Cub Tracks’ non-tender is the night

Welcome to today’s edition of Cub Tracks news and notes™, a greatest-hits collection of Chicago-style beat writers and bloggers, ground from #Cubs, #MiLB, and #MLB baseball, overheated, and then cold-brewed overnight for maximum flavor.

Haha hoho the Mets lost. To the Padres. Now the Friars need to get untucked by the Dodgers, who then need to be frozen in place by the Braves or Phillies, the two NL teams remaining that don’t fill me with fear and loathing. I don’t really care which AL team wins as long as it isn’t the Yankees.

Jed Hoyer had his annual end-of-season press conference Monday morning. Al reported on it, and certainly others will have their interpretations. We’ll cover those here, and add whatever is out there floating around the Cubbieverse. The entire speech is below.

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• Marquee Sports Network*: Top 10 Cubs moments from 2022. “... in chronological order.”
• Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation*): The initial 2023 Cubs arbitration projections are out: Could be a lot of non-tenders coming. “For the most part, any tender decision the Cubs do or do not make will be more about the 40-man roster spot than about the money.” Evan Altman has thoughts.
• Jordan Bastian (MLB.com*): How Cubs plan to build on second-half momentum. Jed Hoyer: “I don’t like the feeling of being a spectator and watching on my couch.” Tony Andracki has words about this.
• Paul Sullivan (Chicago Tribune* {$}): The power of spending big is evident in this year’s MLB postseason. Can you buy a World Series? “You have to build it. And that’s what we’re doing,” says Tom Ricketts.
• Meghan Montemurro (Chicago Tribune* {$}): Will the Chicago Cubs pursue top-tier free agents? Jed Hoyer vows they will ‘be aggressive’ while weighing ‘intelligent spending.’ “I know that we have some holes to fill and we’ll be aggressive to try to fill those holes in the best way possible,” Hoyer said. Maddie Lee has words about this also.
• Sahadev Sharma (The Athletic {$}): Three (non-shortstop) positions the Cubs need to fill for next season. “You can’t buy a championship team in baseball,” Ricketts said.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): These 7 under-radar players could be Cubs fits. “... such signings are a big part of what eventually makes a team successful.”
• Gordon Wittenmyer (NBC Sports Chicago*): Why you can cross Carlos Rodón off Hoyer’s free agent list. “We’re actively looking for quality innings, pitchers we feel like we can work with and potentially make better,” Hoyer said.
• Evan Altman (Cubs Insider*): Bob Nightengale reports Cubs ‘Have no interest in keeping’ Willson Contreras.” Consider the source but hmm. Tony Andracki has words about Contreras. Tim Stebbins also wrote this up. Ryan Taylor has thoughts also.
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs’ Ed Howard ‘doing well’ in rehab from hip injury. “He’s starting to move around well. He looks good,” Hoyer said.
• Tim Stebbins (NBC Sports Chicago*): Cubs have taken ‘first steps’ on contract extensions. “Certainly, there are players that we’d love to keep in a Cubs uniform for a long time,” Hoyer added.
• Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney (The Athletic {$}): Matt Mervis saw what it’s like at Wrigley and wants chance to be part of next core. “The players at breakfast (told us) when you play well, you do things for this city, they’ll love you, they’ll treat you like royalty forever,” Mervis said.
• Jim Callis (MLB.com*): Brennen Davis, Cubs prospects seizing AFL opportunity. Indeed Davis made up for lost time.

Food for Thought:

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