The Chicago Cubs have spent the past year parting with numerous stars, but that won't stop them from spending this winter.
"We plan to be really active in free agency," Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer said Friday, according to Jesse Rogers of ESPN. "We plan to spend money intelligently."
Over the past few months, the Cubs have non-tendered Kyle Schwarber while also trading away Yu Darvish, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, and Javier Baez in an attempt to cut payroll as costly free agencies loomed. Bryant, Rizzo, and Baez will be eligible this winter.
"There's offseasons when free agency is something you do a little bit of," Hoyer continued. "And obviously we have to be a little more active than usual to fill out our roster because we have a lot more open spots."
Whether the Cubs plan on being active in hopes of reentering contention or whether they simply want to make additions to field a competitive roster remains to be seen.
At 67-85, the Cubs have already been eliminated from postseason contention, sitting fourth in the NL Central and 23 1/2 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Chicago has $38.5 million in committed payroll for the 2022 season, with the majority of that owed to Jason Heyward and Kyle Hendricks.
Theo Epstein stepped down as the team's president of baseball operations this past winter. Hoyer, the team's GM at the time, was eventually promoted to Epstein's old job.
