A Modest But Good Cubs Offseason, Offensive Bounce-Back, FOX Out on RSNs, and Other Bullets

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A Modest But Good Cubs Offseason, Offensive Bounce-Back, FOX Out on RSNs, and Other Bullets

Chicago Cubs

The Wife and I worked out together this morning before working and then doing some errands. This is what a date looks like to parents of young children. It’s actually quite nice. (Hi, dear!)

  • Is it a good offseason for the Cubs if they, from here, were to sign a decent reliever like Adam Warren and also a quality veteran back-up catcher like Martin Maldonado? I would like those moves, as well as the Daniel Descalso signing, and I would think the Cubs are in a better spot than they were when the season ended. But I’d still have deep concerns about the bullpen and the failure to at least seriously try to land an impact bat. I’m trying not to let myself get to a place where I can talk myself into thinking, “Yeah, actually, this was a great offseason!” if the Cubs do the bare minimum. I just hope they *at least* do that much.
  • Speaking of which, a mention at The Athletic:

(Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
  • With Javy Baez having settled at a surprisingly low figure for 2019 ($5.2 million), you can’t help but wonder if the Cubs and/or he are setting the stage for extension talks that could land him life-changing money, and the Cubs more cost certainty in the years ahead.
  • Some hopeful notes on the Cubs’ offensive situation, if you connect some dots:

  • FOX has been in the RSN business for a very long time, and now they view it as not especially valuable.
  • With FOX out of the running to land those 22 RSNs, the majority of which carry MLB rights, the chance that a non-traditional bidder like Amazon or Major League Baseball carries the day has increased. It isn’t inconceivable that if one of those two entities were to win these RSNs, the long-standing structure of baseball rights – especially as it relates to streaming – could change in a very fundamental way. Alternatively, one of the bidders is Sinclair Broadcasting, a distributor with whom the Cubs are reportedly going to partner on their new RSN. If Sinclair were to win these rights, they’d suddenly be partners for upwards of half of MLB, and would wield tremendous leverage. Stay tuned.
  • This certain feels accurate, given the allergy even large markets have developed to the luxury tax, despite it’s relatively small actual cost:

  • On the flip side, the players are going to have to figure out how to confront this data, if it’s accurate:

  • Is a lack of activity over the past couple winters actually hurting attendance during the season? I’m not wholly convinced (I’m in the school of thought that the only things that actually move the attendance needle are price and competitiveness), but it’s an interesting theory:

  • Heads up, nerds:

  • A bit on one of the Cubs’ minor league signings:

Javy Baez and Kyle Schwarber are doing some good:

https://twitter.com/MLBPuertoRico/status/1083804486496411651

https://twitter.com/InfieldChatter/status/1083174015944937473

  • The Bears got their man:

Filed to: Chicago Cubs
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Author: Brett Taylor

Brett Taylor is the Editor and Lead Cubs Writer at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @BleacherNation and @Brett_A_Taylor.