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Central Notes: Kluber, Greene, Cubs

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Indians ace Corey Kluber has earned $3.5MM of a possible $4MM in contract escalators, according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com (via Twitter). All that remains is an all-but-certain top-10 finish in this year’s Cy Young award voting to raise Kluber’s salary in 2019 from $13MM to the full $17MM. His contract options in 2020 and 2021 will increase to $17.5MM and $18MM respectively. Despite a disappointing loss to Justin Verlander and the Astros in the ALDS, Kluber put together another stellar campaign in 2018. He won twenty games for the first time, going 20-7 with a 2.89 ERA in 215 innings. Kluber’s run of dominance began in his age-28 season, and he’s been one of baseball’s true number-one starters in the five years since (2.84 FIP, 152 ERA+ over that time). He more than earned his pay raise, but it does make an already-tight financial situation even tighter for Cleveland this offseason as they try to fill holes in their lineup and rebuild their bullpen around July acquisition Brad Hand.

Some notes from the Senior Circuit’s central division…

  • Encouraging news for Reds fans from Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer, as 2017 number two overall pick Hunter Greene rehabs his elbow at the Reds’ Spring Training complex in Arizona. Greene sprained the ulnar collateral ligament in his throwing elbow – and though injuries to this ligament often result in Tommy John surgery – Greene elected the non-surgical route and is progressing as planned. Before ending his season in July, the 6’4″ right-hander was 3-7 with a 4.48 ERA in 18 starts at Class-A Dayton. Advanced metrics paint a more impressive picture for the 19-year-old flamethrower — 11.72 K/9, 3.29 FIP, 3.13 xFIP. Greene hopes to get back to hitting triple digits when he resumes throwing in December or January.
  • Cubs players seemed unclear in exit interviews about the organization’s hitting philosophy. Theo Epstein, Joe Maddon and whoever replaces Chili Davis as Maddon’s hitting coach will strive for greater harmony in organizational messaging about their offensive strategy moving forward, but the track record isn’t great writes the Athletic’s Patrick Mooney as he reviews Chicago’s hitting coaches since 2013 – a list that will be one name longer by Opening Day 2019. Current Phillies hitting coach John Mallee survived the longest, a three-year stretch that included the 2016 World Series and ended after the 2017 season. Some names Mooney suggests the Cubs could consider include current assistant hitting coach Andy Haines, former assistant hitting coach Eric Hinske (who worked under Mallee for three seasons) and former special assistant in player development Anthony Iapoce, who spent last season as the Rangers’ hitting coach.

Offseason Outlook: Chicago Cubs

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MLBTR is publishing Offseason Outlooks for all 30 teams.  Click here to read the other entries in this series.

For the first time in franchise history, the Cubs reached the playoffs in four consecutive years.  However, a loss to the Rockies in the Wild Card game left a bitter taste in the Cubs’ mouths and the front office must make significant additions to the offense and bullpen.

Guaranteed Contracts

Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections via MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)

Contract Options

Free Agents

[Chicago Cubs Depth Chart; Chicago Cubs Payroll Overview]

“Our offense broke somewhere along the lines,” stated Cubs president Theo Epstein the day after his team was bounced from the playoffs following a five-hour slog against the Rockies.  The Cubs didn’t even expect to be in that Wild Card game, but they lost a tiebreaker game to a surging Brewers club.  Before we attempt to guess at how Epstein might go about fixing the offense, let’s take a look at which players are locked in.

Willson Contreras will continue to handle primary catching duties.  Contreras, 27 in May, had an argument to be considered the best-hitting catcher in baseball over the period stretching from his June 2016 debut until this year’s trade deadline.  Then, from August 2nd onward, he hit .169/.263/.232 with one home run in 160 plate appearances.  He went from regularly serving as the Cubs’ #4 or 5 hitter to hitting seventh or eighth most days.  Contreras’ collapse is one damning data point for now-former Cubs hitting coach Chili Davis.  Getting Contreras back to his established 120 wRC+ level would be a big boost to the 2019 offense.  Contreras caught a career-high 1109 2/3 innings in 2018 and would likely benefit from a quality veteran backup.  After a strong season in which he made 83 starts for the Braves, free agent Kurt Suzuki might not accept a diminished role, but he’s the type of player the Cubs should target.

