Bernstein: The Cubs are IN on Harper
Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper pumps his fist as he stands on second with a double during the ninth inning of the team's baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, May 10, 2017, in Washington. The Nationals won 7-6. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
In news that shouldn’t really surprise anyone, Dan Bernstein of 670 The Score, and the Bernstein and McKnight show revealed that the Chicago Cubs are most definitely “in” on free agent slugger, Bryce Harper.
While questions swirl about their financial picture, #Cubs will monitor the Bryce Harper sweepstakes closely, @dan_bernstein says: “You got to be in on it right now. Why not? It doesn’t cost you anything to be in.”
Full @Bernstein_McK podcasts: https://t.co/B1Yl4DuCNW pic.twitter.com/sA5jDpYb1n
— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) November 16, 2018
That quote, “You got to be in on it right now. Why not? It doesn’t cost you anything to be in.” says it all to this point. What is there to lose by being involved, asking the questions, and attaching yourself to Harper right now? It doesn’t hurt, and you could potentially find yourself in the position to land a generational talent later in the offseason as things play out.
But the money thing, and the Cubs said they aren’t spending that kind of coin. Well, I have mentioned before that all of that talk is pure malarkey to either help drive down costs or as to not show their hand. But there was this piece from Brett Taylor of Bleacher Nation that seems to dispel that thought a bit. Here is an excerpt.
So, what would Theo Epstein say about that if you asked him? Well, the Chicago Tribune did at the GM Meetings, and he said that, “We definitely don’t have any artificial limitations,” in reference to $246 million being a hard top.
Now, this isn’t a new revelation, as Theo has mentioned, on multiple occasions, that if there was a need that made sense, the ownership team would allow it. Remember, as Brett recalled from before the season, “a certain great fit or just the right special player happens to become available, or somebody wants to be in Chicago and something becomes too good to turn down.”
Now, we are talking about a $300+ million commitment, which is a third of the price tag that the Ricketts family paid for the Cubs. Any move like this would absolutely need to be made with every single precaution. It was just four winters ago that the Cubs had never signed a contract with an AAV of $20 million, and now there are four, with the potential of adding someone that would earn over $30 million a season.
Non of this means the Cubs are offering anything. None of this means the Cubs will offer anything. None of this means much more than, the Cubs are interested in hearing more info on potentially the most intriguing free agent to hit the market since Barry Bonds. Luckily, the cost of sitting at the table is $0, but the cost of poker is becoming too rich for a lot of people’s blood.
