CHICAGO (AP) — New Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer is insisting the team plans to remain competitive while it retools.
The Cubs dealt NL Cy Young Award runner-up Yu Darvish to the San Diego Padres for pitcher Zach Davies and four young minor leaguers on Tuesday. It was Hoyer’s biggest move since he was promoted from the general manager when Theo Epstein resigned in November.
Hoyer said the Cubs are not “going to run the same playbook” they ran in 2011 and 2012. The team tanked to 101 losses in 2012 during a painful rebuild that led to a World Series championship in 2016.
In other baseball news:
— The Chicago White Sox and outfielder Adam Engel have agreed to a $1.375 million, one-year contract to avoid arbitration. The 29-year-old Engel hit .295 with three homers and 12 RBIs last season. He recorded the final out of Lucas Giolito’s no-hitter against Pittsburgh on Aug. 25 when he extended on the run to catch Erik Gonzalez’s slicing drive toward the right-field line. Chicago has three players remaining eligible for arbitration — Giolito and fellow right-handers Reynaldo López and Evan Marshall.
