The Cubs have decided not to tender Kyle Schwarber a contract for 2021, in a move reflective of an offseason plagued by uncertainty.
The club made the announcement Wednesday, marking the first major move in Jed Hoyer’s tenure as the president of baseball operations. The Cubs also non-tendered center fielder Albert Almora, another former Cubs first-round pick, as well as designated hitter José Martínez and reliever Ryan Tepera.
Before the Wednesday evening non-tender deadline, the Cubs agreed to terms on 2021 contracts with relivers Dan Winkler ($900,000), Colin Rea ($702,500), and Kyle Ryan (split $800,000 MLB/$250,000 MiLB). They tendered contracts to shortstop Javier Báez, third baseman Kris Bryant, outfielder Ian Happ, and catchers Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini.
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Schwarber, who made a base salary of $7.01 million in 2020, was among the Cubs’ most high-profile arbitration-eligible players, behind Báez and Bryant.
"He's always going to be a Cubs legend," Hoyer said of Schwarber. "There's no question about that -- as he should be. And we've known each other for a long time. That's one of those things, when we draft and develop these guys, you really build meaningful relationships with those guys and that makes those conversations that much harder."
Hoyer said he told Schwarber that the Cubs will continue to talk to his agent about ways they could bring him back as he hits the free agent market.
"I wanted to express that to him," Hoyer continued, "but also to express that if that doesn't work out, our affection and gratitude for all he's done."
MLB
The collective bargaining agreement limits salary cuts to 20 percent for players under continuous club control. Non-tendering Schwarber allows more flexibility in continued talks.
Hoyer is operating with a “range,” rather than a set budget, he said last week.
“I think this year is a challenging year from a budgeting standpoint, for 30 teams, and probably millions of businesses around America,” Hoyer said. “We have questions about when the season is going to start, and the number of games we're going to play, and how many fans are going to be in the stands.”
The Cubs selected Schwarber No. 4 overall in 2014. He suffered a serious knee injury two years later but made a miraculous return for the World Series. The next three seasons, the left-handed slugger hit between 26 and 38 home runs each year.
This season, he hit just .188/.308/.393 in the unprecedented circumstances of the coronavirus pandemic.
Between him and Almora, the Cubs non-tendered two of their three highest draft picks in the past decade.
Almora joined the organization in 2012, as former president of baseball operations Theo Epstein’s first draft pick with the Cubs. The club selected Almora No. 6 overall, ahead of pitchers Max Fried and Lucas Giolito, and shortstops Addison Russell and Corey Seager. Almora had made quite the splash in his young amateur career and was named USA Baseball’s Athlete of the Year in 2011.
The outfielder made his big-league debut in 2016, and in Game 7 of the World Series, he scored a go-ahead run as a pinch runner. Almora continued to impress through 2018, when his absence from the All-Star team was widely considered a snub. In the past two seasons, however, Almora’s batting has average dropped to .236 and .167, respectively.
After having what Cubs manager David Ross called, “one of the best quarantines that you could have," Almora struggled at the plate this past season. He only got 30 at-bats (5-for-30), as Ian Happ secured the role of everyday starter in center field. Halfway through the season, the Cubs optioned Almora to the South Bend alternate site. After avoiding arbitration in 2020, Almora made a base salary of about $1.6 million.