In an extremely ill-timed setback, I hurt myself at the gym again yesterday. I thought I was in a really good place, had been very carefully adding things back to the routine, and then … pop. Something in my lower left back felt like a literal pop, and I have been in some pretty significant pain ever since. I am trying all the things – meds, ice, heat, stretching – but it’s looking like a doctor visit is in my future. I want to be focused on the season, not worried about whether I can sit comfortably in the bleachers or not …
The Diamondbacks got one of the bigger bargains of the offseason, waiting until the last moment to sign Jordan Montgomery to a deal that is effectively a two-year, $50 million deal with an opt-out in the middle, BUT they aren’t on the hook for the second year if he completely breaks and can’t make 10 starts this year. It’s an absolutely steal, borne out of a variety of circumstances, and it’s at least moderately aggravating that the Cubs weren’t able to take advantage. The Cubs were obviously not alone here, but, even with the starting pitching depth, it’s not hard to see how valuable Montgomery could have been.
I understand and agree with the idea that you don’t go balls out on transactions if (1) your team is not quite near the top-tier yet, AND (2) those transactions could affirmatively hurt you the following year and beyond. But for me, that’s mostly talking about trading away prospects, or inking SUPER large, long-term deals where you know the aging player is going to decline swiftly (but you accept that risk because of the near-term impact). This is not that. Montgomery getting short-term money for an impactful starting pitcher, and the risk of harm to the future is pretty close to zero. If the Cubs wind up involved in the Wild Card race again with the Diamondbacks, they may regret this moment, especially if they have a rash of starting pitcher injuries/underperformances.
But yes, I do understand their likely counterargument: we have a budget, and we prefer the ability to add salary at the deadline rather than adding Montgomery now. They may wind up right about that. I suppose my gripe is more about the budget in a unique situation like this, rather than the front office’s decisions.
Speaking of the playoff races, all five of the late-signing Scott Boras free agents (Bellinger, Chapman, Snell, Martinez, Montgomery) wound up with teams that could very easily wind up in the National League Wild Card race. Winning the division has become all the more important for the Cubs.
As something of a confirmation from his so-so-results outing yesterday, Shota Imanaga was trying to work on his slider and more or less just get his work in (Marquee).
Pretty sure we’re going to enjoy Hector Neris content this year:
And it will be all the more enjoyable if he pitches well. I think we have to remember that expecting a sub-2 ERA from Neris this year is not realistic. But something even in the 3.50 to 4.00 ERA range, if he’s durable and available consistently, with a positive impact on the young arms out there in the bullpen, is all the Cubs need from him. Is his abysmal spring a bad sign, given the drop in velocity last year and his age (35 in June)? The weight of evidence on relievers and experienced veterans would tell you no, but I guess we’ll see.
Craig Counsell and player Q&A sessions:
MLB teams can no longer share information back and forth with individual international teams:
The rationale there seems to be that, as more and more big name stars come over to MLB from international teams, the league is concerned about pre-posting tampering (you know … Roki Sasaki and the Dodgers).
Opt-outs, they aren’t just for baseball players:
If ESPN does indeed opt out of its current deal with MLB, the best guess is that they do so with an eye on simply getting a better deal, rather than giving up on baseball entirely. Consider it the latest reminder that the money available from cable channels for live baseball games is probably going to take a big step backwards as the world continues to transition to streaming.
We’ll see if this is it for Pablo Sandoval, who got a chance to play one more time in front of Giants fans in San Francisco:
NEWSLETTER