The team’s other big in-house offensive project is getting Kris Bryant right.  Bryant, 27 in January, had his first real setback as a pro player this year but still managed a 125 wRC+.  That’s disappointing only because he’d set his level at 144 over his first three Major League seasons, winning the NL MVP in 2016.  Bryant injured his left shoulder on a headfirst slide in late May and was never the same since.  He was limited to just 102 games this year.  Fortunately, Epstein does not expect surgery for Bryant, and in fact expects a “monster” 2019 out of him.  Given Bryant’s stature and potential, I wonder if manager Joe Maddon would be better served locking him in at third base, rather than sprinkling in time at the outfield corners as he has done to date.  Healthy, bounceback seasons from Bryant and Contreras are crucial to the Cubs’ 2019 offense.

Anthony Rizzo is the Cubs’ rock at first base and remains among the best hitters in the game at his position.  Ben Zobrist bounced back to show he’s actually not done as a hitter at age 37, and he’s an option for slightly less than full-time duty at some combination of second base and the outfield corners again.  Javier Baez catapulted himself into the NL MVP discussion with a five-win age-25 season.  Baez fits well at any infield position.  He maxed out his offensive abilities in 2018 by mashing 83 extra-base hits, making up for his perennially low walk rate.  The Cubs are also locked into near-regular playing time for Jason Heyward, because of his strong outfield defense as well as the large amount of money left on his contract.  Heyward continued to improve as a hitter in his third year as a Cub, but that still resulted in a low-power league average batting line.  The positional flexibility of Heyward, Baez, Zobrist, and others will allow the Cubs to explore both of the major prizes of the 2018-19 free agent market.

Those prizes, of course, are superstars Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.  Both free agents project to top the current largest contract in baseball history, Giancarlo Stanton’s $325MM deal.  MLBTR expects each player to reach $400MM, with an average annual value in the range of $30MM.  Can the Cubs afford to add the largest contract in baseball history to their ledger?  With a new TV deal on the horizon after 2019, the answer appears to be yes.  Given arbitration raises, the Cubs will come in around last year’s Opening Day payroll before any new players are added, so I do expect the club to jump past $200MM for the first time.  The Cubs successfully reset with a payroll under the Competitive Balance Tax threshold in 2018, reducing the tax penalty for ’19 if they exceed the new $206MM threshold.  Last March, I debated the true necessity of teams like the Cubs, Dodgers, and Yankees to reset, but all three have done it and enter the 2018-19 offseason ready to spend.

Epstein has gone big game hunting many times for both the Cubs and Red Sox, and figures to be firmly in the mix for Harper or Machado.  Which player is the better fit?  My vote is for Harper, who has a higher offensive ceiling than Machado and as a left-handed batter breaks up the Cubs’ core of right-handed hitters (Bryant, Baez, and Contreras).   Cubs fans can salivate at the prospect of a Murderer’s Row of Bryant, Harper, Baez, Rizzo, and Contreras.  Harper would take over as the team’s regular right fielder, pushing Heyward to center and possibly a young outfielder off the roster, which we’ll discuss later.

The possibility the Cubs prefer Machado should not be discounted.  Fans can also dream on a Machado-Baez middle infield combination, although Baez may actually be the superior shortstop.  Signing Machado seems to create an inefficiency – pushing Baez back to second, or pushing Bryant to left field.  That is, unless Machado is willing to sign under the same conditions most current Cubs position players have, where all but Rizzo, Contreras, and Albert Almora bounce around to multiple positions.  I think the Cubs are better-served with Harper in right field and a Heyward-Almora platoon in center.

Almora might be wasted on the short side of a platoon, however, and the Cubs will likely consider trading him under certain scenarios.  Likewise, Kyle Schwarber and Ian Happ face the possibility of a trade, particularly if the Cubs acquire a starting outfielder.  Schwarber, 26 in March, quieted the talk of his left field defense as a liability.  However, he proved powerless against left-handed pitching and was limited to seeing southpaws only 18% of the time under Maddon.  There could be another gear for Schwarber if he starts hitting lefties, but as always, Maddon is reluctant to give him that full opportunity on a contending club.

