AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin

The Rundown: Cubs Prioritizing Profits Over Wins, Camp Invigorates Sandberg, Jenks Battling Stomach Cancer

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterFebruary 17, 2025

If the past week has taught us anything, we should feel a little sorry for Jed Hoyer. Tom Ricketts opposes deferred deals and long-term contracts, though going in either direction might have landed Alex Bregman in Chicago. It is not championships that drive this franchise, it’s EBITDA. That forlorn look you saw on Hoyer’s face last week and his carefully chosen verbiage are nearly damning attributes of ownership’s adherence to its budget. Hoyer wanted to sign Bregman much more than any of us may have expected.

Chicago’s pursuit of Bregman can be summed up by the team’s tenets of free agency:

  1. The Cubs have money to spend but won’t cross the CBT threshold except in rare instances where projected profits will far exceed any financial penalties.
  2. Hoyer cannot get ownership to authorize long-term contracts. The Cubs offered Bregman $115-$120 million over four years. Tacking on two years at the same AAV would have got it done.
  3. Ricketts will not endorse contracts that include deferred money. Deferrals benefit owners but usually extend commitments beyond a player’s shelf life.
  4. Ricketts also stated that he hopes to break even each season, whatever that means.

The Cubs would be ripe for a takeover if they were a publicly traded company. A potential target should have multiple consistent revenue streams, steady business, experienced management, the capacity to increase margins, and manageable debt loads. Unusually high or extended liabilities are red flags that tend to dissuade investors. Chicago’s business model allowed Ricketts to sell a minority, non-voting stake in the club for $150 million in 2015, which is significant considering the franchise is worth about $4.2 billion now (as of May 2024) and $1.8 billion at the time of the sale.

It’s fair to say that Ricketts — whose family bought the Cubs and Wrigley Field in 2009 for $845 million — must also answer to those investors. Here’s another idea: Given the venture’s success, why not sell the team? The family could fetch $5-6 billion in a sale, and its investors could profit as much as $350 million.

Though he’s stated publicly he wants to own the Cubs in perpetuity, you could argue that Ricketts is slowly preparing to sell the team. At the very least, it seems like he’s running the franchise like that’s his goal, but that’s simply a matter of business as usual for the Ricketts family. They’ve always maximized profits by staying risk-averse and flexible. With that in mind, winning baseball games is no more or less important than strategies designed to increase the net worth of their investment. That includes real estate development and incorporating tax strategies to protect profits. In that sense, EBITDA is as important as wOBA, wRC+, and xFIP, at least on Chicago’s North Side. Expect the Ricketts family to own the club as long as it remains profitable, which means forever in layman’s terms.

Cubs News & Notes

Odds & Sods

SNL celebrated its 50th anniversary this weekend, though I did not see Anthony Rizzo, Dexter Fowler, or David Ross at the festivities.

Central Intelligence

Spring Training News & Notes

Retired star closer Bobby Jenks is currently fighting advanced stomach cancer. Jenks had four postseason saves when the White Sox won the 2005 World Series. Keep him in your prayers.

Boston third baseman Rafael Devers is not open to switching positions to accommodate Bregman.

The Red Sox have contacted the Padres about a potential trade for Dylan Cease.

Angels outfielder Mike Trout is switching positions, however. He’ll play right field more this season in an effort to stave off injuries.

Yankees outfielder Giancarlo Stanton is dealing with elbow tendinitis that may force him to miss Opening Day.

Juan Soto turned some heads when he arrived at Mets camp over the weekend.

The Brewers, Padres, and Mariners haven’t done much to improve their teams this winter.

Extra innings

The Cubs unveiled their new slogan for 2025, and it’s a little too try-hard for my tastes.

They Said It

  • “There’s pressure no matter where you are. I look forward to it. Everyone’s going to fail sometimes. You look up around the entire big leagues — whether it’s the best of the best or new guys like myself — you find that everybody struggles from time to time. It’s just being able to minimize that, move past it and just accept it for what it is. That’s part of the game.” – Shaw
  • “I can’t share too much about what the conversation was between Counsell and I. But I feel like last year we could have had better communication. So, going into this year, I feel we’re improving upon that. And we’ll communicate better during the season.” – Suzuki
  • “I put it on myself, just doing a better job talking to him. Sometimes, the language barrier makes you lazy, unfortunately. That’s on me. I got to get way better at that. And will. That’s something that I promised Seiya.” – Counsell

Monday Walk-Up Song

Too easy.

Photo of Michael Canter Michael CanterFebruary 17, 2025
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