Cub Tracks’ postseason salt, or writings on the wall

Here at CUB TRACKS NEWS AND NOTES™, we have news for you. Jed Hoyer held a Q&A Wednesday morning, and a lot of the news devolves from there. We tried to provide context for some of Hoyer’s remarks. I’m sure you have your own thoughts about Hoyer’s thoughts.

Life begins after the World Series. Until then, this is half-life for most of baseball and the W flag is at half-staff.

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“I don’t mind coming off the bench. I don’t mind playing every day, obviously, but I also don’t mind getting sporadic starts of playing twice in a week-and-a-half period. I feel like I’m adjustable enough as a player where I can handle a ton of roles. Being a mentor is hopefully one of them.” — Matt Duffy.

• Jesse Rogers (ESPN*): Chicago Cubs working on extension for manager David Ross. “We’ve had some preliminary discussions on an extension. Our hope is that David is here for a long time.”
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Chicago Cubs part ways with hitting coach Anthony Iapoce and longtime catchers coach Mike Borzello. “Hoyer said the “bulk” of the coaching staff will be back for 2022.”
• Russell Dorsey (Chicago Sun-Times* {$}): As Cubs move out of evaluation phase, Jed Hoyer lays out plan for offseason roster reconstruction. “We have money to spend this winter, but I think it’s really important that we do that in an intelligent way,” president Jed Hoyer said on Wednesday.
• Spotrac: Chicago Cubs 2021 Payroll. Just so you know. Depth Chart (Fangraphs).
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Kyle Hendricks believes the Cubs remain a free-agent destination: ‘I know a lot of guys would love to play in Chicago’. “From visiting players, you hear it all the time that guys love coming here.” Marcus Stroman confirmed this the other day.
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): Willson Contreras would love to stay with the Cubs long-term, and Hendricks would love that, too. Elaboration on an article from the Athletic, in part. Michael Brakebill has thoughts.
• Tony Andracki (Marquee Sports Network*): What comes next for Matt Duffy and the Cubs? “In a lot of ways, Duffy is the perfect role model for Nico Hoerner.”
• Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): With so much work to do this offseason, the Cubs will have to figure out where Ian Happ fits. “... any evaluation of Happ’s future is clouded by the uneven shape of his career to this point.”
• Jake Misener (Cubbies Crib*): 3 free agents Chicago Cubs should sign but won’t spend money on. “... the Cubs have the resources to pull it off – but it’ll require ownership and the front office being ready to start acting like a big market team again instead of the step-sibling of teams like the Rays.”
• Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Sam Dykstra (MLB.com*): Here are the Arizona Fall League rosters. “There are 17 of MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects slated to play in the AFL this year...” Seven participants are Cubs minor-leaguers, including three of the top 100.

Food for thought:

Thanks for reading.