Jed Hoyer Must Now Address Remaining Needs, Plus Thoughts on Potential Revamped Development Philosophy

AP Photo/Nam Y. HuhWhether or not it was actually the case, there’s a palpable sense that the Cubs’ fruitless pursuit of R\u014dki Sasaki stagnated their other acquisition endeavors. And while Matt Festa and Colin Rea might argue otherwise, particularly if the resultant Michael Arias DFA in the latter case indicates what I think it might, perception and reality may not be very disparate here. While I won’t be nearly so bold as to say the next nine days will define Jed Hoyer’s offseason, we will probably use his near-term actions in a sentence when looking back.

Sasaki is a unicorn in that he’s incredibly cheap by free-agent standards and will not immediately require a 40-man roster spot…