The baseball general managers meetings begin Monday in San Antonio, which fittingly is a city without an MLB team.
No problem. Nothing usually gets done at the GM meetings, other than the old standby narratives — opening up conversations and keeping our lines of communication open.
The GM meetings are akin to a movie teaser, a brief synopsis of what’s to come to whet the appetite. Next comes the movie trailer — next month’s winter meetings in Dallas — where the real action begins. The end result is the movie itself — a baseball season that seldom lives up to the hype of the teaser or the trailer.
White Sox general manager Chris Getz, on the heels of a managerial search that included 60 candidates not named A.J. Pierzynski or Ozzie Guillen, will be one of the main attractions of this Texas teaser and then again at the Dallas winter meetings. That’s due to widespread interest in starter Garrett Crochet, whose valuable left arm was protected all summer just for this moment, albeit at the expense of setting the modern record for losses.
Limited to four innings or fewer in his final 14 starts, Crochet went 0-6 while the Sox went 2-12. The team’s plan was endorsed by Crochet, who wanted to make all his regular starts despite the collective taxation on an already taxed bullpen. He proved he could make it to the end, while the Sox proved they were the worst team in baseball history.
Now it’s time to see what kind of package Getz can command for Crochet, who has two years left before free agency.
Cubs President Jed Hoyer, with a renewed sense of urgency to fix the roster in the final year of his contract, also will be one to watch in San Antonio. Chairman Tom Ricketts issued a revealing “non-answer answer” recently when asked about a potential timeline of an extension for Hoyer, telling the Tribune’s Meghan Montemurro: “He’s under contract. That’s the way I see it.”
Please contain your excitement, Tom.
Hoyer’s status aside, it will be a busy offseason for the Cubs as they try to figure out why the sum of the parts did not equal the whole in either 2023 or ’24 despite a change in managers.
Cody Bellinger’s decision to pick up his option for 2025 was confirmed Saturday, giving Hoyer a bit more clarity on what he needs to do and how much money he’ll have to spend.
Bellinger is owed $30 million in 2025, including a $2.5 million buyout, and could be a free agent again after the season if he opts out of the final year of of his three-year, $80 million deal.
Bellinger’s agent, Scott Boras, who also represents the top free agent, Juan Soto, is already practicing his Soto-related puns for his annual media scrum at the GM meetings. At least he won’t have to update his Bellinger pun from last winter, when Boras said Bellinger “just feasted on major-league pitching. I think Chicago got the comforts of a full ‘Belli,’ so they’re going to have to loosen their belts to keep Bellinger.”
Bellinger was considered the top free-agent hitter last winter after Shohei Ohtani but overvalued himself and settled for the Cubs’ deal with two opt-outs at the start of spring training. The Cubs did not get the “full Belli” — injuries and power regression helped reduce his WAR from 4.4 to 2.2.
But with Bellinger in the fold, and Pete-Crow Armstrong cemented in center, Hoyer can now focus on what needs to be done to improve the offense. The Cubs tied for 20th in home runs with 170, and ranked 17th with a .393 slugging percentage. One big bat could change the complexion of the lineup.
Slugging New York Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, another Boras client, would fit the Cubs’ need for more power, though he also comes at a big price tag that Hoyer historically has been reluctant to meet. Soto, perhaps? Only a shocking change in the Cubs’ philosphy would make that a realistic possibility.
Starter Jameson Taillon will be a popular name in the trade-rumor mill for what he could bring in return and give Hoyer a chance to upgrade the rotation with a free agent such as Corbin Burnes or Max Fried. Burnes, who played under Craig Counsell in Milwaukee, could be a prime free-agent target if Hoyer decides to splurge on a top-line starter.
The Cubs haven’t done that since Yu Darvish signed a six-year, $126 million deal in 2018, only to be traded to the San Diego Padres as part of a salary dump when Hoyer took over from Theo Epstein after the 2020 season and began the rebuild that wasn’t called a rebuild.
The Cubs have 14 arbitration-eligible players, and only a couple — Justin Steele and Nate Pearson — shouldn’t have to sweat over the possibility of being nontendered by the Nov. 22 deadline. Isaac Paredes, with a .633 OPS in 52 games after being acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays for Christopher Morel, could be an interesting call. MLB Trade Rumors projects him at $6.9 million. Third base is one position that could be upgraded from outside the organization, or Hoyer could give prospect Matt Shaw a shot in spring training.
The pressure on Hoyer to get the Cubs back to the postseason will build in the coming months, while Getz only needs to reestablish credibility for an organization coming off the most embarrassing season since the expansion 1962 Mets, who lost 120 games.
With a new manager in place in Will Venable and Yoán Moncada’s $25 million option officially declined on Friday, Getz’s next mission is to see what he can get for Crochet and to a lesser extent Luis Robert Jr., whose subpar season and injuries damaged his trade value.
It’s unlikely the Sox will become big players in the free-agent market, barring a new owner in this lifetime. They’ll no doubt look for the Erick Fedde-type of bargain signings that Getz consummated last year. Unfortunately for the Sox, only Fedde turned out to be an actual bargain, a main reason for the record-setting 121 losses.
The Sox have nine arb-eligible players, including Crochet, Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets, the three team leaders. Infielder Nicky Lopez, a good clubhouse guy and Gold Glove Award finalist projected to make $5.1 million, is probably the toughest call. After a season like 2024, no one on the Sox roster should feel safe.
Perhaps Getz can find someone to take on Andrew Benintendi’s albatross of a contract? Benintendi did put up decent second-half numbers — an .830 OPS and 38 RBIs in 60 games. Sox fans are still allowed to dream, right?
Either way, it figures to be an interesting offseason, and it all begins Monday when free agency begins and the GM meetings kick off.
Rest assured dozens of baseball executives, including presidents and special assistants along with the GMs, will be “laying the groundwork” for the 2025 season and “doing our due diligence” on the free-agent market. They’ll also be “exploring all of our options” and “open to any trade possibilities.”
Mind you, no one on any roster is “untouchable,” though it would “certainly take a lot for us to part with (our only star).”
Let the games begin.
