NEWSLETTER
Earlier this week, Christian Yelich signed a 9-year/$215 million extension with the Milwaukee Brewers while Yoan Moncada got a $70M deal done with the White Sox. And given the time of year (extension season) and proximity to the Cubs, that’s got us all thinking about longer deals for our favorite players.
At some point, some of these guys have to get locked up … right? Please?
Well, strategically, yeah, you’d certainly hope so. We’ve already seen what happens when guys like Kris Bryant or Anthony Rizzo get even somewhat close to free agency without long-term security and it’s not very fun. But ’tis the season or not, Theo Epstein doesn’t sound particularly confident on a fresh slate of extensions – at least, not right now.
Cubs President Theo Epstein per 670 The Score (emphasis mine):
I think we’re at the point of Spring Training – not that we won’t have any conversations with our players – when the focus is really shifting on the field for 2020. So publicly all I’ll say about that is we’re continuing to make efforts to sign our guys, but with a couple notable exceptions, they’ve been fruitless. Not too much good can come from talking about it, so ….
Ah, man.
At first, I was a little surprised to hear the time-is-running-out argument from Epstein, because my (hopeful) brain sees two and half weeks left in the spring, and that sure feels like plenty of time to get something done. After all, extensions for Kyle Hendricks (March 26th) and David Bote (April 5th) weren’t announced until were far closer to the regular season than we are now.
But if we think about this practically, that’s probably not fair to say. If the Cubs and Player X were nowhere close on their idea of a new contract at this point in the spring, it’s probably too late to go back to the drawing board and reimagine an entire plan that could necessarily involve the future of other players as well (especially if it were a deal for someone like Kris Bryant, who’s expected to cost a lot).
More to the point, Epstein’s usual line is a guardedly optimistic We’re working on it, but we don’t talk about it. So when I see him throw in the calendar-based pessimism, it’s tough not to take notice.
But, if you still want to hold onto some optimism, you could take note of what Javy Báez told Gordon Wittenmyer.
#Cubs SS Javy Baez on Yelich contract extension: ‘It doesn’t have anything to do with mine’ https://t.co/LgtaJYcwVx via @SunTimes
— Gordon Wittenmyer (@GDubCub) March 6, 2020
Reports of a Javy Báez extension first popped up in November and reportedly carried on into the Winter Meetings, but we haven’t heard too much since then.
But by Báez’s own admission – as recently as yesterday – his representatives and the Cubs are making progress on an extension: “[Yelich’s deal] doesn’t haven anything to do with mine. I’m happy for [Yelich]. Hopefully, we get mine done. We’re working on it.” He also added that negotiations between his team and the Cubs were “progressing.”
So … how do we square that?
Well, there are a variety of potential explanations. The simplest explanation is that maybe something changed or there was some imprecision in the words. It’s not like Báez is handling these negotiations himself, so the disconnect between Epstein’s first-hand comment on any talks and what Báez is hearing from his agents might explain the different way the topic is being discussed.
It’s also possible that Epstein was being overly guarded in his comments, just in case any “progress” with Báez doesn’t keep progressing.
I also wouldn’t be surprised if Báez was just trying his best to keep things generic and positive, even if there’s not a great chance at finalizing something right now, given the way Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo were both bombarded with somewhat unwanted/unflattering media and public attention when reports of failed extension talks reached each of them over the offseason.
It’s probably a combination of everything you could imagine, and also a bit more that you cannot.
Now, that isn’t to say something can’t still get done – Epstein might’ve been hiding the ball a bit, Báez or the Cubs might change their mind on some key element, this could all be positive foundational conversations for a deal down the line, etc.
But as for something happening right now – I’m sad to say – I’m a little less optimistic than I was a few months ago.
