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Since the day before the Cubs picked up Cole Hamels’ 2019 option the number one storyline surrounding the team in the offseason has been the continued reports that the front office will be financially restricted. That narrative has slightly shifted in the past week to the Cubs needing to get creative in order to make a huge splash in free agency.
However, in the last couple days leading up to the Winter Meetings in Las Vegas there has been some optimism among the fan base that maybe Bryce Harper doesn’t just care about the most money. There’s growing sentiment that the Cubs may very well be more in on Harper than what’s been reported publicly.
Evan Altman from Cubs Insider broke it down on Sunday night.
the winter meetings have arrived #Cubs 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/3dXKe60qyl
— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) December 10, 2018
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There’s something brewing indeed because on Monday night 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine dropped this huge bombshell.
Via 670 The Score.
At the GM Meetings in November, agents indicated the Cubs had told them the had limited financial flexibility.
Has anything changed? It remains unclear, but on the flip side, rumblings also exist that the Ricketts family has signed off on the possibility of a big expenditure for a star like Harper. Only the Cubs know, and only time will tell how big of a free agency splash they can make.
Whatever the truth is the front office is certainly not giving anything away talking to the media. Cubs GM Jed Hoyer spoke to reporters Monday night and claimed the team’s financial situation has not changed.
While Jed Hoyer won’t get into specifics about the budget, he did say that “nothing has changed in that regard” since the GM meetings. Meaning so far, the Cubs haven’t found the kind of extra financial flexibility they created before a spending spree at the 2015 winter meetings.
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) December 11, 2018
Hoyer’s sticking to the narrative that the team expects its biggest improvement from within instead of a big splash in free agency.
GM Jed Hoyer again stresses that the Cubs are focusing more on internal improvements than external solutions: "I’ve never said this before, but I’ve never wanted a season to start quicker. I just feel like the way that the season ended, it left such a bitter taste in our mouths."
— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) December 11, 2018
Yet, it’s never made sense for the Cubs not to go after Harper or Manny Machado this offseason. Two great players in their primes don’t become free agents often if ever really. Plus, the Cubs are right in the middle of their championship window and they have a need to improve their offense.
As of Monday the White Sox, Dodgers and Phillies are considered the top three teams in on Harper. His agent Scott Boras recently said in an interview with USA Today that he only expects three official offers by teams. This quote in particular certainly raised the eyebrows of some Cubs fans, as it plays into the theory that the front office is being coy about their pursuit of Harper.
Via USA Today.
“This is a submarine race, not a regatta,” Boras says. “You do not want other teams knowing you’re interested in a generation player. No one wants to be known as a loser in this.”
So, maybe at the surface it doesn’t appear that the Cubs are one of the top suitors for Harper, but underneath it all they may just be trying to work it out while keeping quiet in front of the media.
And if the rumblings about Ricketts OK’ing the pursuit of Harper are true, then you bet the Cubs will be one of the finalists for him. That really changes everything and again if it’s true then the Cubs most likely become the favorite to sign Harper.
As always, you can’t ever count out Theo Epstein.