Some believe a Rizzo Extension is nearing

The Chicago Cubs have had quite the last six months. It started with them getting bounced out of the playoffs by the Miami Marlins, then there were rumors of the club reducing payroll significantly, followed by rumors of the club potentially non-tendering Kris Bryant. That all cumulated in Theo Epstein stepping down as president of baseball operations. They would trade Yu Darvish and Victor Caratini, non-tendered Kyle Schwarber and Albert Almora Jr., and essentially stayed out of the free-agent market altogether. Then of course there were a series of other trade rumors.

Since, the Cubs added Joc Pederson, some pitching help, and Jed Hoyer has expressed a genuine interest in signing long-term deals with their core players.

I had covered the optimism surrounding a possible Bryant extension earlier in the month, but now it seems the other half of Bryzzo is becoming very optimistic. When speaking to the media on Friday, Rizzo again expressed his desire to remain a Cub and some optimism about the idea of something getting done soon.

“I’ve obviously expressed it before. I love Chicago. I love the fans. I love the city,” Rizzo said. “I’m happy here. It’s just about doing what’s right and what makes sense.”

Back in 2013, Rizzo signed a seven-year deal taking him through the end of the 2021 season. Not only was it important for the Cubs to lock down their young superstar first baseman, being a club-friendly deal, it allowed the team to make significant moves across the next four to five seasons. Of course, that meant the commitments to guys like Jon Lester, John Lackey, Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, to name a few.

This time around it might not be the same type of idea. Over the past few seasons, we have heard from Rizzo’s agent and Hoyer suggesting the two sides were pretty far apart. This could be in years, it could be in total value, it could be in AAV, or it could be in perks (opt outs, trade clauses, etc.). That is why this quote is pretty exciting in terms of a possible Rizzo extension.

“I’m very optimistic,” Rizzo suggested when discussing. “We’ve had really good conversations top to bottom.”

Not only is the optimism a very good sign, which should suggest they are much closer than before, but the fact that these conversations started before Spring Training tells me the Cubs are pretty serious about keeping him around.

Previously, Hoyer suggested that they weren’t going to talk extensions with any player. Then, when the idea of fans being at games and some other MLB changes, the Cubs were able to add some additional budget to the player fund. That’s when Hoyer told us that the club would negotiate with Rizzo, Bryant, and Javier Baez in Arizona. This is the first indication we’ve had that negotiations were happening before anyone had reported.

While I know the Cubs and Bryant spoke before Spring, it was mostly a “clear the air” conversation, letting Kris and Scott Boras know the truth to the trade rumors. I did suggest that Bryant’s camp had become optimistic, but if we were rating on an optimism scale, right now it seems Rizzo is ahead of both Bryant and Baez.

“They’re cut from the same cloth as far as transparency with me and our relationship and the ups and downs of my health battle [with cancer as a minor-leaguer] and career and extension and winning,” Rizzo suggested when comparing Theo and Jed. “Just everything has been very easy for us to talk, to communicate with Theo, and same with Jed. It’s been seamless.”

Rizzo has been around both Theo and Jed for 15 years. They have a great relationship, and all of their baseball legacies are tied together. After moving to San Diego, Rizzo was one of his bigger moves, acquiring him in return for Adrian Gonzalez. With the Red Sox committing a ton of money to several players and a third-place finish, Epstein stepped away from the GM helm. He would then take the reins in Chicago, lure Hoyer, trade for Rizzo, and the rest is 2016 history.

The Cubs are in a different window, one that is built around the next competitive team. They aren’t punting in 2021, but they aren’t heavily investing in a roster that has three superstars in their final season under contract. While some players who are in their 30s might look at this as a sinking ship, Rizzo suggests that the team’s conversations with him have been about their long-term competitive plans. This has motivated Rizzo all the more.

“It’s big,” Rizzo said. “My goal is bringing the next championship here in Chicago. It’s coming. It’s coming soon. It’s coming to the city. That’s my focus: How are we going to win?”

When a player starts talking this way and suggesting this is also how the organization is communicating to him, anyone would be motivated to re-sign. Rizzo also suggested a lot of the public talk hasn’t been the same as the internal talk. While the club has to prove it, the team seems committed to its core guys.

“It’s March 12. Everybody feels good,” Rizzo added. “But as far as potentially rebuilding and all that stuff, they’ve been ‘trading guys’ and ‘blowing up’ this team for the last three years. It’s all part of the business and what comes with it. You just stay focused on the task.”

It now seems like the Cubs are certainly circling their wagons and nearing a major signing (or, re-signing). There is some industry optimism that Rizzo, as the main focus of the last run, will be the first to sign an extension. Rizzo himself is suggesting a Rizzo extension is closer than ever.

The issue for everyone is, there is a hard stop on April 1st, 2021. The players and more importantly, their agents, know the Cubs have an exclusive window of now to negotiate. Once the calendar turns April 2nd, well, now the players are focused on the season and don’t really want to allow the business of the game to interfere. They also understand that if they aren’t getting what they like, they just have to play out the stretch, and come November they’ll be rewarded.

This is something Rizzo recognizes. He suggested as such several times when speaking.

“Right now this next two and a half weeks is pretty much the only time that is exclusive to the Cubs from a bargaining standpoint”

“The business stuff will unfold in a couple weeks, good or bad, and then I’ll just leave it all on the field like I always do.”

“Right now it’s our agents and [wife] Emily and I having great conversations about everything that’s going on. It’s all good. It’s all positive. I feel really good. But once April 1 comes, it’s all about baseball.”

So, yes, Rizzo is excited about a new deal and it does appear he has the best shot of getting one before the season starts. But he realizes there isn’t a ton of time and making a decision that will influence the next five to ten (or more) years is hard to finalize in a two-week period.

“We’ve got a couple more weeks to Opening Day,” Rizzo said. “Everything between now and then is exciting stuff. Either good or bad, whatever happens is exciting for the future. And once Opening Day comes this team is going to be focused on just playing baseball.”

It seems there’s more thought for others in the organization with regard to this decision, but even though he wants to be here, he isn’t signing a bad deal, personally, to accomplish that. Otherwise, we would already have a Rizzo extension. But, Rizzo not only is thinking about 2022 or 2023, he’s looking 25 years down the line.

“I want to be here for the rest of my career. I want to be here 25 years from now when the Cubs are in the World Series, throwing out first pitches,” he said. “I’ve seen other Cubs greats come back. That motivates me to keep getting better.”