They Really Didn’t Get Him, Still Hope For Swanson, Spending Is Up? Get Used To It (And Other Cubs Bullets)

Dec 14, 2022

I haven’t seen the vibe of a Cubs offseason change this quickly and dramatically since the Cubs signed Jon Lester back in December of 2014. Obviously, that was in the opposite direction.

Last Monday, the winter meetings were just getting started, the Cubs were on the precipice of signing Jameson Taillon and Cody Bellinger (fine moves), there was talk of ownership green-lighting increased spending, and even rumors of the Cubs landing MULTIPLE free agent shortstops, to say nothing of a huge upgrade behind the plate.

One week later, and off the board were potential Cubs targets Trea Turner, Xander Bogaerts, Kodai Senga, Christian Vázquez, Chris Bassitt, Andrew Heaney, Sean Manaea, Ross Stripling, Mike Zunino, and Sean Murphy. Oh and both the Brewers and Cardinals added a Contreras-Brother.

The real kick-in-the-pants, of course, was Carlos Correa signing with the San Francisco Giants for 13 years and $350M last night. Before that, we at least got to pretend that one of the winter’s top free agents — a PERFECT fit for the Cubs in age, position, and projected performance, particular on offense — was still a possibility. But nope. It wasn’t to be.

And There He Goes: Carlos Correa Signs with the San Francisco Giantshttps://t.co/f5SIZQQOkJ pic.twitter.com/atkZRfIk4k
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) December 14, 2022

You can see the initial writeup of the deal and all of my thoughts here. Meanwhile, I thought Brett and Bryan had some very useful thoughts.

Lots of things true at once…

Backing yourself into Swanson-or-bust corner was a massive mistake.

Adding Swanson would be good, but other teams want him too.

Hard to see a "great" offseason now, even with Swanson.

Wanted Correa so badly. That deal is admittedly wild, though.— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) December 14, 2022

We've now reached a point where you can't say cynics are being impatient or short-sighted, they're simply correct. And a front office that loves to not show their hand now owes a fanbase some transparency in the broader plan. Because it's indecipherable, if it still exists at all— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) December 14, 2022

Bingo, Bryan. What is the plan? What exactly are we doing, here? We used to know, which helped make sense of the stuff we maybe didn’t like to see. But now, we’re just flying blind, and it makes everything worse. Also making everything worse? The Cubs letting that “Tom Ricketts has opened the checkbook” rumor/narrative get out. What a flop that was.

Anyway, that $350M guarantee was the fourth largest in MLB history, behind only Mike Trout ($426.5M), Mookie Betts ($365M), and Aaron Judge ($360M). It was otherwise the largest ever for a shortstop, beating Francisco Lindor ($341M).

And while I get that some of you look at 13 years and balk at the commitment, don’t forget that, at a certain point, the added time is a benefit for the team. That lets them effectively defer payments and lower the CBT impact. And as for the money, well, sure, it’s a lot but … they can’t ALL be overpays. At some point, you just have to accept that’s the cost of doing business. You want a superstar, you’re going to have to pay for one. And this offseason, with soaring revenues and labor peace, teams are ready and willing to spend more than ever. Well, other teams.

Also, if my math is correct, I believe Correa's deal takes this offseason's free-agent spending past the $3 billion mark.

Judge ($360M), Correa ($350M), Turner ($300M), Bogaerts ($280M), deGrom ($185M), Nimmo ($162M) and Diaz ($102M) = $1.739B worth of deals for seven players.— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 14, 2022

As for what comes next, well … I guess we turn our attention to Dansby Swanson, who has the unfortunate title of guy we wanted fourth most (in a group of four). Swanson would still be a very important pickup, no doubt, and it does sound like the Cubs remain involved.

Dansby Swanson looks to be in excellent shape coming off his breakout season. Cubs are in on him, and at least the Dodgers, Twins, Red Sox look like potential options. Probably others, too. Terrific snd clutch player.— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 14, 2022

Dansby Swanson’s free agent market has skyrocketed with the recent marquee shortstop signings:
The Chicago Cubs, Minnesota #Twins, Boston #Redsox, Los Angeles #Dodgers and Atlanta all in play for the All-Star.— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) December 14, 2022

For Dansby Swanson, the game of SS musical chairs puts him in a great spot— the Cubs, Twins, Red Sox, Braves all need SSs. And he’s the last elite SS on the board.— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 14, 2022

In fact, they’ve been connected to Swanson more than pretty much any other team lately, but the field remains wide. The Red Sox and Dodgers were also recently connected, and it’s not like the Twins didn’t want Correa until last night. One thing’s clear, Swanson is going to get PAID. Much more than anyone thought he was going to get back in November. JD actually got into that a bit on Marquee a couple days ago.

JD gives his take regarding the Cubs and the remaining SS market.

Cubs 360 tonight at 6. pic.twitter.com/adfvOOx7cy
— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) December 12, 2022

I’m sure there will be much more market fallout in the coming hours. So let’s just leave it there for now. As a reminder, and before we move on, here’s who’s left (and good):

By my count, 24 of my top 30 free agents entering the offseason have already signed. The top players still available are Dansby Swanson, Carlos Rodón, Andrew Benintendi, Nathan Eovaldi, Taylor Rogers and JD Martinez.— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) December 14, 2022

Jon Greenberg has an interesting article at The Athletic wondering “what kind of Cubs team” Willson Contreras will return to face this summer?

I want to be so much more hyped about this than I am right now. I’m usually better at compartmentalizing.

The Cristian Hernández story is just beginning.

Catch up with the 19-year-old Cubs prospect on his journey to achieve a dream. pic.twitter.com/pXy1SHKom3— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) December 13, 2022

Hooray.

Best accomplishments of MLB teams in the last 10 years pic.twitter.com/59o1OFN9nP
— Jay Cuda (@JayCuda) December 13, 2022

Don’t worry about any of this, though. Our AI overlords are on their way.

I asked Artificial Intelligence to write a poem about peeing in the troughs at Wrigley Field and I was not let down.

This is real time. #Cubs pic.twitter.com/0dbc4lKCo1— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) December 13, 2022

Old friend James Norwood has signed a minor league deal with the Yankees.

written by

Michael Cerami

Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

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