8 free agents Cubs can only dream about
The Cubs didn’t do much of anything last winter as they measured roster needs against a bloated payroll with no room to add and trade scenarios.If it’s possible to add even less this winter, all indicators are pointing to exactly that — with steep revenue losses amid an ongoing pandemic driving massive layoffs throughout the Cubs organization and an urgency to significantly reduce payroll into 2021.Whether any team in baseball approaches the winter like a big-market team, the traditionally high-revenue Cubs certainly will not — making a lot of great-looking roster fits on the free agent market the stuff of dreams for the front office and fans alike. More than 150 players became free agents on Wednesday, with more to follow in the coming days as teams make decisions on 2021 contract options.Maybe some day the Cubs will be big-spenders again and go all-in for a chance to win.Hey, just wait till next year, right?Until then, gaze at this winter’s free agents and dream on:
The one free agent on the market assured of making the Cubs a significantly better team just by showing up healthy is Bauer, the presumptive 2020 National League Cy Young winner — and noted admirer/Twitter pal of presumptive runner-up Yu Darvish.
A student of his craft like few pitchers in the game, the 30-year-old right-hander has gotten better over the previous three seasons, incorporating personal use of available technology and pitching trends into his game as well or better than any other pitcher.
Adding him to the front end of a rotation with Darvish and Kyle Hendricks could give the Cubs a playoff rotation to rival anybody in the league.
As the late, great Ron Santo might say, “This guy looks a lot like a player we used to have. What was his name, Pat?”
LeMahieu is the hitting equivalent of Bauer — the one player on the market assured of making the lineup better just by showing up healthy.
Since the Cubs threw him into the Ian Stewart deal with Colorado as a rookie eight years ago, the versatile infielder with the all-fields hitting approach has become one of the best hitters in the game — largely by going against the grain of launch-angle, pull-heavy trends — exactly the kind of hitter the Cubs have lacked during their recent seasons of “broken” offense.
A three-time Gold Glove winner and three-time All-Star, LeMahieu this season became the first player to win batting titles in both leagues — his two-year run in New York (.336, .922 OPS) dispelling the criticism that his offensive output was simply a product of Coors Field.
The sinker-slider starter, who talks — and pitches — much bigger than his 5-foot-7 frame, was a target of this Cubs front office early in his career with the Blue Jays and would be an impact fit for a rotation that starts with Darvish and Kyle Hendricks.
Stroman bounced back from a 2018 season hampered by shoulder inflammation to make 32 starts and earn his first All-Star selection in 2019. After suffering a calf injury in July, he opted out of 2020 because of concerns over COVID-19 — increasing the likelihood of health and full strength by spring training.
On how that decision, which involved at least two family members at higher risk for severe coronavirus outcomes, might impact his free agency, he said: “I’m not worried about it, to be honest. I still consider myself one of the youngest, one of the best starters on the market. I’m fully healthy. So I’m just letting it kind of [play out] however it may play out itself.”
Did somebody say leadoff hitter?
As a right fielder and center fielder, he might not be a perfect fit defensively for a team with a Gold Glover in right (Jason Heyward) and a rising young hitter in center (Ian Happ). And there is that whole 2017 Astros cheating thing.
But the right-handed hitter with the .361 career on-base percentage has made the last three American League All-Star teams and could be an answer to the four-year eyesore that is the Cubs’ leadoff spot, as well as a helping hand with their especially recent struggles against left-handed pitching (.899 career OPS vs. lefties).
And imagine the potential guilty-pleasure bonus of putting his locker stall next to Darvish, the 2017 Dodger pitcher, with only the clubhouse trash can in between.
OK, don’t like the cheating Springer? Then how about an Astros outfielder with an even higher OBP the last four years who made the last three AL All-Star teams, is more comfortable in left field — and who was in Cleveland during all the cheating stuff?
Say hello to the lefty-hitting Brantley, who doesn’t strike out much and has come up big in the last two postseasons.
This guy has an OPS+ of 127 and four All-Star appearances since 2014. All the Cubs current outfielders combined have one career All-Star appearance (none as a Cub) and only one has an OPS+ that high for even one full season (Happ in 2019, although Happ and Heyward both did it during this 60-game season).
He’s got a few extra miles on his big left arm, but he’s easily the top left-handed reliever on the market and could go a long way toward boosting and balancing a Cubs bullpen that has trouble from the left side (most of its success against lefty hitters produced by right-handers this year).
The former Pirates closer has been one of the most consistent relievers overall during the last 10 years, with a career 2.80 ERA and 1.090 WHIP.
As the late, great Ron Santo might say, “Oh, no! Geez! Get in front of the [expletive] ball!”
OK, the former Cubs backup infielder and pinch-hitter isn’t going to win any Gold Gloves, but the lefty contact hitter has rightly earned his place as a lineup regular the last two years since being traded to the Angels.
That included a 2019 All-Star selection with the Angels (before an injury), an impressive 2020 playoff performance for the A’s and a subsequent shrine in @JesseRogersESPN ’s basement.
The Cubs might even drive in a few runs from third with less than two outs by bringing back La Stella.
If this is a dream free agent, it might be the one on this list with a chance to actually come true.
The best reliever in the Cubs’ bullpen this year helped keep the season upright for the Cubs in the early going with some of the most impressive high-leverage Houdini acts in MLB this season.
The 2018 All-Star got the bounce-back from injuries he hoped to produce after signing a one-year, $850,000 deal with the Cubs, and in a pandemic-suppressed free agent market might not break the bank on a short-term return with the Cubs.
And consider his door open for talks after saying on Instagram that he hopes to re-sign with the club.
