit.<\/p>\n
In general, the depth of the rotation looks strong. Assuming health, the Cubs will open the season with Cabrera, Boyd, Cade Horton, Shota Imanaga and Jameson Taillon as their starting five. Justin Steele is progressing in his rehab from elbow surgery and won\u2019t be rushed. Whether that means returning to the team in May, June or even later in the summer will depend on how his rehab progresses.<\/p>\n
After that, the Cubs have Colin Rea, Javier Assad (who was at camp on Thursday after being delayed by visa issues), Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks as rotation depth on the 40-man roster. Jaxon Wiggins is a top pitching prospect in camp, and Vince Velasquez and Kyle Wright are both non-roster invites with MLB starting experience, giving the club the type of veteran depth all teams seek.<\/p>\n
Starting pitching won\u2019t be a primary focus when it comes to those discussions Hoyer and Hawkins have within the front office. But that doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not brainstorming daily on how to improve.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to constantly think about how we can deal with the inevitable injuries and poor performance that happen,\u201d Hoyer said. \u201cIt happens in every season. There\u2019s no season it doesn\u2019t happen. Some seasons you\u2019re more fortunate than others. Our job is to think about every pitfall and every issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try to do that every day, we\u2019re still doing that now. We\u2019ll be on the phone with agents today talking about various players that are still out there. They can add depth and help alleviate those challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adding bullpen depth is something the Cubs are always looking to do. Whether it\u2019s December, March or July, Hoyer will be the first to tell you that he\u2019s always looking for more relievers who can help. Another bench bat could make sense as well. Those types of additions, as far as the 40-man roster goes, are much more likely than more rotation help.<\/p>\n
The process doesn\u2019t end. Accruing actual impact talent is the first step to building a winner. They signed Dansby Swanson to indicate the end of a brief period of losing. And they brought in Bregman to announce that the Cubs are back in the business of big free-agent spending. The heavy lifting has been done.<\/p>\n
Now comes the work that not many will care about, but which could make all the difference. The little things are what matter when expectations are so high. And those lofty goals feel all the more reachable for the Cubs.<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody in this industry wants expectations,\u201d Counsell said. \u201cYou work hard to get expectations. You work really hard to build a roster that has expectations, you work really hard to get on a team that has expectations. That\u2019s what we want. We\u2019re truly excited we have expectations. It\u2019s not easy to get them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MESA, Ariz. \u2014 As the Chicago Cubs\u2019 front office worked to build its 2016 roster, then-team president Theo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466311,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[479,363,99],"class_list":["post-466310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-chicago-cubs","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466310"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466310\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}