Chicago Cubs Receive an “A” for Effort – No, Like, the Good Kind

john lackey cardinalsYou didn’t think the winter rankings season was over yet, did you?

In an article at Fangraphs, Dave Cameron follows up his best and worst transactions of the winter, by grading the offseason for all 30 teams.

The Chicago Cubs, you’ll be happy to find, received an A for their efforts.

Indeed, Cameron loved the Cubs offseason so much, they were honored with the top spot among all teams in baseball.

If you recall, we already knew that Cameron was enamored with the Cubs offseason. Just last week, he ranked the Jason Heyward deal (6) and Ben Zobrist deal (9) among the top ten moves by teams this offseason. In addition, John Lackey and Adam Warren both received honorable mentions, in that piece.

In that respect, it’s not hard to see why the Cubs took home an A (hopefully Theo Epstein sticks it to his fridge).

[adinserter block=”1″]Among several reasons for their place atop the list, Cameron says, “They [The Cubs] got one of three +5 WAR players available this winter and paid the lowest price for the youngest one of that group.” Well, when you put it that way, it does sound swell, doesn’t it?

In fact, Cameron went as far as to say, with one exception, the Cubs offseason was nearly perfect. The exception to which he refers, was his preference for the Cubs to use one of their extra pieces to make a move on a true center fielder, so that Heyward could slide back into his more natural right field. Either way, the offseason, at least according to one man, was excellent.

Behind the Cubs, you may be surprised to find the Milwaukee Brewers, who also received an A for their work. To Cameron, they laid the perfect groundwork for their future, calling their efforts “a blueprint”* on how to rebuild a club. Behind the Brewers – and rounding out the top five – are the Mets, White Sox and Braves.

The Cardinals (17) unsurprisingly received a C, due to their lack of movement this offseason. While Cameron understands their track record of home grown success, he believes they will regret their inactivity later this season. Also, the Pirates (25) received a C- for many of the same reason. While both teams are still quite good, we know that questions persist about each, and it doesn’t look like they did much to address them in the winter. The Reds (28) received a D, because, well, their offseason wasn’t especially strong.

Yay for more rankings with the Cubs on top!

*[Brett: Didn’t the Cubs and Astros already draw up that blueprint?]

written by

Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

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