AP Photo/Erin Hooley

The Rundown: Cubs’ Pursuit of Sasaki Fails, PCA Named 2025 Breakout Star, Overdose May Have Killed Matusz

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterJanuary 14, 2025

The Cubs had a seat at the table in their attempt to lure Japanese superstar Rōki Sasaki to Chicago, but that’s about it. The Blue Jays, Dodgers, and Padres are the young pitcher’s finalists, which means the Cubs will pivot from another miss. Jed Hoyer is getting blamed by some fans, but Sasaki didn’t eliminate Chicago’s North Side Baseballers over a lack of funds. Some poor optics, circumstantial or not, may have hurt Chicago’s chances, however.

  1. Though Sasaki can only be paid from any team’s bonus pool, Hoyer’s frugality could have played a role. Kyle Tucker could not reach a pre-arbitration agreement with the Cubs because the two sides were $2.5 million apart. The team also traded Cody Bellinger to the Yankees for Cody Poteet to escape the right fielder’s contract. Hoyer banked those savings and appears to be trying to trim payroll, whether that’s a mandate from Tom Ricketts or not.
  2. The front office has yet to do enough to reach its stated goal of 90+ wins. The Cubs won 83 games in each of the last two seasons and have improved marginally since. The most recent projection I’ve seen is 86.5 wins. That may be enough to compete in the weak NL Central, but it won’t contend with the likes of the Dodgers, Mets, Padres, and Braves. Sasaki would have helped, but the Cubs again lack firepower similar to the league’s juggernauts on the mound and at the plate.
  3. Jason Heyward still has the largest contract in club history. Hoyer also avoided extensions with the team’s 2016 core and traded Yu Darvish — their most expensive starter — at the start of this decade for prospects.

Jack Flaherty is still available if the Cubs want to add another starter, but Hoyer probably isn’t interested. Justin Steele, Shōta Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, and Matthew Boyd are locks for the rotation. Javier Assad will compete with Colin Rea to be Chicago’s fifth starter. Ben Brown and Jordan Wicks are rotation candidates, and Caleb Horton and Brandon Birdsell are expected to see time in the bigs this season.

Hoyer will probably add a reliever, with Kyle Finnegan standing out as a potential option. Porter Hodge has earned the chance to enter camp as a closer, but Finnegan provides flexibility and veteran leadership if Hodge fails. Alex Bregman and Pete Alonso are available and f offense is the target, though Hoyer will likely stick with Matt Shaw at third and Michael Busch at first. James Triantos has a legitimate shot to break camp as a utility infielder who could play outfield in a pinch. His profile reminds me of a young Ben Zobrist, but Triantos needs to continue his development once he reaches the majors.

Alonso is an intriguing option. Without the chance to sign Sasaki, perhaps Hoyer will try to trade Seiya Suzuki to a team that will give the slugger more outfield reps. That’s a pretty big stretch, and it runs counter to Hoyer’s roster management plan. Alonso will earn more than Suzuki even with a potentially discounted price, but he’s likely to produce less. Suzuki was worth 3.5 wins in 2024 and could be worth an additional 0.5 wins if he plays DH exclusively. Alonso was worth 2.6 wins last year and has regressed the last two seasons.

There is a silver lining to Hoyer’s fiduciary thriftiness. Since the Ricketts family bought the team, the Cubs have shown a propensity to roll unused funds forward. Hoyer is still sitting on $30-35 million, and those dollars could be earmarked for extending Steele and Tucker. The executive’s track record indicates otherwise, but the notion shouldn’t be dismissed.

Cubs News & Notes

  • Hoyer’s pursuit of Sasaki may have stagnated other acquisitions that could have strengthened the roster.
  • The Cubs were granted an extra minor league option year for right-handed pitcher Caleb Kilian, a team source confirmed.
  • Now that Sasaki is no longer an option, the Cubs are expected to sign infielders Wilfri De La Cruz, Juan Thomas, and Juan Cabada. The signing period begins on Wednesday.
  • The Cubs DFA’d promising minor league pitcher Michael Arias once Rea’s acquisition became official.
  • The move doesn’t make a lot of sense, but that calculus may change over the next few days.
  • Pete Crow-Armstrong is expected to be one of this year’s breakout stars.
  • For the second straight year, CubsCon will not include ownership or business-operations panels. Sammy Sosa will be there, which is a serendipitous distraction to the lack of player acquisition news. The Cubs are also bringing back Backyard Baseball, a convention staple when Sosa was a player. Heck, let’s bring back Moises Alou and Dusty Baker, too.
  • Speaking of Sosa and Alou, MLB Network is airing Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS this afternoon. I believe that the game negatively impacted Mark Prior‘s career as much as injuries did. Prior pitched to 7.4 wins against replacement that year, which led the league. He was out of baseball three years later.

Get Your Pencils and Scorecards Ready

The Cubs have replaced Bellinger with Tucker, Isaac Paredes with Shaw, Christian Bethancourt with Carson Kelly, and Kyle Hendricks with Boyd. That’s Hoyer’s push-pull process of building a roster, I guess.

Odds & Sods

This is an excerpt from the documentary “Greg Maddux: One of a Kind,” with additional insight from Rick Sutcliffe.

Central Intelligence

Tuesday Stove

It is being reported that Brian Matusz, who started one game for the Cubs in 2016, died of an apparent drug overdose.

The Red Sox hope to sign prospects Roman Anthony and Kristian Campbell to long-term contract extensions.

Justin Verlander expects to return to his All-Star form with the Giants this year.

DirectTV is launching MySports, a sports-focused streaming package offering access to live NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL games across more than 40 channels, including ESPN. The platform should help fix the fractured sports streaming landscape, which currently scatters live NFL, NBA, and MLB games across different services like Prime Video, Netflix, Peacock, Apple TV Plus, and Paramount Plus. Chicago is one of the cities included in the beta launch; the cost is $69.99 per month and a subscription to DirectTV is not required.

Extra Innings

Rest easy, Jed. It appears the heavy lifting is all done.

Welcome Jacob Zanolla

Cubs Insider has a new voice, and he provides fresh ideas, too. Jacob flashes the new leather fragrance of a prized infielder prospect while I’m more like the stale, over-oiled mitt of a backup catcher. Make sure you read his stuff; Jacob has an impressive baseball pedigree. Adding a new perspective also makes my job much easier, and I am grateful for our newest addition.

They Said It

  • “[Brown] … that dude’s a horse. To see him being the spring chicken that he is, doing the lifts, throwing with full effort, and having that personality that he always had. It’s just fun being around him. Watching him throw his bullpens and go through his work. You know the guy is going to be a stud if he gets a full season under his belt.” – Steele
  • “There’s always that push-pull of the things you’re doing for now and things you’re doing for the future. Ultimately, our goal is to try to be a better team than last year, and that’s been our focus.” – Hoyer

Tuesday Walk-Up Song

I’m interested to see where Sasaki’s and Hoyer’s paths will take them over the next 5-6 seasons.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterJanuary 14, 2025
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