NEWSLETTER
If you’re looking for my reaction to the Carlos Correa deal, you can check out the initial writeup, my morning bullets, and especially, the post I wrote this morning: I Used to Understand the Plan, I Don’t Anymore.
It’s always tough to be a fan when your team is bad. But it’s even worse when you don’t even know what they’re HOPING to accomplish. The lack of transparency right now is as bad as it’s been in a decade.
Cubs Still In On Swanson
In case you missed the bullets this morning, there were multiple reports connecting the Cubs to Dansby Swanson in the wake of Carlos Correa’s deal. But the Cubs have a lot of competition, including the Dodgers, Twins, Red Sox, Braves, and maybe even the Cardinals. I tend to think the Cubs should be best positioned/most interested among that group, but I have been way off on their intentions so far, so who knows.
With that said, Swanson should be – by far – the most affordable of the four free agent shortstops, and I guessed back in August that he could be the one the Cubs were targeting based on something specific Jed Hoyer said in an interview:
As a related aside, I tend to think Swanson is not going to go the Carlos Correa (2022) route and take a short-term deal with an opt-out after one year to hit the free agent market next offseason as the best available shortstop detached from draft pick compensation … but I didn’t think Correa would last year either, and that clearly worked out for him.
The difference now is that Swanson just had – by far – the best year of his career. This would probably be more of a gamble than it was for Correa.
On a related note, Dan Hayes (The Athletic) discusses how the Twins might pivot from here, having missed out on Correa (unlike the Cubs, the Twins’ efforts to land Correa are well-documented and very serious). They could turn their attention to Dansby Swanson, but it sounds like they’re more interested in Carlos Rodon or … dialing it back. We’ll see.
Even more Carlos Correa fallout here and here, if you want (… you masochist).
Yankees’ Gap with Carlos Rodon
If the Twins want to sign Carlos Rodon, they’ll have to go through the Yankees, who reportedly already have an offer on the table. But perhaps it’s not significant enough, relative to what Rodon is seeking: “The star left-hander is said to be seeking seven-plus years for at least $30 million a year, and the Yankees apparently have other ideas, at least initially.”
At least seven years and $210 million?! … Woof. I know I’ve been beating the drum for not calling things an overpay (because they can’t all be overpays), but that feels WAY over the top given Rodon’s specific risks, even granting him the extreme upside.
In any case, Rodon remains the Yankees “top priority,” with Nathan Eovaldi being their next best option. Given how hard he throws (especially relative to the Cubs’ current stable of starters), Eovaldi is an interesting target for Chicago. But I haven’t seen any rumors connecting them this offseason. So. You know. Shrug.
Odds and Ends
- Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma answer Cubs mailbag questions, including everything you’re probably wondering right now:
- The Mets are not done spending this offseason, even though they’re WAY over the highest tier of the luxury tax threshold. It seems they’ve turned their attention to the offense, where J.D. Martinez and Michael Conforto are their most likely targets. Maybe there’s some overlap there with the Cubs, if they want to add a pure DH, but it’s unclear.
- Fernando Tatis Jr. is “not available via trade,” according to Robert Murray. So we can forget about that potential out.
