Jed Hoyer enjoys 2025 Chicago Cubs home opener with two looming contracts: Kyle Tucker and his own
Cubs president Jed Hoyer talks Cubs home opener and ongoing contract discussions
What happens with Kyle Tucker's potential contract extension? What about Jed Hoyer's contract? Hoyer himself talked about that before the Cubs' home opener.
CHICAGO - Of the many storylines the Chicago Cubs will create in the 2025 season, there are two that existed before the season even began.
The first is Kyle Tucker's contract. He's playing for the Cubs on a one-year, $16.5 million deal the two sides agreed to which avoided arbitration.
Will the two get an extension done before he becomes a free agent after the 2025 season? The clock is ticking, and Cubs president Jed Hoyer knows he'll be fielding questions about that all season long.
"There's no point in asking all the time," Hoyer said before the Cubs' home opener at Wrigley Field on Friday. "But, you will."
The other storyline is the Cubs' President himself.
Hoyer is in the last year of his contract as the Cubs' chief decision maker. He's been in Chicago since 2012 and he's been calling the shots since 2020.
"Listen, I've been here for 14 years and I love this place," Hoyer said before the Cubs' home opener against the Padres on Friday. "My family loves this place."
Hoyer made the changes this offseason in the hopes fans will fall in love with his team.
Trading for Tucker was by far the biggest, and most costful, addition. He also made plenty of other moves, like trading for closer Ryan Pressley, and whiffed on others, like missing out on free agent Alex Bregman, to try to improve the Cubs beyond an 83-79 record, which is how the Cubs finished the last two seasons.
The Northsiders haven't made the postseason since 2020. Hoyer, hopeful for the change, noted the improvements he's seen in the team so far through nine games and a 5-4 record.
"We're certainly a better team than we were last year, I think both on paper and reality," Hoyer said. "We're a better team and Craig had a lot of input on the team over the course of the winter, which is wonderful."
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No matter what happens in 2025, however, there will still be the looming question of whether Hoyer will get to make amendments to the Cubs' roster ahead of the 2026 season.
"If we ever end up talking, I'd like to keep that internal just like the Kyle Tucker extensions," Hoyer said.
The longer the Cubs wait to finish an extension for Tucker, the more expensive he'll be. In just 34 at-bats to start the 2025 season, Tucker is already batting .324 with four home runs and 11 RBI. He's already proving his worth.
It's just one of the decisions Hoyer will have to make for this franchise in the 2025 season. Another decision will eventually have to be about his future.
Whatever the future holds for Hoyer, he doesn't take the present for granted.
"Even driving to the ballpark today, it doesn't get better than the home opener at Wrigley," Hoyer said. "I don't think you can say that everywhere and I don't take that for granted."