Want the good news or the bad news first?
As Mike Trout inked a ridiculous $430 million deal Tuesday morning that will keep him in Los Angeles for the rest of his career, the baseball world went into an uproar.
That move doesn't directly affect the 2019 Cubs in any meaningful way (though the Cubs host Trout and the Angels during the first homestand of the season), but the fallout will certainly drift over to the North Side of Chicago.
For starters, it obviously means Cubs fans can give up any hope of seeing Trout patrolling center field at Wrigley in blue pinstripes. Sure, trades happen even after these mega-extensions (as Giancarlo Stanton and the Marlins proved), but the odds are pretty low.
Beyond that, what does it mean for the future of the Cubs' homegrown stars like Kris Bryant and Javy Baez? Both are set to hit the free agent market after the 2021 season and will be 30 and 29, respectively, at that time.
If the Cubs had visions of getting either player to sign an extension on a discount, Trout's contract is further proof that any such scenario may be a pipe dream.
Baseball's free agency process is broken...but not for the elite young players, which Bryce Harper and Manny Machado proved earlier this year when they signed for a combined $630 million.
MLB
As such, the Colorado Rockies (with Nolan Arenado) and Angels were able to keep their stars from hitting free agency, but they had to shell out a ridiculous amount of money to do so, paying each guy well over $30 million annually.
If Bryant and Baez are both still putting up MVP numbers in a few years, their market figures to be similar — especially while playing a premium position on the diamond.
So yes, the Cubs will have to pay up if they're going to retain Bryant and Baez after 2021. Given these price tags, they also might have to choose to go all-in on only one of Bryant or Baez.
However, the good news for the Cubs in regards to the Trout extension is they won't ever have to worry about facing him more than once every few years in Interleague play. Baseball's best player is likely not coming to the National League throughout his career, meaning he won't ever have much of a direct impact on the Cubs' playoff chances.
It also means Trout and Harper will not be joining forces in Philadelphia in two years, either, which is certainly good news for the Cubs and the entire NL.
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