Ian Happ isn’t ruling out something for his future with the Chicago Cubs.
The left fielder at the least doesn’t want to fret about heading to an arbitration listening to after Happ and the Cubs settled on a $10.85 million wage for 2023 late Friday.
The Cubs additionally reached agreements for this season with their different three arbitration-eligible gamers: infielders Nico Hoerner ($2.525 million) and Nick Madrigal ($1.225 million) and reliever Codi Heuer ($785,000).
With Happ’s arbitration settled and wage in place for 2023, the main focus shifts to long run. Can the perimeters work out a contract extension earlier than he turns into a free agent in 10 months?
Happ, 28, is coming off his finest all-around season, highlighted by showing in his first All-Star Game and profitable his first Gold Glove Award. Contract-extension talks weren’t been a part of the arbitration conversations, Happ stated Friday on the opening of the Cubs Convention on the Sheraton Grand Chicago.
If an extension will get achieved with Happ or Hoerner — who additionally suits the mildew of a participant the staff ought to need to retain — it seemingly would want to occur within the subsequent month.
President of baseball operations Jed Hoyer indicated earlier this offseason that he doesn’t like negotiating extensions throughout spring coaching due to the stress it creates. At the very least, he needs to keep away from beginning negotiations after camp will get underway. Cubs pitchers and catchers report back to Mesa, Ariz., in a month.
Happ has made clear he loves Chicago, however as a union consultant he additionally understands what free company might carry, notably after a scorching market this offseason. Happ ought to match the kind of participant the Cubs would need to be a part of a brand new core.
“It’s all part of it. I’ve loved this organization. I’ve loved every second, except for some time maybe in 2019,” Happ stated with a smile, referring to opening that season at Triple-A Iowa. “Almost each second of enjoying right here and being part of it, it’s actually particular. The metropolis’s particular, the fan base is particular, all these issues. It’s the one factor that I do know.
“On the other side of that, there’s 29 other teams that are competing and doing a great job and you earn the right to be a free agent. That’s a special thing too. I’ve said it before, I’d love to stay here, but you don’t have control of those things.”
Despite the shortage of extension discussions up to now, Happ stated he by no means would rule it out. He additionally famous it’s tough to say whether or not the 4 weeks remaining earlier than spring coaching can be sufficient time to get a deal achieved.
“Every player prefers to do that as early as possible,” Happ stated. “There’s a lot uncertainty on this recreation. And when you will get certainty in some unspecified time in the future in your profession, not that many individuals get to attain that. It’s a reasonably particular factor. So yeah, I believe it’s all the time sooner reasonably than later.
“But there’s a process. There’s cost certainty of a team, there’s getting the roster together, there’s understanding what the future commitments look like. And then things start to fall into place after that, but that’s not my job.”
Nico Hoerner embracing return to second base
Hoerner is understood within the Cubs clubhouse for being a team-first participant and embracing no matter that takes.
So it wasn’t a shock when he was absolutely on board with the Cubs signing shortstop Dansby Swanson, regardless that that meant being moved from a premier place the place he starred defensively in 2022.
“I love playing shortstop,” Hoerner stated. “It was all the time a dream of mine to play shortstop within the main leagues. Got to do it for a full season (final) yr and was happy with how I carried myself. Always can be assured in my capacity to do this, however the wants of our staff are very clear. And it’s not a difficulty in any respect.
“The game is emphasizing athleticism, as much as we’ve had for a long time, and so getting to play second base without three people on that side of the field, it’s going to make for some harder plays. There’s going to be a lot of value at that position, and I’m excited to see what it looks like.”
Hoerner had continued to organize at shortstop till the Cubs signed Swanson. With Swanson within the fold, Hoerner has spent the previous couple of weeks getting acclimated once more at second base, specializing in the finer particulars of the place the place he was a Gold Glove finalist in 2020.
The Swanson-Hoerner tandem will give the Cubs among the finest center infield defenses in baseball.
“It’s a different side of the field,” Hoerner stated, “but I think being on that side of the field for the shift last year, it’ll make it a little more seamless.”
Nick Madrigal seeks a match on revamped roster
With Swanson signed to play shortstop and Hoerner shifting again to second base, what spot Madrigal will occupy for the Cubs stays to be seen. Madrigal performed in 59 video games final season, all at second base.