Happ, a 24-year-old switch-hitter, played all three outfield positions and third base this year.  Strikeouts were up and power was down in his sophomore season, and he too was unable to hit lefties.  Though he’s technically more versatile than Schwarber, Happ seems position-less.  He spent more time in center field than any other position (403 2/3 innings) despite being the team’s third-best center fielder.  The Cubs limited his time in the infield this year.  Schwarber is arbitration eligible for the first time this winter and is controlled for three more seasons; Happ remains near the league minimum and is controlled for five more seasons.  It’s simpler retaining Schwarber: keep him in left field, try to unlock his power against left-handed pitching, and he might yet become a middle of the order hitter.  Trading Happ is risky, though, given the five remaining years of team control.

Harper and Machado are certainly not the Cubs’ only options for outside additions.  They’re just the best ones.  Free agent bats like Nelson Cruz, Andrew McCutchen, A.J. Pollock, Michael Brantley, Jed Lowrie, Wilson Ramos, and Yasmani Grandal don’t clearly make the Cubs better or fit onto their roster.  The trade market doesn’t appear to boast a superstar, either, unless you think the Cubs could pry Nolan Arenado loose from the Rockies for his final year before free agency.

Cubs shortstop Addison Russell received a 40-game suspension for violating MLB’s domestic violence policy based on claims from his ex-wife, and he will be ineligible to play until May 3rd next year.  Asked if Russell will return to the Cubs next year, Epstein replied, “I don’t know.  With all of our words and actions going forward, whether we know it or not, we’re sending messages to our fans.”  The Cubs don’t have the moral high ground when it comes to domestic violence, having traded for Aroldis Chapman in 2016 about ten months after that pitcher’s incident.  In this case, which unlike that one is post-“Me Too,” the PR move probably coincides with the baseball move, and most expect the Cubs to let Russell go.  We’ll likely learn next month whether Russell is too toxic to trade to another team, but I would guess not.

Moving on, let’s discuss the Cubs’ starting rotation.  Lester, Hendricks, and Quintana are locked in.  Yu Darvish’s first year was a disaster, with the pitcher making only eight MLB starts due to a parainfluenza virus, triceps tendinitis/inflammation, a shoulder impingement, and a stress reaction in his elbow.  He had seemingly minor elbow surgery in September and is expected to be ready for Spring Training.  Given his salary and past success, Darvish will have a spot in the Cubs’ rotation whenever he’s ready.  The Cubs also have Drew Smyly under contract.  Smyly, a 29-year-old southpaw, underwent Tommy John surgery in July 2017 and signed a two-year deal with the Cubs last December.  He’ll be 18 months removed from the procedure when pitchers and catchers report in February and could be an asset given his past success with the Tigers and Rays.

While the Cubs will be cautiously optimistic on Darvish and Smyly for 2019, there is no such optimism for Tyler Chatwood.  The Cubs gave Chatwood a three-year, $38MM deal last December based mostly on upside, and the righty’s already-poor control became the worst in baseball in 2018.  In fact, Chatwood’s 19.6% walk rate was the fifth-worst in baseball history for pitchers with at least 100 innings.  The Cubs’ 2018 season served as a reminder how much every win counts, and I can’t see how Chatwood would have a role on the 2019 Cubs.  Russell Martin could make for an excellent bad contract swap from the Cubs’ side, though not so much from Toronto’s.  Alex Gordon, Zack Cozart, Homer Bailey, and Martin Prado could be other potential targets in my estimation.

Though the Cubs also have Mike Montgomery as a back-end rotation depth option, there’s more than enough uncertainty to justify picking up Cole Hamels’ $20MM option.  Hamels, 35 in December, was excellent in a dozen starts for the Cubs after a July trade from Texas.  The Cubs could also attempt to negotiate a two-year deal with Hamels at a lower average annual value.

Aside from the offense, the Cubs’ other big problem is a lack of bullpen depth.  In a world where teams are giving half their innings to relievers in the playoffs, the Cubs would have had a difficult time making a sustained postseason run even if they had beaten the Rockies.  Brandon Morrow’s season ended on July 15th due to biceps inflammation, even though the injury was initially thought to be on the minor side.  Given the 34-year-old’s extensive injury history, this couldn’t have been a shock for the Cubs.  Morrow was excellent when he was healthy, and he’ll be delicately deployed in the late innings in 2019.  The Cubs have Steve Cishek under contract and will pick up their option on Pedro Strop, making for a decent right-handed trio.  Beyond that, I expect multiple external additions and a good amount of turnover.  The Cubs do control Montgomery, Carl Edwards Jr., and Randy Rosario.  They have Duensing under contract after a terrible year, and should expect Brandon Kintzler to pick up his $5MM player option after his rough stint on the North Side.

