Cubs rumors: Chicago to be active this winter

With a significant amount of money coming off their books at the end of the 2012 season, the Chicago Cubs will be "active" on the free agent market this winter, general manager Jed Hoyer told Carrie Muskat of MLB.com:

"We will have financial flexibility," Hoyer said. "We’ve been diligent to make sure we do have flexibility and we’re efficient going forward. We’ll obviously be active in the free agent market. That’s a big part of our research and work now is evaluating free agents. We have some money to spend and we’ll focus on it heavily."

Hoyer and team President Theo Epstein are in their first year at the helm of the Cubs. Coming into the season with low expectations but with an eye to the future, Chicago entered the day with the league’s second-worst record, 59-96.

The Cubs have several holes as they prepare for the end of the regular season, but they should be afforded some financial flexibility with large contracts for players such as Carlos Zambrano and Marlon Byrd coming off their books. Chicago could also look to deal one of their more expensive veterans such as Alfonso Soriano, Carlos Marmol or Matt Garza this offseason.