The GM meetings start this week and although you shouldn't expect anything huge to happen we're definitely going to see a lot more rumors, reports and speculation flying around. Baseball fans in Chicago, on the South Side at least, got the first taste of just how exciting an offseason can be when you're linked to a couple stars.
From Monday morning.
And that's awesome for White Sox fans. They should expect the team to go after at least one of Manny Machado or Bryce Harper.
But I'm not here to talk about White Sox business.
The past week has been pretty frustrating for Cubs fans. Sure, the team picked up Cole Hamels $20 million option for 2019, but apparently that means they won't go over a $246 million payroll, which would bring the highest penalty in luxury tax.
Obviously that hasn't gone over well with fans, as the speculation continues that the Cubs won't be a factor in the pursuit of Bryce Harper or Manny Machado in free agency.
The Cubs won 95 games in 2018, came runner up in the division and then lost to the Rockies in the NL Wild Card Game.
Theo Epstein, honest as ever, said the Cubs lacked a sense of urgency and said the offense broke. So yeah, as fans we expected something big to change and when you have two star players available in free agency, you should demand a team in the middle of their championship window to do everything possible to make the roster better and make a serious effort to sign either.
As disappointing as the speculation is, because there's no excuse not to spend the money, I regained my faith in the Cubs going after Bryce Harper today.
Am I grasping at straws, being wildly optimistic? Maybe. But hey, if we're going to point out every negative report, I'll point out the positive ones too.
First of all, before all the reports of the Cubs not spending, 670 The Score's
Bruce Levine came out strong with this.
A future marriage between superstar outfielder Bryce Harper and the Cubs seems inevitable.
...
But it should be noted that the Cubs’ books are set to lighten a bit after the 2020 season, after which their big commitment to left-hander Jon Lester will be over. With some young pitching now matriculating through the system, money could be shifted toward the position players like Bryant and Baez, who are both under club control through 2021.
That's what everyone's been pointing out. The money issue just can't be used as an excuse because big chunks of the payroll will start to come off in the next couple years. Plus, you know, the team is already rich and is about to get a brand new TV deal of some sort.
Anyway, Levine came out strong making the connection between the Cubs and Harper and then a week later the speculation began that no, the Cubs weren't going to be doing that based on the $246 million threshold.
However, on Monday morning
Mark Gonzales wrote the following in the Chicago Tribune. He was going over what the Cubs could do in free agency, specifically going after one of the top relievers available.
He ended with this.
They could earmark most of their free-agent money toward a big-ticket hitter and try to address relief help through the trade market involving one of their young outfielders.
OK, hey, I know, it's basically nothing, but at least Gonzales brings up the chance of the Cubs actually signing a big free agent bat, which goes against the recent narrative of the team not spending this offseason.
And then I read
Patrick Mooney's latest article in The Athletic.
Mooney details the story of how the Cubs were able to sign high school star Kohl Franklin back in the summer, as the pitcher was expected to go on to attend the University of Oklahoma. The big picture in the story is how the Cubs have been able to become the best recruiters in MLB as an entire organization.
Here's what Jay Franklin, Kohl's father and a baseball agent, said about the Cubs.
Via
The Athletic.
“The best thing about Theo and Jed and Jason is that I love people who shoot me straight,” Franklin said. “I don’t like sugarcoat bullshit. I have always respected them as baseball guys. When you look at what they’ve done in Boston – and obviously what they’ve done in Chicago – it was not a tough decision for me as a family member to want to get Kohl in front of those guys.”
And then Mooney brings something up that fans forget at times.
No, Theo Epstein isn't perfect, his free agent signings haven't all hit, but damnit, Theo Epstein always gets his guy.
After the 2014 season, the front office was ready to make the most important signing in franchise history. It marked a new era. The rebuild was over. The Cubs weren't going to be the lovable losers anymore. The Cubs were going to sign Jon Lester.
Yeah, the $155 million contract was big, but Lester had bigger offers on the table that he declined, opting instead to join the last-place Cubs.
And then the following offseason, Jason Heyward turned down more guaranteed money to sign with the Cubs. So did Ben Zobrist. Last offseason, the Cubs were patient, but eventually signed their No. 1 target in free agency, Yu Darvish. Before that were one of only seven teams to get an in-person meeting with Shohei Ohtani.
Mooney goes into detail with what happened in those meetings that have led to the biggest free agents signing with the Cubs.
But why the renewed faith in the Cubs making a valid attempt to pursue Harper? I can't imagine that after all the preparation for this offseason that Epstein didn't take into account what Cole Hamels' $20 million option would mean in regards to going after Harper, or Machado.
It's always been the plan, to make a run at Harper, and even if Tom Ricketts won't go above the $246 million payroll, I believe Theo Epstein will find a way to get it done, to make room for a generational talent. Some way, some how. He's always gotten his guy.
Here's
Ken Rosenthal on the Cubs and their offseason from Monday.
• The Cubs, while unlikely to spend big after investing $185 million in Yu Darvish, Tyler Chatwood and Brandon Morrow last off-season, are not about to take the winter off. Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer are going to do something interesting, maybe multiple things, as they try to wrest the NL Central back from the Brewers. And the Cardinals, after missing the postseason for the third straight year, will be restless, too.
Oh, I expect nothing less than an interesting offseason for the Cubs and that includes a serious run at Bryce Harper.
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