Chicago Cubs president non-committal on 2026 budget-related issues

On Wednesday, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer addressed the media in an end-of-season wrap-up. Budget issues were a prominent topic of conversation.

“As far as the budget stuff, I haven’t had those conversations yet,” Hoyer told media. “I think we’ll sit down over the next two or three weeks and go through that. But yeah, I’m confident that we’re going to have enough money to field a good team. That’s the simplest thing I’ll say, but as far as details, I don’t know yet.”

The vague “enough money to field a good team” doesn’t exactly instill confidence in a Cubs base that has seen lots of budget-minded bargain shopping over the last several years. Despite being a top four MLB revenue generator, the Cubs are routinely a middle-of-the-pack spender when it comes to talent acquisition.

Hoyer, himself, expressed a degree of frustration this past offseason when working to put together a postseason-viable team under the Ricketts’ budget limitations.

“We took it as a real challenge,” Hoyer told reporters back in February. “We knew we had certain constraints. How do we work within those constraints and continue to get better at the same time? Only time will tell if we were successful. But I feel good about what we accomplished this offseason, given that we had some constraints.”

After having signed a multi-year contract extension mid-season, Hoyer has been more diplomatic with his wording, but the core issue remains.

Kyle Tucker, bullpen free agencies

The most headline-friendly issue facing the team this offseason centers around right fielder Kyle Tucker and whether he’ll be lost to free agency amid a multi-team bidding war.

“Kyle, I think he had a good experience here, for sure,” Hoyer commented, in understandably non-committal corporate-speak. “I think he enjoyed playing in Chicago, and I think certainly Wrigley and our fans made a huge impact. But ultimately, I think Kyle has a big decision and I think that he’s earned the right to not only be a free agent, but to be a coveted free agent…

“Obviously now, we’re into free agency and…we’ll be having those conversations. Like I said a bunch of times during the season, everyone could use a guy like Kyle Tucker. Everyone gets better by having a player like that. We’ll certainly be having those conversations.”

Aside from the Tucker issue, the bullpen will need an almost complete rebuild as 2025 relief anchors Brad Keller, Drew Pomeranz, and Caleb Thielbar join Michael Soroka, Aaron Civale, Taylor Rogers, and Ryan Brasier in becoming free agents.

Arbitration and extensions

Rehabbing ace Justin Steele, catcher Reese McGuire, reliever Eli Morgan, and swing man Javier Assad will also be arbitration-eligible. The decision will have to be made to either pay up or non-tender.

The team will also have to make some huge decisions at the end of next season as the contracts of Nico Hoerner, Seiya Suzuki, Ian Happ, Jameson Taillon, Matthew Boyd, and Carson Kelly are all due to expire.

Hoyer talked extensions during Wednesday’s press conference, but shied away from going into any detail.

“My hope and expectation is that we’ll have extension talks with a number of players this offseason,” Hoyer told media. “My hope and expectation is that you never find out about it. But, yes, we have a number of players we’d like to keep long-term and we’ll have those conversations.”

With clean books going forward (the only contract extending past 2026 is Dansby Swanson’s) and a budget well below the luxury tax threshold, there’s no reason NOT to be all-in when it comes to investing in some high-end talent this offseason.

If Tucker is allowed to walk, as is widely believed, there will be even more money in the till for top shelf incoming talent.

The question is whether the Ricketts will open up their wallet to push forward or if they’ll be content with the team being just competitive enough to keep Wrigley full and the playoffs as a possibility.

The Cubs are clearly just one or two steps away from a World Series reality. Their moves this offseason will determine whether they’re serious about getting there.