Edwards is a tantalizing, frustrating talent, and the Cubs have to wonder whether he’ll ever be a reliable late inning option for them.  From the left side, the Cubs can do better than Montgomery, Rosario, and Duensing.  The club will have to be prepared to release Duensing and/or Kintzler if those veterans fail to impress in Spring Training.  Bottom line: it’s time to turn over at least half the bullpen.  I don’t expect the Cubs to make a run at Craig Kimbrel, but the free agent market still offers a long list of options, including Adam Ottavino, Jeurys Familia, David Robertson, Andrew Miller, Joakim Soria, Cody Allen, Zach Britton, and a pair of rehabbing former closers (Kelvin Herrera & Trevor Rosenthal).  One veteran worth retaining is Jesse Chavez, who ascended to the top of the Cubs’ decimated bullpen by year’s end and reportedly wants to return.

The Cubs also have a bit of managerial drama, with Joe Maddon entering lame duck status in 2019.  Epstein said all the right things about Maddon after the season, but there’s still a feeling that Maddon’s tenure in Chicago is nearing an end.  My guess is that short of a 2019 World Championship, Maddon departs after the season.

Though most MLBTR readers graded the Cubs’ 2017-18 offseason an A or a B at the time, the first year results of those deals were quite poor.  The stakes might be higher this time around.  Now that expectations are sky-high, this year’s early playoff exit must be considered a disappointment.  The money involved could be bigger than ever and Epstein will be making decisions that have a large impact on whether his team can pull off another World Championship inside the three years of control remaining for Bryant, Rizzo, and Baez.

Cubs Will Not Retain Chili Davis As Hitting Coach

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The Cubs have announced that they have parted ways with hitting coach Chili Davis, as Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune was among those to tweet. The long-time major leaguer lasted only one year on the job.

Last fall, the Cubbies brought Davis in along with several other new additions to the staff of manager Joe Maddon. He had served with the Red Sox before that field staff was broken up when the Sox fired skipper John Farrell.

It seems the Cubs have yet to make final determinations on other staff members. Maddon himself is entering the final year of his contract, of course. Despite some ongoing murmurs of internal friction, all indications are that he’ll remain in charge of the dugout for at least one more campaign. (See here and here.)

Jesse Chavez On 2018 Cubs Stint

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  • After Colorado eliminated Chicago from the playoffs Tuesday, Cubs reliever Jesse Chavez reportedly declared to teammates, “If I’m not wearing this [uniform] next year, I’m done.” Whether the pending free agent, 35, still feels that way is unclear, but he did tell Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (subscription required), “I’m open-minded to anything,” with regard to a potential role on next year’s Cubs. Joining the Cubs, who acquired him from the Rangers in July, enabled Chavez to participate in the playoffs for the first time in his long career, Mooney notes. “This has been one of my favorite places to come since I broke into the league,” Chavez said to Mooney, and he went on to laud the Cubs’ “atmosphere, the history, the culture, the clubhouse, the stands, the fans.” That’s important, Mooney opines, writing that “Wrigley Field is not for everyone and you have to recognize who can handle it.” Chavez proved capable of handling it in 2018, as the right-hander recorded a microscopic 1.15 ERA with tremendous strikeout and walk rates (9.7 K/9, 1.2 BB/9) in 39 innings after Chicago picked him up.

Cubs Hoping For Pitching Surplus In 2019

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  • The Twins interviewed hitting coach James Rowson for their managerial vacancy today, La Velle E. Neal III of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.  The team also has interest in Mark DeRosa and David Ross, a pair of former players-turned-TV analysts who have often been mentioned as potential future managers.  DeRosa could be on the Rangers’ radar as well this winter, and he has interviewed with the Mets and Marlins for past managerial openings in recent years.  None of the trio has any previous pro experience as a manager, as Rowson has previously only worked as a hitting coach (with the Twins and Cubs) and minor league hitting coordinator (with the Cubs and Yankees).
  • The Cubs project to be very deep in starting pitching options in 2019, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes, with the obvious caveat that several of those arms will have to rebound from injury-filled or just ineffective seasons.  “We’re not looking to get rid of starting pitchers,” president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said.  “We’re looking to have as much depth as possible so we can withstand multiple injuries.”  As the team is expected to exercise their club option on Cole Hamels, Chicago will have Hamels, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana, swingman Mike Montgomery, Yu Darvish looking to get healthy, Tyler Chatwood looking to improve on his brutal 2018 numbers, and Drew Smyly in his first full season recovered from Tommy John surgery.  It makes for quite a surplus if all those arms are healthy and productive, though that would be a problem the Cubs would certainly be happy to face if it occurs.

