Just like the last time there was the tiniest sliver of hope that the Cubs are sticking around in the Bryce Harper race, I will take any nugget of positivity I can get.
Thank you for the boost to my psyche, Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney:
.@PJ_Mooney & I take a look back on the Cubs 2018. A tough end to the season and slow start to the winter has left a bitter taste in many mouths, but there's still reason to be hopeful in 2019. And the door isn't quite shut on the biggest fish of them all. https://t.co/pnYA8jrd2j
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) December 21, 2018
In an excellent piece that is informative in ways that go far beyond the Bryce Harper pursuit, Sharma and Mooney note that, yes, the Cubs have had internal discussions about how they can make Harper work (by way of some other salary shedding) and have at least stayed in dialogue with agent Scott Boras.
It’s important to keep this in context, because while it’s a wonderful, hopeful confirmation, it’s not anything more than we already believed to be true: the Cubs want Harper and are not blind to his potential impact to the offense in this window, but they are not in a position – for whatever reason – to plop down $300 million right now without other moves first. The Athletic piece makes that very clear. No one should be *expecting* the Cubs to seriously pursue Harper at this moment.
But, that said, he’s still a free agent. His market is quite opaque, with virtually every plausible suitor sandbagging on their interest and ability to pay. You never quite know for sure what might happen.
Read The Athletic piece for more on the offseason and year ahead.