I was already excited for the upcoming offseason, for all the reasons we’ve discussed a million times over – namely, the dozens of exciting free agents – but the past couple days have reminded just how crazy it can get (in a good way!).
It may have been just a few options being picked up (Pedro Strop, Jose Quintana, Cole Hamels), an opt-out not being exercised (Jason Heyward), and a trade of a pitcher who never threw one inning for the Cubs (Drew Smyly), but it all happened so fast. It was fun remembering how that sort of thing goes down – and how much better it’ll be when their are new names being discussed and added.
Brett taking the wheel here for a few thoughts before you freak about this:
Just remember that we’ve already tried to brace you for this reality, as recently as earlier today. By adding Hamels to the payroll for next year, the Cubs have pushed themselves up to the second tier of the luxury tax, and staying under the top tier (which may be a goal) while adding someone like Harper would necessarily require upwards of $15 million cut from payroll. It’s tight. It’s tough. It’s not impossible, but that’s where things stand on paper, and now, per Mooney’s report.
But I don’t think we should forget the prior reporting from Bruce Levine – he who was, for example, on the Cubs and Jason Heyward long before anyone was thinking that was really going to happen – that Harper is firmly on the Cubs’ radar. I tend to think expectations are simply now being managed. Back to Michael …
According to Buster Olney, the Cleveland Indians will listen to trade offers for some of their veteran players, but don’t get too excited, because Francisco Lindor (24 years old, 7.6 WAR in 2018) and Jose Ramirez (26 years old, 8.0 WAR in 2018) aren’t going anywhere. Instead, Olney mentions Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Edwin Encarnacion, and Yan Gomes. For various reasons, I don’t actually see much of a fit here for the Cubs, but we should keep ourselves especially apprised of the trade market this winter, because the Cubs are likely to be more involved at some level, both because of financial realities and positional gluts heading into free agency. Olney has much more on the Indians offseason plans here at ESPN.
Speaking of the Indians, they did not extend a qualifying offer to Andrew Miller or Cody Allen, but despite warts for both of them, I’d love to see the Cubs pursue either – and while the fact that they will not be attached to a qualified offer isn’t as big of a deal as it once was, it definitely makes things easier on guys you might want on a short-term deal.
Do you remember the 27-year-old Japanese ace who was supposed to be posted this winter? Well, a report out of Japan indicates that his team, the Seibu Lions, will hold a press conference on Monday to announce exactly that. Despite Yusei Kikuchi’s overall talent, however, I remain of the belief that the Cubs will not be serious candidates for his services. He does, however, make this offseason even more interesting!
As for why I don’t see the Cubs getting involved, well, money, for one thing. After re-examining the Cubs payroll following the Hamels/Smyly maneuvers today, the Cubs luxury tax payroll is quite high and that’s before addressing the offense. But more importantly, I genuinely think the Cubs rotation plans for next season are already set (and solid): Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Cole Hamels, Yu Darvish, Jose Quintana. That’s a ton of a veteran presence, an enormous amount of upside, and a good mix of lefties to righties. When you throw in Mike Montgomery and Tyler Chatwood as sixth and seventh options, it’s easy to be content with the Cubs rotation heading into next season.
Manny Machado is not my first choice in free agency, but that has nothing to do with his lack of hustle:
I get that it matters and will rub some people the wrong way, but at the end of the day, if you play well – and, I suppose, don’t consciously try to hurt other players or people, in general – I want you on the team. Hustle, showboating, bat flipping … I don’t care about that stuff. Just be good, contribute, keep yourself healthy, and try to win.
This is more or less what we expected, but wouldn’t it have been funny if the Dodgers and Yankees still accidentally went over after all their sidelining last winter?
Again, we’ll get into more of the option decisions later, but this one stood out to me:
Given that we think the Cubs may address the backup catcher position this winter, Robinson Chirinos could be an interesting target. Chirinos, 34, is a former Cubs farmhand with plenty of big league, veteran experience. He’s also pretty darn good with the stick (103 wRC+ last season and for his career) and has always been a plus defensively. Unfortunately, he doesn’t necessarily rate as a much better pitch framer than Willson Contreras, so … maybe not.
NEWSLETTER
