A few weeks back Bovada released its odds for favorites to sign Bryce Harper in free agency and the Cubs were number one, way ahead of the pack. Now, as the official start to the offseason nears, 670 The Score’s Bruce Levine caught everyone’s attention with his latest article talking about the chances of the Cubs actually signing Harper.
And oh boy was this one hell of a lede.
🍆🍆🍆 pic.twitter.com/70frtYSNeb
— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) October 23, 2018
Hell to the fucking yeah!
At this point it’s no longer speculation whether or not the Cubs are going to go after Harper. The money doesn’t matter because as Levine outlines in his article, the ownership has been more than willing to provide resources to the front office. Plus, the team will have yet another avenue of money with their upcoming TV deal.
And some of the big money will come off the books soon, mainly Jon Lester’s deal ending after 2020.
Via 670 The Score.
But it should be noted that the Cubs’ books are set to lighten a bit after the 2020 season, after which their big commitment to left-hander Jon Lester will be over. With some young pitching now matriculating through the system, money could be shifted toward the position players like Bryant and Baez, who are both under club control through 2021.
But just exactly how much will it take to sign Harper?
Well, he’s a Scott Boras client and he loves setting records. Giancarlo Stanton currently holds the biggest MLB deal ever, at 13 years, $325 million.
Oh yeah, Levine is already tossing out a huge number just to start the bidding war.
The Cubs will now have the chance to make an aggressiveness pursuit of Harper to create an elite lineup. The bidding for him in free agency will start at 10 years and $350 million.
Yup, this is going to be one wild offseason.
But yeah, you should definitely love the fact that Bruce Levine is already writing about Harper to the Cubs. We can make fun of him all day long for his sometimes jumbled up tweets, but he’s been pretty spot on in the past.
After 2015, Levine was one of the first local guys to report the Cubs’ interest in Jason Heyward. Two months later, the Cubs signed him.
Where there’s smoke, there’s fire and I can’t wait for hot stove to really begin!
