Cubs agree to deal with ex-World Series champion slugger

The Chicago Cubs’ splashy offseason continues.

Jesse Rogers of ESPN reported on Wednesday that the Cubs agreed to a free-agent deal with veteran slugger Eric Hosmer. Rogers notes that the Cubs will only pay Hosmer the minimum salary since the San Diego Padres are still on the hook for the final three years of Hosmer’s contract.

Hosmer, a four-time Gold Glove Award winner and former All-Star who won the World Series with the Kansas City Royals in 2015, recently turned 33. He hit .268 overall last season with eight homers and 44 RBI, but a back injury limited him to 104 appearances. Hosmer was designated for assignment last month by the Boston Red Sox, who acquired him in the middle of the 2022 season in a trade with the Padres.

While the lefty-hitting Hosmer will have to prove his health, he could be a meaningful addition for the upstart Cubs. After winning just 71 games last year, Chicago brought in All-Star shortstop Dansby Swanson as well as another big-name reclamation project of sorts like Hosmer in Cody Bellinger.