While this may not be their top objective this winter, the Cubs are reportedly hard at work on their first offseason priority according to 670 The Score’s and Marquee Sports Network’s reporter Bruce Levine. This past weekend, Levine said the Cubs are working on a contract extension with veteran starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks.
Hendricks, who returned from a capsular tear in his right shoulder back in May, had a solid bounce back year and showed the Cubs enough to keep them interested in retaining him around following a couple tough seasons for the World Series hero. The righty has a club option worth $16.5 million for the 2024 season, but the team is hoping to negotiate a multi-year deal according to Levine.
Unfortunately, Levine didn’t reveal any other details about what a contract extension could look like for Hendricks or what the Cubs may be thinking in these talks.
Following the end of the regular season, Jed Hoyer expressed his desire to keep Hendricks in a Cubs uniform for a while longer.
“His season was exceptional given, truly I didn’t have a great sense of what we were going to get out of him. “Obviously I’m not going to negotiate anything with you guys right now but certainly we want to keep him as a Cub for next year and beyond.”
Jed Hoyer on Kyle Hendricks
Hendricks ended 2023 with a 3.74 ERA, posting a 2.8 fWAR in 137 innings. There were definitely some positive signs that a healthy Kyle Hendricks can still be a productive starter. He made 24 starts and Hendricks only allowed four or more earned runs three times. Really, there was just that one brutal start against the Atlanta Braves in early August that was truly bad for Hendricks in 2023.
If the Cubs and Hendricks are able to work out a new deal I think you have to imagine the team wants to lower the average annual value from that $16.5 million salary for 2024. Maybe three years, $30 million to $33 million? Now, that’s just a pure guess from me, but I do think it’s fair to debate either side of using that money to keep Hendricks around or use it to target other pitchers.
No matter what, the Cubs must seek out top tier starting pitching this offseason, whether that’s in free agency or via trades. Even with a solid group of young starters that are fantastic depth in 2024, you can never have enough good starting pitching.
