NEWSLETTER
The latest reporting on the Cubs and Anthony Rizzo has not had an optimistic tone – the sides are very far apart, apparently – and it’s getting even more pessimistic. I’m getting rather bummed.
Here’s what Rizzo had to say about the state of things today, making clear that Opening Day is a hard cut-off, and suggesting he doesn’t think it gets done:
Rizzo says there have been contract extension talk with #Cubs but that it doesn't appear a new deal will be reached before the start of the season.
Rizzo says he's sticking with opening day deadline. So once Thursday arrives, he's focused on the season. "I'm at peace with it."
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) March 29, 2021
Rizzo on extension talks: "It doesn’t look like anything’s going to be finalized" by Opening Day. He said after talks with his family, etc., he feels "really strong" about an Opening Day deadline. "Once the season starts, for me personally, it's focused on baseball."
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) March 29, 2021
Rizzo, after talking with family and his agents, feels really strong about the Opening Day deadline for extension talks.
Wants to focus 100% on baseball once the season starts. Not expecting a deal to get done. Has told agents to stop talks from this point on.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) March 29, 2021
Rizzo: "Talks were really good and it just didn't work out, for whatever reason. It's at the point now where my camp is focused on playing baseball." #Cubs
— Meghan Montemurro (@M_Montemurro) March 29, 2021
That last one stings. I don’t want to get TOO maudlin just yet, because we don’t know what might happen in the days ahead (or after that). But I will say that it’s clearly become incredibly possible that the Cubs do enter the season without having extended the face of their franchise, and that Rizzo actually does ultimately depart for another team next year. I don’t even really want to absorb it, but Rizzo’s comments are clear.
Your slim hope now is that sometimes hard deadlines do spur activity, and maybe this is Rizzo’s way of saying the Cubs need to come back to the table with a better offer (we know they were under nine figures, according to Jon Heyman, and other rumors out there suggest it was actually much lower than that).
If a deal doesn’t get done before Thursday, it’s inarguable that for many fans, Opening Day will have a really tainted taste. The Cubs cannot be oblivious to the reality that, if Rizzo were to walk in November, it will be impossible to convince fans that it was a justifiable move. Lordy I hope this is all just posturing as the sides get near the goal line, and we get delightfully surprised by a deal this week. But now, like Rizzo, I’m no longer optimistic.
And we haven’t even started talking about how nothing is done with Javy Báez, either …
