Jed Hoyer buys in on Chicago Cubs roster after strong stretch leading to trade deadline – The Denver Post

Jeimer Candelario, back in the Wrigley Field home dugout for the first time almost exactly six years later, glanced down at his new first baseman’s mitt.

Well, not really new but borrowed, a smiling Candelario noted. Written in script across the light blue glove is Chicago Cubs teammate Miguel Amaya’s name. Acquired Monday by the organization, Candelario started at first base Tuesday night against the Cincinnati Reds.

It’s a position manager David Ross said the 29-year-old switch hitter will play a “significant amount.” Except Candelario, who hasn’t played first base since 2020 in Detroit, no longer owns a first baseman’s mitt. He bought a couple after that season but then didn’t play the position the following year and he gave them away.

So, for now, he is borrowing Amaya’s, but it’s Candelario’s offense and the power he adds to the Cubs that makes his addition especially valuable over the next two months as they try to get back to the postseason.

“For me, it’s just having fun wherever I am,” Candelario said. “… When I got the call that I was playing first base, I was a little surprised, but I’m in the position to help the team win. I want to bring energy and bring some positivity, anything I can do to help my team win. That’s what I’m here for.”

President Jed Hoyer had to play both sides of the buyer-seller divide in the two weeks leading up to Tuesday’s trade deadline. The groundwork needed to be laid as the Cubs waited as long as possible to commit to one direction. The Cubs’ comeback Wednesday against the White Sox, erasing a 7-2 deficit, and their victory Friday in St. Louis when Mike Tauchman’s robbery of a would-be walk-off home run to end the game were two moments of an eight-game winning streak that pushed Hoyer and the organization to add to the roster.

Hoyer and the front office ultimately shifted fully into buyer mode Sunday night.

“You realize this group believes in each other and it’s definitely the right thing to do to keep them together and let them play the last two months,” Hoyer said. “In a lot of ways, they made it really easy the way the team played. When you look at where we are in the season, it’s been an odd path for sure, but if you look at the way we’ve played since really early June, we’ve played great baseball. It’s a cohesive group.

“We look at the underlying numbers, the team is even better than the record and fans are really responding to this group.”

To open a roster spot for Candelario, Trey Mancini was designated for assignment before Tuesday’s game. Mancini was in the first season of a two-year, $14 million contract, leaving the Cubs on the hook for $7 million in 2024 if he goes unclaimed on waivers as expected. Mancini, 31, hit .234 and had a .299 on-base percentage and 72 OPS+ in 79 games. With Candelario slated to get a lot of playing time at first base and Patrick Wisdom expected to get starts at first against left-handers, Hoyer cited the lack of playing time available for Mancini going forward.

“It felt like the right time,” Hoyer said. “He struggled with us. … He’s a great teammate and worked really hard and sometimes guys come in and play above expectations and in this case, that didn’t happen.”

The Cubs could have used a veteran bullpen arm or two to support a back end of the ’pen that features untested playoff pitchers, however, they couldn’t make a trade work. There was a lot of banter on deals but nothing close to being completed Tuesday, Hoyer said, adding that Candelario was a priority acquisition and who they went after the most aggressively.

“We tried pretty hard and we were definitely in on a lot of different guys,” Hoyer said.

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