”I’m simply getting ready for no matter they throw at me,” Madrigal stated. “I’m preparing to do my job, whatever that looks like at the moment. It’s a very exciting time for Cubs fans, everyone that’s part of the Cubs team.”
Hoyer talked about Friday that Madrigal will take reps at third base. He has not performed an inning at third in at the least the final eight seasons, courting to his freshman yr at Oregon State.
“He’s not what you think of a stereotypical third-baseman power slugger,” Hoyer stated, “but he’s a really good hitter, a really good player and he can definitely do it.”
Regardless of the place he performs, Madrigal is aware of all of it begins with being wholesome. Madrigal, 25, had three stints on the injured checklist final season, lacking time with a low again pressure, left groin pressure and proper groin pressure. He performed in 54 video games in 2021 with the White Sox, needing season-ending surgical procedure to restore a torn proper hamstring in June.
”It’s been a few years of the harm bug, however I really feel actually good in the meanwhile,” Madrigal stated. “I’m actually excited to get again on the market. That’s all I need to do, get again on the market and play.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to be at the major-league level. I just want to enjoy it. It feels like these last couple of years there’s been a lot going on, but I’m just looking forward to enjoying this next year.”
Looking again on Madrigal getting back from his torn hamstring, Hoyer stated he most likely would have held Madrigal again final spring coaching if he might have a do-over.
“He’s a competitor and probably tried to convince us he was ready and he probably wasn’t, and I think that’s somewhat on us,” Hoyer stated. “Going forward, (I would) not do that with a player like him who’s always going to tell you he feels good.”
Madrigal has labored one-on-one with a coach 5 days every week this offseason.
”So a lot operating and completely different kinds of lifting,” he stated. “It’s been pretty busy. It’s been nonstop. I feel like I’m in a real good spot.”
Codi Heuer on observe for 2023 return
Ten months into his rehab from Tommy John surgical procedure, Heuer is true the place he needs to be.
Heuer appeared in 25 video games for the Cubs after coming to the North Side with Madrigal within the July 2021 commerce for Craig Kimbrel. Arm soreness prematurely shut down his season, and when he constructed again up final January, an MRI revealed he tore his ulnar collateral ligament, requiring the surgical procedure.
The sequence occurred whereas MLB homeowners locked out gamers, including to Heuer’s distinctive begin to his Cubs profession.
“It’s been strange coming into a new organization and still kind of being the new guy on the outside, but it’s been super slow,” Heuer advised the Tribune. “Every time you go through an injury like this and you step away from the game, it’s kind of weird. I’ve never really been that far away from the game for that long.”
Heuer estimates he’s 5 to 6 months away from with the ability to rejoin the Cubs bullpen. He spent the primary six months of his bodily remedy in Houston and has since been working on the Cubs advanced in Mesa. He has constructed as much as throwing 120 toes and is about to start a throwing development off a mound.
“I was kind of nervous the other day just thinking about it like, man, I haven’t done this in a while,” Heuer stated, “But it’s second nature being on the slope again. You feel like a ballplayer again.”
Shawon Dunston and Mark Grace headline 2023 Cubs Hall of Fame
The former teammates took a second to gather themselves and maintain again tears.
Away from the din of the group Friday night time, Dunston and Grace couldn’t suppress their smiles. Not that they needed to. Chairman Tom Ricketts introduced throughout the opening ceremony that Dunston and Grace, the shortstop-first base mixture that spent eight seasons collectively in Chicago, can be inducted into the staff’s Hall of Fame this summer season.
“Calling it an honor doesn’t do it justice, but to go in with him,” Grace stated, pausing to gather himself. “It simply it couldn’t get any higher.
“Honestly I don’t think I could have a greater day than today as a Chicago Cub.”
Dunston echoed Grace’s sentiments.
“It’s such an honor,” he stated. “When you play, you don’t play for money. The money’s always there. You play for your team, you play for yourself, you play for your family and you play hard.”
Dunston spent 12 of his 18 big-league seasons with the Cubs and earned two All-Star appearances after debuting in 1985. Best identified for his protection and stellar arm, Dunston was a part of an elite double-play mixture with Ryne Sandberg and Grace. The smooth-hitting Grace was a staple of the ’90s Cubs, enjoying 13 seasons on the North Side. A doubles machine, Grace was named to a few All-Star groups and received 4 Gold Gloves throughout his Cubs tenure.
Tribune reporter LaMond Pope contributed.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com