I have been talking about this on this page for some time now. I don’t believe the Chicago Cubs have adapted to the newer methodologies on player contract extensions. They have apparently talked to every younger Cubs player on the roster about an extension, but yet none of them have signed a new contract.
As players like Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, and Kris Bryant get closer to free agency, you would assume the Cubs would be working overtime to work out long term deals. But thus far, they have appeared to be all talk. Especially when you look at Bryant and Rizzo.
Marc Pollack, Rizzo’s agent, spoke out at the Winter Meetings on how the Cubs notified them that they would no longer talk extension with Rizzo this winter. Now, of course, this allows them to have those conversations next offseason, but when Jed Hoyer spoke about the subject it seems as if there is a disconnect.
Cubs GM Jed Hoyer responding to @SportsTalkCHI on @NBCSChicago to the news from @ARizzo44’s camp about the lack of contract extension talks: pic.twitter.com/KegJu6NDdc
— David Kaplan (@thekapman) December 11, 2019
“We’ve had conversations with lots of our guys over a five-year period and it’s always best to keep it quiet,” Hoyer shared. “I think in this case, Rizzo’s agent decided to talk about it and we did have some conceptual talks about what an extension would look like and I think that, candidly, we were pretty far apart in terms of length and so he decided to come out and say that.”
The reason this is a big deal is, the Cubs and Rizzo’s team sat down last offseason and had some conversations on what an extension would look like. They were three years out of his impending free agency, but they believed it was important to start that conversation. Fast-forward a year and the Cubs are notifying the same people that they will not discuss extensions this winter. Hoyer’s rebuttal to this tells me that they (Cubs) are undervaluing Rizzo in this process.
Over the past couple of years we have seen players reaching huge extensions which have kept them from testing free agency. Some of the more notable guys are Jose Altuve, Nolan Arenado, Chris Sale, Paul Goldschmidt, Xander Bogaerts, and the game’s best player – Mike Trout.
All of these players received giant deals, paying more than $20 million a year. Those extensions carried anywhere between two and eight years, and some of them even included no-trade clauses.
When the Cubs and Bryant have talked, there are several areas in which the Cubs have shorted the superstar. From money to years, and more recently – a no-trade clause.
NBC Chicago’s David Kaplan has recently reported that the Cubs and Bryant are far off on these areas. The biggest of which seems to be years and that no-trade clause. From a year’s perspective, the Cubs fear that giving Bryant an eight to 10-year deal will push him well into his late 30s, which could be a reason for concern. I’m not one to say Bryant is injury prone, he isn’t, but committing $28 or more million to a player that is 37 is a bit troublesome.
“Sources close to Bryant confirmed he is willing to listen to a long-term extension, but the Cubs’ offers were not anywhere close to what other top third baseman in baseball have recently signed for. The Cubs may be reluctant to sign any player to a large and lengthy contract extension because they believe players start to decline as they enter their mid-30s.”
Players want security and with the Bryant’s expecting, security is even more top of mind. Security comes in two forms, money and stability. Bryant will always have money, whether he gets paid by the Cubs or someone else, money will never be an issue. It is that stability in knowing where your office will be over the next five, eight, or 10 years.
Reportedly, the Cubs do not sound willing to offer Bryant a no-trade clause, something they have given Jon Lester, Yu Darvish, and Jason Heyward. There’s precedent for Bryant to want one too, not only does he prefer to remain a Cub, but players like Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg, and Nolan Arenado have all received full no-trade clauses in their recent deals.
The Cubs will need to break somewhere, whether it is with Bryant or one of their other stars. If they aren’t offering a player the pay they could get in free agency, or the years they could get in free agency, why would a player sign a deal that could have them traded?
Knock, knock Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer, you have to give in somewhere.
Long gone are the days when they can play a video showing a player being one that helped break a 100-year curse. It is over, the Cubs won. Bryant and Rizzo have won. They don’t need to take a discount to remain Cubs, they shouldn’t take a discount to remain Cubs.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Bryant wants a deal like Rendon or Arenado got.
“Those players who have recently signed all got long-term deals with certainty on where they would be playing. If you want to sign the best players in the game then you have to be willing to give those players what other teams are willing to give,” a source says. “Otherwise, why wouldn’t a player just go through arbitration and then get to free agency where he could get his market value? Players aren’t going to sign what you want them to if they have more attractive options available to them.”
While the verdict is out as to which third baseman is best. You can look at things like WAR and wRC+ which put Bryant at the top of the lists, but Rendon’s ability to come through in big situations or Arenado’s defense might push either of them higher on your lists. Bryant will argue that his ability to play nearly every position on the diamond pushes his value right on par with either of those two.
Bryant’s versatility is something that neither of those two has. Heck, not many players in baseball can play six positions, sometimes in the span of four games. Bryant’s versatility should allow him to extend his career a bit longer too. These are all points that Scott Boras certainly tells Cubs management whenever that phone rings.
“The Cubs still have some very good players, but unless they want to play with the big boys in the sport they are not going to be able to get their key guys to sign extensions unless they come to grips what these players can get from other clubs,” a source close to the situation told Kaplan.
