Hoyer: Cubs will have the means to acquire starting pitching
The Chicago Cubs have one primary objective heading into the offseason: acquire pitching help.
"We will look to add multiple starting pitchers at various levels of the organization," general manager Jed Hoyer told reporters Friday. "That's the best way to say it."
Anchored by a Cy Young-worthy year from Jake Arrieta and strong performances from Jon Lester, Cubs' starters posted the third-best ERA in the majors. Chicago also received solid production from Kyle Hendricks and Jason Hammel, though the pair struggled in the postseason, resulting in the front office looking for more established arms during the offseason.
The Cubs have been linked to top free-agent pitcher David Price, and Hoyer and president Theo Epstein have been given the go-ahead from ownership that the funds will be available to make improvements.
"We have the means to fill the holes we want to fill," Hoyer said. "(But) there has to be a level of common sense when thinking about what we've going to do."
| Pitcher | W-L | ERA | IP | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrieta | 22-6 | 1.77 | 229 | 236 |
| Lester | 11-12 | 3.34 | 205 | 207 |
| Hendricks | 8-7 | 3.95 | 180 | 167 |
| Hammel | 10-7 | 3.74 | 170.2 | 172 |
While Price is not attached to draft-pick compensation by way of being linked to a qualifying offer, several other prominent free-agent pitchers are. The Cubs have one of the best young cores in baseball and Hoyer believes this could be an appropriate time to sacrifice a pick in order to sign a free agent.
"The draft pick is important but at the same time when you're in a winning window, you have to look at that consideration different," he said. "The qualifying offer is a consideration as we think about signing a free agent, but at the same time 2016 and beyond are very important years to us. We have a really good core of young players. I think we are a team poised to win. I think that's the most important factor to consider in free agency."
Hoyer also added that while the team would love to keep its young players, the Cubs also can't rule out the possibility of dealing one or more should the right deal come up.
"You never say never," Hoyer said. "If something makes sense to trade some surplus for pitching depth, it's something we have to explore."