8 Cubs are officially free agents
Eight players from the Cubs officially became free agents on Wednesday, entering an exceptionally unpredictable market this offseason.In all, 147 MLB players were declared free agents after the conclusion of the World Series, with the possibility of more joining their ranks when contract options are declined. On the Cubs, Daniel Descalso, Jon Lester and Anthony Rizzo all have 2021 team options.“The only thing I can acknowledge is that we're in a period of great uncertainty,” Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said in his end-of-season press conference. “That's industry-wide and also as far as our organization goes.“If you think about it, we're at a point where we know what our losses were this year; we don't know what our revenues are going to be next year. We don't know how many fans we're going to be able to have and at what different points in the season. Because of that and the fact that 29 other teams are in a similar situation, we don't know what the free agent marketplace is going to look like, what the trade marketplace is going to look like.”Since Epstein’s last public comments, the landscape has already shifted. Major League Baseball opened the NL Championship Series and the World Series to a limited number of fans at Globe Life Field. So, it seems likely that at least some teams will be cleared to put fans in their stands next season. But how many will have that financial advantage and how it will affect their offseason strategies remains to be seen.The free agent market will continue to shift in the coming months as teams gain more clarity on factors like playoff format, roster size and rule changes. In the meantime, here are the eight Cubs that enter that uncertain free agent market:
In a short and injury-riddled season for José Quintana, the southpaw didn’t have much of a chance to make an impression in his final season before free agency. He totaled just four outings, including one start.
Quintana did, however, end the season healthy. And he has almost a decade of experience, and one All-Star season, to stake his reputation on.
Quintana has been a solid member of the Cubs rotation since the club acquired him from the White Sox in 2017, though not the ace he became on the South Side. Will the Cubs try to bring him back?
As the Cubs enter this “period of real transition,” as Epstein put it, Quintana may be a better fit on a team that isn't caught in between eras. He could be a valuable asset for a club looking to strengthen the middle of its rotation.
The short season may have hurt Tyler Chatwood’s free agency more than any other Cub. At the beginning of the season, Chatwood seemed to have mastered his previous control issues, allowing just one run on six hits in his first two starts combined.
But then the Royals knocked him out of a game in just 2 1/3 innings. Injuries – first to his back and then his right forearm – eliminated the opportunity for him to prove which was the fluke, his hot start or his struggles at Kansas City.
So, with little to go off of from this season, teams evaluating Chatwood will have to rely more heavily on previous seasons. In 2018, Chatwood led MLB in walks, with 95. The next season, the Cubs primarily used him as a reliever.
The Cubs got more than they bargained for out of Jeremy Jeffress this year as he anchored the bullpen in the wake of closer Craig Kimbrel’s early mechanical issues.
Working with Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy, a former minor league roommate of Jeffress’, Jeffress put together an All-Star caliber season, one of the best of his career.
If Jeffress wants to stay with the team that helped guide his resurgence, he’d absolutely strengthen the Cubs bullpen. But after the season he just had, Jeffress may receive higher offers from teams with more financial leeway.
The Cubs asked Jason Kipnis to take on a role he’d never had before. An Indians mainstay for almost a decade, Kipnis platooned at second base with Nico Hoerner this year.
Kipnis endeared himself to a personality-filled clubhouse and was at the center of some of the Cubs’ most memorable dugout celebrations. After a scorching-hot start at the plate, Kipnis’ batting average settled to .237 by the end of the year.
“The plan from the beginning was to play in front of family and friends and all that stuff,” Kipnis said of signing as a free agent with his hometown team for 2020.
The pandemic took that aspect of this season away from Kipnis. Will he get a similar chance again?
Maybin was one of the Cubs’ most successful trade deadline acquisitions this year. The Cubs traded infield prospect Zack Short to the Tigers for the veteran outfielder.
In limited at-bats, Maybin had five extra-base hits, five RBIs and three stolen bases for the Cubs. Though the Cubs weren’t lacking in postseason experience, Maybin added even more. He appeared in both the Cubs’ playoff games, for an at-bat in each as the Cubs offense failed to launch.
The Cubs acquired Andrew Chafin from the Diamondbacks at the trade deadline to address the lack of left-handers in the Cubs bullpen. He made just four appearances for the Cubs, all to finish the game. Chafin allowed just one run in those outings.
Though his time with the Cubs this season was brief, he filled a hole in the Cubs roster as the team made a playoff push.
The Cubs added Billy Hamilton as a threat on the base-paths for the stretch run and postseason. And after he wreaked havoc in that area against the White Sox last month, Cubs manager David Ross said Hamilton was the type of weapon, “that wins you a World Series.”
“That’s the potential he has,” Ross continued.
The Cubs, by no fault of Hamilton’s, didn’t get anywhere close to the World Series. But the speedy outfielder did give the Cubs the base-running boost they had been lacking.
As a third-string catcher, Phegley had just 18 plate attempts this season, mostly as a designated hitter or pinch hitter. His one hit of the season was a home run.
Catcher is the position the Cubs have the most depth in, with Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini as the Cubs’ No. 1 and 2, and Miguel Amaya, Ethan Hearn and Ronnier Quintero among the Cubs’ Top 15 prospects.
