CHICAGO — Chicago Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts anticipates the club’s major-league payroll will end up around the $241 million luxury-tax threshold this year, though that depends on how the rest of the free-agent market shakes out, what happens at the trade deadline and if the team seriously competes for a playoff spot.
In terms of accounting for the competitive balance tax, the Cubs have already committed almost $200 million, according to databases maintained by FanGraphs and Baseball Prospectus. It’s unclear exactly how high that number will be on Opening Day in Japan, but that still leaves some room to add a potential closer and build out the bench.
“We always have the ability to add payroll if we need to at the deadline,” Ricketts told The Athletic on Friday during a conversation at the start of Cubs Convention. “And if there’s a piece we need to keep winning, there’s always that option.”
With three weeks remaining until pitchers and catchers officially report to spring training in Arizona, the Cubs will try to be opportunistic.
“Every team probably sits down and goes, ‘Oh, if we just keep some dry powder, there will be a guy who overplays his hand and signs late,’” Ricketts said. “We could always do that stuff, too. But you don’t control the timing of when these guys sign. And every offseason is different. Nothing will happen for three weeks. And then one guy will sign. And then three other guys want to sign in the next two days.
“You just have to be flexible through the process, and keep an eye open at the end with some dry powder, in case there is someone that might be value-added that comes at a good price.”
Jed Hoyer’s future is to be determined
Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is entering the final season of the five-year contract he signed when he replaced Theo Epstein. The Cubs are 0-for-4 in playoff appearances during that time, but it’s worth noting that Hoyer essentially runs the team the way the Ricketts family wants. Meaning a rational approach to free agents, an emphasis on young talent and a team-building philosophy that fits the budget.
“Jed and I talk every day,” Ricketts said. “The alignment is good. One of the things that he does as well as anyone in the game is balance short-term decisions with long-term implications. He really understands that you might have something that feels good for this year that won’t feel as good in six years or five years. He always has a good sense of balance of what’s best for the organization across time, not just in one season.”
The Cubs were one of nine teams that exceeded the luxury-tax threshold last year, though only by a slight margin, at a time when other National League franchises have pushed payrolls to new heights.
Hoyer gets credit for helping construct the 2016 World Series team as well as a share of the blame for the franchise’s post-championship fall. The Cubs refused to call it a rebuild, but going 83-79 in each of the last two seasons has created a stable foundation.
“You evaluate the front office on a couple levels,” Ricketts said. “Obviously, No. 1, is just the wins on the field. That’s the most obvious metric to check. But it’s just overall organizational health. One thing that’s been very encouraging over the past few years is that we have drafted better. And the guys that we have drafted have developed more quickly than some years past.
“We put ourselves really behind the 8 ball a few years ago with a series of drafts that weren’t very productive. And I think we’re on the other side of that now. We’ve got a lot of players coming through, which will give Jed a lot of trade capital to go into the future.”
Ricketts wouldn’t label this as a playoffs-or-bust season for Hoyer’s front office.
“Every year, the goal is the playoffs,” Ricketts said. “We’ll see how the season moves along with respect to any other types of decisions. But I think we’ve had a pretty good offseason.”
Kyle Tucker doesn’t have to be a rental player
The Cubs made a huge splash this winter when they acquired Kyle Tucker, who quietly produced like a superstar for the Houston Astros. This close to reaching free agency, Tucker will likely play out this season and then explore his options.
While this move appeared to be outside the organization’s comfort zone, Ricketts backed Hoyer’s decision to give up a first-round pick (Cam Smith), an All-Star third baseman (Isaac Paredes) and a versatile pitcher (Hayden Wesneski) for a potential rental player.
“Cam Smith got off to such a great start,” Ricketts said. “Maybe in a few years, people will say we should have traded somebody else. But that’s what it is – there’s a balance to every trade. In this case, I think Jed was right in assessing that we needed an impact bat this season. Hopefully, he’ll enjoy his time here and he’ll be here a long time.”
Whether it’s Tucker or another big-name player from the next class of free agents, Ricketts didn’t rule out a major commitment before the current collective bargaining agreement expires following the 2026 season.
“It could be an element, but it really is not about what’s going to come out of the next CBA as much as what kind of value you’re going to get from the player,” Ricketts said. “I have no idea what the next CBA is going to bring for us. But talent will still cost money. So if you have a good value on talent, just buy it.”
Private equity is a ‘silent’ partner
While interpreting some of the mixed signals around Wrigley Field, ESPN recently floated the idea that “private equity investment has ownership answering to more than just a handful of local minority investors like it did previously.”
Arctos, the private investment firm, has created a portfolio that includes stakes in the Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, Boston Red Sox and San Franciso Giants, among other major-league clubs and franchises in different professional sports.
“A lot of teams have private equity investors now,” Ricketts said. “We’re one of them. First of all, they’re not allowed to participate in any baseball discussions, so they’re walled off from anything to do with payroll or player analysis because they have multiple investments. Never once has Arctos – or for that matter any private equity firm that I know of with other teams – made a comment about hurrying up to win or something like that.
“Ultimately, the private equity investors have very long-term horizons and are just looking to participate in the appreciation of sports assets in general. They don’t need certain win totals or cash-flow numbers. They’re just strong, silent partners.”
Sammy Sosa is back in the picture
Finally ending the estrangement, the Cubs invited Sammy Sosa back to their convention and will induct him into their team Hall of Fame. Sosa’s open letter to Cubs fans last month acknowledged “mistakes” he made during his career that “never broke any laws.” The vague apology – from a superstar who launched 545 of his 609 home runs in a Cubs uniform and generated massive crowds at Wrigley Field – was part of the deal.
“We kind of inherited this weird relationship with Sammy,” Ricketts said. “He left in ‘04 under kind of unfortunate circumstances, and he was kind of on the outs with the team. We came in back in 2009, 2010, and then over time it just kind of became apparent that maybe there was some middle ground here where Sammy can acknowledge that some of the stats from that era are a little suspect, and he can acknowledge that people are a little curious about that. And then we can just accept the fact that there were a lot of guys doing things that the league was discouraging. Everybody kind of has their own opinion. But I think, net-net, it’s just best to bring him back into the organization and move forward and look forward.”
Could Marquee Sports Network merge with CHSN?
“As the landscape for media keeps changing, you probably don’t rule out anything,” Ricketts said, adding that he wasn’t aware of any serious conversations along those lines at this point.
When the Cubs launched their own Chicago network in 2020, they broke away from the Bulls, White Sox and Blackhawks as well as NBC/Comcast. The longtime business partnerships around the United Center – between the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families in control of those teams – made it virtually impossible to add the Blackhawks as the winter programming on a Cubs channel.
The Bulls, White Sox and Blackhawks shuttered NBC Sports Chicago last fall and seemed ill-equipped for the switch over to CHSN, their new venture. While the cable business continues to face fierce headwinds – Ricketts acknowledged that Marquee has been “under stress” on the financial side – the Cubs experienced a far smoother rollout than the CHSN fiasco and believe they are well-positioned to pivot toward whatever comes next.
“We liked Comcast SportsNet back in the day,” Ricketts said. “We were all on one channel, that was fine. This is like breathing new air to have your own network and be able to program how you want. I think it’s been great for fans. We’re going to be loyal to that. Other than that, I don’t know what the future brings in TV.”
(Top photo of Tom Ricketts in 2023: Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
