NEWSLETTER
The update on Javy Báez extension talks is that there is no update, unless you want to try to parse Báez’s quotes. The fact that no deal is done yet shouldn’t freak you out, though.
With Spring Training laying ahead, there’s still plenty of time to get a deal done before Opening Day (that tends to be the timeline on these things), and the talks are still on the table.
Describing the talks as an “up and down” process, Báez told the media yesterday that he does prefer to end talks when the regular season begins (Cubs.com): “It depends on my agency and how they want to do it. But, I do want to be focused on baseball.”
“If it happens, I will be grateful — I want to be here my whole career,” Báez told the Sun-Times of an extension more generally. “It’s been up and down. It’s business. It’s really tough. I’ll let them work that out, and if it works, great. If not, we’ve got another year.”
I’m sure neither side wants to go into next offseason, the year before Báez could walk, still trying to hammer out an extension (especially if there are no other extensions in place with the other guys who are also headed toward free agency). There are a lot of reasons that a Báez extension, in particular, makes sense for both sides, but as we’ve discussed, the way the market has changed in free agency the last two years – dramatically increasing the price tag on truly elite players – may have made obvious comps like Xander Bogaerts from just one year ago seem a lot less obvious.
I will keep hoping for a deal soon … there’s a lot of that sentiment going around for the past six months, eh?
