Jed Hoyer said prior to spring training that he planned to sit down to talk about extensions with several of his star players who are approaching the ends of their current deals, and those players have all expressed an openness to staying around. Kris Bryant confirmed as much yet again on Thursday and Javy Báez, who was close to working out a deal before everything stopped last spring, spoke about his future on Friday.
“I don’t want to play for another team,” the shortstop told reporters.
There’s no doubt the Cubs should have money to work out deals for both aforementioned players, along with Anthony Rizzo and Willson Contreras, but there are a few complicating factors at play.