Bote Got Paid, Who Else is Lined Up for a Major Payday
Aug 12, 2018; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman David Bote (13) rounds the bases after hitting game winning grand slam against the Washington Nationals at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports
Mr. Ultimate Grand Slam himself, David Bote has just been locked down for the next five years with the Chicago Cubs. This isn’t a “sexy” extension, as there are several others on the club that fit that mold a bit more, but this solidifies some low-cost depth for years to come.
The #Cubs and INF David Bote have agreed to terms on a five-year contract extension covering the 2020-2024 seasons.
The deal includes club options for 2025 & 2026. pic.twitter.com/onnq2kcdNz
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 3, 2019
The deal will begin in 2020, and run through the 2024 season. The club also holds two option years in 2025 and 2026. It appears that the deal has a value (not including the options) of $15 million, or roughly a $3 million AAV.
David Bote’s contract is valued at $15 million over the next five seasons, beginning in 2020, according to a source familiar with the deal.
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) April 3, 2019
If I were a betting man, the actual money is step-laddered up, increasing in value over the next five seasons. The option years are likely worth $1-$2 million more than the 2024 season will pay Bote.
Which Cub is next!?
The elephant in the room is Kris Bryant. He is the most talented player on the ballclub, he has openly said he would talk about an extension, but so far nothing has come of it. Well, at least not in the open. Bryant’s agent, Scott Boras does not sign extensions. It is his job to take his clients to free agency and break open team’s piggy banks. The only Boras players I can recall in the past several years to sign an extension is Stephan Strasburg and Jose Altuve. The issue with that approach is, teams are now offering more in extension deals than they are in free agent deals…
- Mike Trout – 12 years, $426 million, $35.5m AAV
- Nolan Arenado – 8 years, $260 million, $32.5m AAV
- Justin Verlander – 2 years, $66 million, $33m AAV
- Jacob deGrom – 4 years, $120 million, $30m AAV
- Chris Sale – 5 years, $145 million, $29m AAV
- Paul Goldschmidt – 5 years, $130 million, $26m AAV
- Alex Bergman – 5 years, $100 million, $20m AAV
If Bryant does sign an extension, it will be because he pushed the issue, and I don’t see that happening until after the 2019 season. He’s the type that will command Arenado-type money. The Cubs seem very complacent in waiting on Bryant. Maybe he comes back and has a superstar-like season for the Cubs, and increases his value much higher than Arenado’s. Or, maybe he struggles in 2019, and the Cubs can get a value deal for him.
Willson Contreras
In the 2018 offseason I would have put money on the club finding a way to sign Contreras to an extension. He was an up-and-coming talent. A guy that had taken to the catcher’s position, and was looking to be one of the best two-way catchers in baseball.
But, admittedly, Contreras didn’t work as hard as he should have, and that showed. While it is good that he recognized his issue, he still can’t make up for his 2018 season. That’s one full year of development that he cheated himself out of, and when you look at the dollars and sense of the game, he cost himself money.
So now it is a question of, does Contreras want to bet on himself, or do the Cubs believe a catcher with a high-motor and potentially poor work ethic is a bad investment? Unfortunately, this is a question that likely doesn’t become clear until July-September.
Albert Almora
Here is a dude that it feels like the front office is banking on. They sent Ian Happ to the minor leagues to work out his kinks, and handed him the keys to the center field position. The problem here is, he hasn’t hit in 2019.
Make no mistakes, Almora is a defensive wizard in center. With guys like Javier Baez, and the multi-time Gold Glove winner, Jason Heyward, Almora is very likely the best defensive player on the team.
His offensive struggles shouldn’t last. He is a very simple hitter, puts the bat on the ball. Eventually the BABIP gods will come through and grant him hits. He has a higher probability on getting an extension than Bryant or Contreras at this point. He wouldn’t cost him much money, he is young enough to where floating a couple million under his nose can provoke him into a deal. The security will also be nice for a young player who is married and has a baby.
Javier Baez
Baez is my pick for the next extension. He is also recently married with a baby. Now while this might not mean a ton for most, this very well could be a huge factor in Baez electing to not go through a free agency process that is, very ugly in recent years. Also, he isn’t going to be giving up much of anything at all if he does seek the security of an extension.
I peg Baez for a similar deal to Bergman. He should get a five to six year extension in the neighborhood of $100 – $130 million. This would also keep him in a Cubs uniform till at least the 2024 season as well, or his age 31 season.
This gives Baez a chance to earn much more than he could through any arbitration process the next couple seasons AND allow him to hit free agency with a chance to bank on the next 5-6 years of his career.
Get this one done Theo and Jed.
