Harper, Graveman, League Drama, Farnsworth, Ho Ho Ho, and Other Bullets

Dec 24, 2018

Family fun-time on tap today, complete with cookie-making goodies for Santa that just happen to align with Dad’s interests.

The big-ish Bryce Harper rumor dropped on Friday night, with the Cubs reportedly asking Harper and Scott Boras to check back in with them before signing with another team, just in case the Cubs could move around some salary and make it happen. It’s another one of those things in this pursuit that we could have concluded had gone down behind the scenes, but it’s always nice to see the confirmation.

Mark Feinsand is looking to help keep those hopes alive, speculating that the Dodgers’ salary maneuvering with the Reds could help them be in position to spend big *next* year when $50+ million in payroll falls off the books. My response? Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig were both free agents after this season anyway, so … that doesn’t really track. Maybe the Dodgers were targeting next year anyway, but I don’t see any relationship to this trade. Moreover, Bryce Harper is available now, not next year. If he’s a guy they want, they will not pass just because a bunch of salary falls off the books next year.

Also from the weekend, if you missed it: the Cubs signed rehabbing starter Kendall Graveman to a big league deal, and signed reliever Mike Zagurski to a minor league deal.

As we discussed recently, player salaries declined this past year for the first time in 14 years, and it’s not as if MLB revenues are dropping. To me, that’s a clear harbinger of doom as the current CBA is set to expire after 2021, with no signs that the two sides are ready to work closely together to address any developing disparity (as well as the other host of issues facing the game). Buster Olney gets into that, and rightly notes that some skilled, neutral voices are needed:

Column: The average player salary declined for the first time in 14 years, a symptom of a developing problem, and in light of that, the union and MLB could use some marriage counseling and outside-the-box solutions. https://t.co/5qZduprMlZ
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 23, 2018

MLB.com dubbed the David Bote pinch-hit, walk-off grand slam game the best win of the year for the Cubs, which sounds quite right to me. It also won the Cubs’ GIF-off:

.@DavidBote13's ultimate grand slam is voted the ultimate #Cubs GIF of 2018!

Thanks for voting! pic.twitter.com/fQmH9nEjr8

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) December 23, 2018

Kyle Farnsworth, 42, is still playing semi-pro football:

We caught up with Kyle Farnsworth, who is still playing semipro football, has a bulldog Rambo and a black belt in Karate.

Sounds about right. https://t.co/Y7hsFWXUuv pic.twitter.com/CvUyHdZn25

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) December 24, 2018

A reminder on why that is a surprise to no one:

Fun from the Bears’ ugly win yesterday (number 11!), as Mitch Trubisky took a cheap shot, and his teammates REALLY had his back:

Do NOT mess with OUR quarterback. #DaBears pic.twitter.com/zUKSsUytZc

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) December 24, 2018

Active, inactive, pads, whatever. You mess with his team, and @Ky1eLong is gonna throw you around. pic.twitter.com/fKx8XqpV9R

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) December 24, 2018

Merry Christmas, you filthy animals:

┏┓
┃┃╱╲ in
┃╱╱╲╲ this
╱╱╭╮╲╲ house
▔▏┗┛▕▔ we
╱▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔╲
pitch an absolute fit if
Bryce Harper is not under
the Cubs Christmas tree
╱╱┏┳┓╭╮┏┳┓ ╲╲
▔▏┗┻┛┃┃┗┻┛▕▔

— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) December 24, 2018

written by

Brett Taylor

Brett Taylor is the Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and on LinkedIn here. Brett is also the founder of Bleacher Nation, which opened up shop in 2008 as an independent blog about the Chicago Cubs. Later growing to incorporate coverage of other Chicago sports, Bleacher Nation is now one of the largest regional sports blogs on the web.

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Harper, Graveman, League Drama, Farnsworth, Ho Ho Ho, and Other Bullets

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