Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer clearly wasn’t happy that talks of an extension with young star Pete Crow-Armstrong got out during the season.
He said as much during his end-of-season press conference earlier this week. He also said that he hoped that any future extension talks with current players didn’t become public knowledge. For someone in Hoyer’s position, public negotiations are much harder to manage. But he only has control of his side of the house.
He said that he hoped to have extension talks with several players soon. There were two words that would lead one to believe there’s some seriousness to the intent.
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Hoyer talked about payroll during the press conference. The Cubs have a clear advantage over some other teams — they’re not hanging onto extraneous deals or old money.
“We have clean books going forward, we have good players, and we’ll have those conversations,” he said to Chicago-based outlets including Marquee Sports.
The “clean books” quote is telling. Some teams are paying down salary for players that are no longer on their payroll. A clear example if that is St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Nolan Arenado. When the Colorado Rockies traded him, they agreed to continue paying $5 million per year on his long-term contract to help the Cardinals accept the deal.
The Cubs have just one such deal on their books for 2026. They owe former outfielder Cody Bellinger $2.5 million, per Spotrac. That is retained salary from the opt out of the three-year, $80 million deal he signed with the Cubs before the 2024 season. He is now with the New York Yankees.
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The Cubs have $166 million in 2026 payroll allocation but it’s tidy and wrapped up in nine veterans. Five come off the books after 2026 and two have mutual options in 2027 — pitcher Matthew Boyd and catcher Carson Kelly. With shortstop Dansby Swanson and pitcher Shota Imanaga, Chicago owes just $77 million in 2027.
That’s what Hoyer means by “clean books.” It also means he has no excuses when it comes to trying to keep the youth on his team together, a pursuit that should be separate from keeping outfielder Kyle Tucker in free agency.
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Chicago has a host of pre-arbitration players worth pursuing extensions with, including Crow-Armstrong, who could be an MVP finalist; first baseman Michael Busch, who has one more year before arbitration; starting pitcher Cade Horton, who had an excellent rookie season and should be seen as the rotation’s No. 3 pitcher in 2026; and third baseman Matt Shaw, who grew into the primary third baseman.
Teams use those contracts to help control costs and keep players long-term, even into their free agency. That’s what Hoyer was talking about earlier this week. That’s why “clean books” matter and why Hoyer has no excuse but to make it happen this offseason. The longer he waits, the harder it gets.
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