Hamels and the QO, Heyward Staying, Darvish Joking, Rotation Depth Questions, and Other Cubs Bullets

That, uh, was not a good sports weekend. And I don’t even have the Cubs playing to help me bounce back emotionally. Gonna need some crazy options/qualifying offer/rumor bits to break to get the engine fired back up. No, the Kendall Graveman option decline isn’t quite enough!

  • Speaking of qualifying offers, they’re due today, and I still think Cole Hamels does not get one. Given his down and injured second half (and his age), if he’s attached to draft pick compensation, I’m not sure how much better he could do than one year and $17.8 million (the qualifying offer level). Thus, I suspect he might accept, and I don’t think the Cubs would want him back on that particular deal. Plus, the upside of offering and having him decline – *IF* he signs elsewhere before the draft – is only a pick after the 4th round. That’s not nothing, but it’s also not worth the risk of Hamels accepting if the Cubs don’t want him to.
  • Putting that another way, if the Cubs make Hamels a QO today, it’s because they desperately want him back on a one year, $17.8 million deal. I just don’t see that happening, or being an appropriate calculus.
  • Jason Heyward isn’t opting out of his deal, by the way. He had an opt-out. It isn’t being used. He is owed $86 million over the next four years, and is coming off his best year at the plate with the Cubs … though it was just .251/.343/.429 with a 101 wRC+. (Though, as we’ve noted, when he was simply NOT used in the leadoff spot, he was great last year. And when he was facing righties, he was a star.)
  • Anthony Rizzo may have won his third Gold Glove last night, but he is now legally obligated to give it to Yu Darvish:
  • All the Gold Glove winners (including a deserving Cody Bellinger in right field, where the Cubs’ only other finalist – Jason Heyward – was):
  • Great deals today at Amazon, including Instant Pot, Simply Safe, books, gaming gear, vacuums, and more. #ad
  • With Kendall Graveman’s option declined, Bryan offers his pre-offseason view of the Cubs’ starting pitching depth:
  • In my view, the rotation isn’t terrible and the depth behind them is decent. But the 3-5 range in the current rotation carries with it the potential for disaster. The Cubs need to add an impact starting pitcher this offseason one way or another, and I hope they have the financial wherewithal and the stones to do it.
  • The Pirates are interviewing GM candidates this week (Heyman), and they’re gonna have to hustle to make a decision there so that they can have a productive offseason. They also still have to hire a manager after that!
  • Wow, so this means Davis originally got a three-year deal from the Cubs:
  • The Washington Nationals celebrated their World Series victory with the Washington Capitals last night, and they did it right (aka, Travis Wood style):
  • In conclusion, Dick Tidrow:
  • written by

    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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