Jed Hoyer Discusses Rizzo Extension: “Candidly, We were pretty far apart”
I had written earlier that Marc Pollack, Anthony Rizzo’s agent, told Jesse Rogers of ESPN that the Cubs would not discuss an extension. That piece got a lot of attention, mostly from fans that misread the title and didn’t read the content.
So, let’s reverse things a bit. Back in Theo Epstein’s end of season press conference, he mentioned that the Cubs would sit down with their players with two years left on their deals. Anthony Rizzo is one of those such players. So, while I think there is still plenty of time to work something out with Rizzo, there was some news precedence in discussing Pollack’s remarks (and, I wasn’t the only one talking about them).
To reminisce all the way back to this morning, here is what he said.
The Cubs have informed is that they will not be offering Anthony an extension at this time. Anthony has let his desire to be a Cub for life known to the organization. Although we do not know what the future holds, a deal to make that happen will not be addressed now.”
This is really agent speak now that I have had several hours to sit on it. Pollack is pressuring the Cubs to work something out. Here you have Rizzo, someone who may have lost some leverage by saying, publicly, that he wants to be a Cub for life and an agent that is trying to make that happen.
If you recall, there was some news that the Cubs and Rizzo’s camp were discussing a potential extension last offseason. Because Jed Hoyer and Theo Epstein are good at their jobs (regardless of what some happen to think right now) they have kept in touch with Pollack about Rizzo. In fact, they have spoken to all of their player’s agents quite regularly.
“We communicate with the Cubs constantly,” Scott Boras said when asked about Bryant at the Winter Meetings. “Our doors are open [and we are] more than willing to discuss anything like that on a long-term basis.”
Proof in point.
The Cubs have always worked with the expectation that things be kept between each other. It appears that Cubs general manager, Jed Hoyer, wasn’t too crazy about Pollack discussing this openly.
“Yeah, you know, I think we’ve always kept those conversations in-house,” Hoyer explained on NBC’s SportsTalk Live.
It wouldn’t be the first time an agent spoke out of school in trying to gain an advantage for a client. The only thing here is, if they just sat pat, Rizzo was probably more than likely to get paid. Perhaps this was a bit of a rebuttal for the news that leaked to Jeff Passan during last week’s “manic and aggressive” trade talks where Rizzo’s name was brought up? It can’t be easy to hear a franchise that you love, openly discuss trading you. Especially when you’ve said you want to be there for life, and had already accepted a team-friendly deal to play for the organization.
If there have been conversations, and the relationships with the Cubs and most agents seem to be rather good, I don’t understand the reasoning for Pollack coming out now. I am in sales, and sometimes customers, in an effort to negotiate a better price, try going over my head to my manager or the director. They feel that if they squawk loud enough to the right person, their price gets better. The fact is, I control pricing and provide the best possible price and value. This feels like a customer trying to go over the sales person’s head.
Now, maybe this show gets a reaction out of the Ricketts. Perhaps that is what he was trying to do. So far, it seems like the owners are at home swimming in their cash while Jed and Theo are out explaining to everyone why they can’t afford this or that. If Pollack squawks loud enough, maybe Tom writes a check himself?
Just like the Cubs have likely talked to all 29 other teams and discussed all 25 roster players, the Cubs have constantly tried to have discussions with targeted players to keep in Chicago for a long time. I do get the impression that the Cubs are working off the idea that stars are still willing to accept team-friendly deals when they do sign extensions.
“Are we having those discussions? Yes, “Hoyer continued. “I’m not going to specify who or what, but certainly those conversations are ongoing.”
Case in point is, they haven’t been able to sign any of their guys unless it was a team-friendly offering. Rizzo is on a team-friendly deal. David Bote took the money instead of betting on himself, and Kyle Hendricks took security of a five-year, undervalued deal, instead of looking towards free agency.
We know the Cubs have talked to all these agents, and we have heard the rumors about guys like Kris Bryant turning deals down. But it seems like the Cubs are looking to undervalue their deals in some way, whether it be money or years.
“We’ve had conversations with lots of our guys over a five-year period, and it’s always best to keep it quiet. I think in this case, Rizzo’s agent decided to talk about it and we did have some conceptual talks about what an extension would look like, and I think that candidly, we were pretty far apart in terms of length, and so he decided to come out and say that.
“But we love Rizz, you know? I hope he’s a Cub forever. There’s nothing that’s been done that’s going to stop future conversations, but we did have some conceptual conversations that obviously wasn’t a match at this time. It doesn’t mean there’s not going to be a match at some point in the future.”
Rizzo has been the de facto leader of the Cubs since the 2017 season. While there have been some issues with his back, there hasn’t been any real concern about injuries or the ability to perform. Yeah, he had that unfair quote about playing too much, but this is a dude that gives whatever he can and then some when on the diamond.
Trading for Rizzo was the first significant move Theo and Jed made when coming to Chicago. They backed up that move by signing him to the extension. Now, with just two more years before he can potentially be a free agent, Rizzo and his agent are looking for future security.
