Cubs' Jed Hoyer Reveals Top Offseason Priority After MLB Playoff Elimination with Padres Sweep

In one of the least surprising revelations of the still-early offseason for the Chicago Cubs, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer knows they need to improve their pitching staff going into 2027.

During his end-of-season press conference on Friday, Hoyer told reporters their pitching "has to improve" if the Cubs are going to be a World Series contender:

"From a pitching standpoint this year, it was sort of a struggle from the get-go. Overall, the quality of the pitching has to improve. The great majority of our focus [this winter] is going to be on pitching acquisition. I think we're in a good, remarkably healthy position on the position player side. I think that we have to focus our resources and energy on the pitching side predominantly."

Hoyer's comments come two days after the Cubs were swept in the NL Wild Card series by the San Diego Padres. Nothing went well for them in those two games, as they were outscored 12-1, but their lack of impactful starting pitching was particularly noticeable.

Matthew Boyd and Kevin Gausman combined to allow seven runs in 7.1 innings.

Hoyer tried an in-season fix for the rotation by trading for Gausman and Clay Holmes prior to the trade deadline. Neither player offered much help, as the Cubs' starters posted a 4.36 ERA from Aug. 3 through the end of the regular season.

It's especially notable that Chicago's rotation still finished in the bottom half of MLB in ERA despite having by far the best defense in the sport. The Cubs' 115 defensive runs saved was 28 more than any other team.

Hoyer also shouldered the blame for how he built the bullpen, leading to some of their late-inning struggles.

"I did a poor job in the bullpen this year, full stop," Hoyer said. "The guys we acquired this winter didn't produce nearly as well as they did a year ago. ... Some of that was based on injuries to some guys we were really counting on, but some of it was based on poor performance, some poor acquisitions."

The Cubs' 28 blown saves this season were tied for sixth-most in MLB. The Chicago White Sox (30) were the only playoff team that had more blown saves in the regular season.

Another reason Hoyer plans to target pitching is out of necessity. Gausman, Holmes, Boyd and Shota Imanaga could all become free agents.

Boyd has a $15 million mutual option in his contract. Holmes' deal contains a $12 million player option.

Those four pitchers accounted for 400 innings with the Cubs this season.

There is also some work that needs to be done with the lineup since Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are also set to hit free agency, but Pete Crow-Armstrong and Alex Bregman will be back in 2027 to give the group a high floor.