Proof the Cubs Are No Longer a Free-Agent Destination Surfaces

A few days ago Cubs fans were stunned when free agent catcher Christian Vázquez agreed to sign with the Minnesota Twins. The 32-year-old was looking for a team that could provide him most of the playing time behind the plate and we all assumed the Cubs would be a likely destination for the two-time World Series champion. We knew the Cubs were interested in signing Vázquez, and now according to a recent report, we're finding out that Vázquez picked the Twins over the Cubs despite getting offered the same amount of guaranteed money.

ESPN's Jesse Rogers went on the Waddle And Silvy Show on ESPN 1000 Wednesday afternoon. He discussed the Cubs chances of signing Dansby Swanson, going as far as to say that he believes Swanson will go to the Cubs, you can read more about that here, but Rogers also brought up how the Cubs are no longer a coveted destination for free agents.

According to Rogers, the Cubs also offered Vázquez a three-year contract worth $30 million, but wanted the catcher to agree on a fourth-year option. For whatever reason, the Cubs didn't want to budge and Vázquez signed with the Twins. In Rogers' words, the Cubs have to overpay for free agents now and no longer have the allure of a special organization, and well, they're not overpaying to get the players on their list.

I mean, the Twins have only been above .500 four times since 2010, not including the 2020 season, and were a whole four wins better than the Cubs in 2022. Oh and the Twins just saw Carlos Correa leave town to go to the San Francisco Giants. Not sure how the Twins are that great of a destination, but that's how bad things are for the Cubs right now, apparently losing free agents to a team that hasn't reached the championship series in the playoffs since 2002.

This is definitely not Theo Epstein's Cubs. Jason Heyward reportedly had $200 million offers when he signed for $184 million back in Dec. 2015. Fellow outfielder Dexter Fowler took less money to return to the Cubs in 2016, and according to one report John Lackey, Ben Zobrist and David Ross did too.

That group of players helped the Cubs win the 2016 World Series, but boy oh boy is it not 2016 any more.

This is what fans fear when teams go into rebuilds, retools, whatever you want to call whatever the Cubs have been doing since 2021, that you become a bad team and then players don't want to sign with you. So, in order to acquire the best players out there, you must overpay. You know, like how the Cubs out-bid everyone for Jon Lester.

But it's now painfully part of Jed Hoyer's mentality that he doesn't want to overpay. He doesn't want to take on big risks. What does that leave the Cubs with? Settling for the second best free agent catcher...maybe or having to go the extra mile for the fourth best shortstop.

I really wanted to give Jed Hoyer the benefit of the doubt after taking over a pretty crappy situation following the 2020 season. This was his time to be aggressive, but he hasn't been and there aren't signs showing that he will be.