Chicago Cubs president Jed Hoyer must have breathed a sigh of relief when the team got their first victory of the season on Thursday night in a 10-6 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in front of 49,070 fans at Chase Field.
The Cubs were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers last week and need to win every game they can in a challenging March and April schedule that includes three series against the Dodgers, two series against the Diamondbacks, a series against the Philadelphia Phillies, and a series against the Texas Rangers.
A big year for Jed Hoyer
The 2025 campaign is critical for Cubs president Jed Hoyer. He’s entering the season in the final year of his contract. The pressure is on this team to win the NL Central, as Chicago has not made the playoffs since 2020.
Hoyer made a few risky trades this offseason that have been scrutinized by fans and the media. He traded infielders Isaac Paredes and Cam Smith for All-Star outfielder Kyle Tucker, also in the final year of his contract. Smith made the opening day roster for the Houston Astros.
Chicago traded away Cody Bellinger and cash to the New York Yankees for right-handed pitcher Cody Poteet. The Cubs DFA’d Poteet on Thursday, much to the anger of many in the fan base.
Has Hoyer done enough to make the Cubs a legitimate World Series contender in what will likely be Tucker’s only season with the club? Has Hoyer done enough to earn a contract extension?
Chicago Cubs OF Ian Happ praised Hoyer
Per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, outfielder Ian Happ praised Hoyer on Thursday and said the team wants to make sure he returns in 2026.
“Jed’s part of the group that drafted me, I was able to sign an extension with Jed — I love Jed,” Happ said. “He’s been awesome to me and a part of building a lot of great teams that I’ve been a part of. We want to win for each other in this room, but I have nothing but respect for him and want to make sure he stays here.”
Hoyer has been with the Cubs since 2012, and won a World Series with the team in 2016. Chicago selected Happ in the first round of the 2015 draft. He became a rookie in 2017 and is now the longest tenured player on the Cubs roster.
Happ was pleased by the progress the team showed in Thursday night’s win by scoring 10 runs.
“That’s a big part of early in the season, getting off and getting some confidence offensively, guys getting some hits and feeling that is important,” Happ said.
Chicago will play Arizona on Friday night.
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1 Comment
Hoyer should leave now–so should the Ricketrs!