Cubs President Jed Hoyer responds to manager Craig Counsell's '90 wins' comments

PHILADELPHIA — President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer chatted with manager Craig Counsell up the third base line Monday as batting practice concluded before the Cubs' 6-2 loss to the Phillies in the opener of a three-game series.

It was far from their first conversation of the day. They had sat together in meetings in the afternoon. But at this time of year, the two have a lot to talk about. With the Cubs out of the playoff race, they are both finishing the season, evaluating the team from top to bottom, holding final discussions and planning their way forward.

In addition to their ongoing conversations about team construction, Hoyer saw Counsell's comments last week about the wide gap between the National League Central champion Brewers and the rest of the division and the need for the Cubs to work toward building teams that can win at least 90 games.

“That's the goal,” Hoyer said. “And when we talk about a gap, I think we've come a long way. I feel really good about the position we're in, but there's still a gap. We have to make up that last stretch.”

But don't expect the Cubs to go all out in the offseason by signing a ton of stars to huge contracts and trading away a ton of young players. That would run counter to the approach Hoyer has taken so far.

“All of us — from me down — have to ask ourselves, 'OK, what do we need to do this offseason and going forward to get to that point on a consistent basis?'” Hoyer said. “It's not about doing it once; it's about getting to a point where you feel like we can do it on a consistent basis.”

That's been Hoyer's mantra, from the dismantling at the 2021 trade deadline to the rebuilding season in 2022 to a season that revived playoff hopes in 2023 and a disappointing performance in 2024. The ultimate goal has always been sustained success.

The Brewers won the division title and a controversial NL wildcard race, putting a limit on the concept. The NL playoff hurdle is likely to be over 90 wins.

“The goal must be: ‘How do we reach this area?’” Hoyer said.

That question will be at the forefront of the offseason, even if Hoyer didn't go quite so far as to promise 90 wins in 2025. And the answer for Hoyer and the Cubs will likely be less spectacular than fans who want a star team might hope.

The Cubs are expected to be active this offseason, especially when it comes to pitching. While the starting pitchers have been a strength of the team (Shota Imanaga exceeded expectations, Justin Steele cemented his breakout 2023, Jameson Taillon has been consistent all season, and Javier Assad has earned a spot in the rotation), injuries have limited the young pitchers.

Jordan Wicks, Hayden Wesneski and Ben Brown had thrown just 164 innings combined through Monday. And top pitcher Cade Horton was on track to make his major league debut this season before getting hurt. So the health of their young pitchers and finding reinforcements will be top priorities for the Cubs.

Not to mention, the same stadium factors that appeared to dampen the Cubs' offensive output likely helped their pitchers, too. Wrigley Field was the second-most pitcher-friendly home stadium in the major leagues this season, according to Statcast, behind only the Mariners' T-Mobile Park. It was a dramatic turnaround from last season, and it's unclear what conditions the Cubs will play under next season.

On offense, most of the Cubs' positions have been filled by players under the team's control for several years, although they are expected to try to gain more depth and strengthen themselves on the catcher side.

That kind of stability means the Cubs can take advantage of opportunities for improvement for the rest of the roster as they arise, rather than focusing on specific positions.

“It's not just about what holes in the roster we need to fill, but what's available,” Hoyer said. “And then how do we do that? Every offseason, it's complicated, trying to figure out what's available and what's not.”

Counsell, who sees himself more as an advisor in his relationship with management, will remain involved.

“He has an incredible baseball brain, thinks about the game all the time,” Hoyer said of Counsell. “And he's obviously seen an outstanding organization (the Brewers) up close. He's seen what we can do. And those things are an important part of bringing in a different perspective, a person from a different organization.”

Ultimately, as a long-time manager, Counsell helped the Brewers rise to the top of the league.

“We've changed so much in the last three or four years in terms of how we run different departments and how we do things differently,” Hoyer said. “But there's still room to grow, and we'd be crazy not to listen to what (Counsell) says, wants and believes, because you want every single good idea and every single angle and every single perspective, and he can provide that.”

Notes: The Cubs have placed reliever Jorge Lopez on the 15-day IL, optioned reliever Trey Wingenter, Reliever Gavin Hollowell and right-hander Enoli Paredes were claimed off the waivers list.

From Maddie Lee

“He was our best pitcher,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He was our best player, there's no doubt about that. He just delivered and was a tremendous asset to us.”

From Kyle Williams

“Tauch's opening home run is great and puts everyone in a good position,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Bushy also had some big hits today and swung the bat well. We played a good game overall.”

From Kyle Williams