{"id":472790,"date":"2026-02-16T23:54:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-16T23:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/472790\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T23:54:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T23:54:08","slug":"chicago-cubs-tom-ricketts-has-high-expectations-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/472790\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago Cubs’ Tom Ricketts has high expectations for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

MESA, Ariz. \u2014 As players started to trickle out of the clubhouse with bats and gloves in for the Chicago Cubs\u2019 first full-squad workout Monday, Chairman Tom Ricketts<\/a> stood off to the side, taking in the scene.<\/p>\n

The Ricketts family enters its 17th season owning the franchise and coming off the Cubs\u2019 first playoff appearance since 2020, the long-term vision remains the same.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to win more World Series,\u201d Ricketts said Monday. \u201cI mean, it\u2019s about winning. All this other stuff, it all leads to one thing, and that\u2019s about winning. We just have to put the kind of teams on the field that can be in the playoffs every year and get back on top.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ricketts and manager Craig Counsell each addressed the full team Monday morning to outline the expectations. Counsell expressed how it takes a lot of hard work to build a team like this and while it\u2019s fun to be part of something special, for players that means it\u2019s challenging to make the team and contribute. And with that come responsibilities and a standard the Cubs expect.<\/p>\n

Ricketts, as he does every spring when he speaks to the team, reminded players to always treat Cubs fans like gold and that what they do means so much to a lot of people. The Cubs begin spring training with heightened scrutiny on what should be one of the best teams in the league.<\/p>\n

\"ChicagoChicago Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts talks with members of the press during the first day of the Cubs full-squad workout at spring training at Sloan Park on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, in Mesa, Ariz. (Armando L. Sanchez\/Chicago Tribune)<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we want to win the division \u2014 we should win the division,\u201d Ricketts said Monday. \u201cIt\u2019s just a matter of executing, staying healthy and I think what we should be right there. You want to win the division for a lot of reasons, not just because it\u2019s aggravating not to, but you want to put yourself in the best position for the playoffs as well, so hopefully we\u2019ll execute against that plan and be there at the end of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone had high expectations last year, and I think they\u2019re higher this year. I mean, obviously we have effectively the same team as last year plus a couple of key components that should contribute. So, yeah, I would expect everyone to have higher expectations this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cubs are currently about $500,000 under the $244 million threshold of the Competitive Balance Tax and would be a first-time payor. The penalties reset, as the team stayed under the \u201cluxury tax\u201d last season after exceeding the first tier by just $570,309 in 2024. There are obvious unknowns about what the CBT system will look like after this season because of the expiring collective bargaining agreement. But Ricketts didn\u2019t sound overly concerned about the Cubs going over the CBT threshold this year. He reiterated that president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer will have financial flexibility at the trade deadline if needed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way we put our finances together is more related to what we can afford as a club and what falls out of all the different revenue opportunities that we try to take advantage of,\u201d Ricketts said. \u201cSo, it isn\u2019t really the big factor this year. Hopefully we\u2019ll have a great year and it\u2019ll all fall right in place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photos: An inside look at Chicago Cubs spring training<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Hanging over this season is the uncertainty about how CBA talks will unfold between the league and the MLB Players Association \u2014 and a possible work stoppage that could impact next season. As for what advice he would give Cubs fans who worry about what could happen after this season with CBA negotiations, Ricketts said, \u201cEnjoy the season and enjoy the games because we have them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth the league and the Players Association want to make some improvements from their perspective,\u201d Ricketts said. \u201cI leave that to the league, and we\u2019ll see where it goes.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the biggest looming fights in CBA discussions is whether the league, and by extension the 30 owners they represent, pushes to implement a salary cap. Asked if he would be in favor of a salary cap, Ricketts sidestepped the topic, stating, \u201cThat\u2019s all at the league level.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, we\u2019re all watching the same movie with what\u2019s happening in the league,\u201d Ricketts continued. \u201cThere\u2019s probably ways to improve it, and I think most people see ways to improve it. But once again, that\u2019s between the league and the Players Association.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MESA, Ariz. \u2014 As players started to trickle out of the clubhouse with bats and gloves in for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":472791,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[208941,479,17879,219270,363,15240,215790,99,63077,160044],"class_list":{"0":"post-472790","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-cactus-league","9":"tag-chicago-cubs","10":"tag-jed-hoyer","11":"tag-luxury-tax","12":"tag-mlb","13":"tag-salary-cap","14":"tag-sloan-park","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-spring-training","17":"tag-tom-ricketts"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472790","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=472790"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/472790\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/472791"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=472790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=472790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=472790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}