How The Cubs Can Upgrade The Offense

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  • In Cubs news, MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat took an early look at the questions Theo Epstein and company need to address this offseason.  The Cubs fell from first in runs scored to eighth in the second half, but exactly where in the lineup they’ll look to upgrade is as of yet unclear.  Perhaps the easiest way to improve the offense is to get Kris Bryant’s shoulder back in good form, as the former NL MVP was in and out of the lineup for much of the second half with shoulder soreness.  For now, the plan is to avoid surgery and hope that a longer offseason than usual helps the healing process.

Cubs Notes: Maddon, Offense, Hamels, Bullpen, Bryant

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Despite a morning report of possible tension between Cubs president of baseball ops Theo Epstein and manager Joe Maddon, Epstein said at today’s end-of-season press conference that Maddon’s “status remains unchanged” and firmly stated that he’s happy to have Maddon as his manager (video link via MLB.com). “I know there was a sort of high-profile report this morning,” said Epstein. “That was not accurate. … There were some claims that he and I had personal friction. Not true at all. We have a terrific working relationship. We don’t agree all the time about baseball issues, and that’s the way it should be. I don’t want a ’yes man’ as a manager, and I don’t want a ’yes man’ relationship working the other way, either. I think there should be discord and debate and healthy, trusting relationships where you can work together to make the organization better.”

Epstein added that the team’s loss in the Wild Card game was “not on [Maddon]” and left little to no doubt about his status, saying he looks forward to Maddon coming back in 2019. As for the rest of the coaching staff, the Cubs have not made any firm decisions (video link), but Epstein cautioned against making changes to the staff just for the sake of making changes, stressing the importance of continuity.

More from the press conference…

  • Epstein was blunt in suggesting that the Cubs’ offense “broke” at some point in the season and will need to be addressed heading into 2019 (video link). The Cubs “should be” an offensive force with the talent on their roster, he said before adding, “It’s probably time to stop evaluating this in terms of talent and start evaluating it in terms of production.”
  • ESPN’s Jesse Rogers has more from the press conference, including some quotes on how pleased the Cubs were with their acquisition of Cole Hamels, who was dominant following a move from Arlington to Chicago. Epstein called Hamels a “breath of fresh air” and indicated he’d love to have both him and righty Pedro Strop back in the mix. The Cubs have a $20MM club option on Hamels for next season that comes with a $6MM buyout, though the Rangers would be responsible for that buyout if that route is taken. If the Cubs exercise the option, they’d be responsible for the full $20MM sum. Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets that Epstein called Hamels “absolutely someone we want to be part of the mix going forward,” though that vote of confidence is still a bit shy of definitively stating that the option will be exercised.
  • Strop’s $6.25MM option seems like a more straightforward decision. On Strop, Epstein was extraordinarily complimentary of his longtime setup man (Twitter links via Wittenmyer), calling him “such a big part of the heartbeat of this team” and lauding the way in which he pitched through pain when returning from a “four to six week injury” in roughly half that time frame. As for injured closer Brandon Morrow, the Cubs are “very comfortable” with him as the team’s primary closer next season and will “commit again to a very structured role with him” in an effort to maintain his health.
  • The status of Kris Bryant’s left shoulder has been a talking point among Cubs fans as the former MVP struggled through a down season (by his lofty standards), but Epstein doesn’t believe that Bryant will require surgery (Twitter link via Rogers). Shoulder woes limited Bryant to 102 games (including Game 163), and he posted a .272/.374/.460 slash with 13 homers, 28 doubles and three triples. For most players, that’d be a terrific season — it checked in about 19 percent better than league average, per OPS+, and about 25 percent better according to wRC+ — but each of those rate stats checked in well south of the .293/.397/.546 Bryant posted from 2016-17.

Addison Russell Receives 40-Game Suspension

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3:20pm: The League announced that Russell has been suspended without pay for 40 games. That suspension is retroactive to Sept. 21, the date he was placed on administrative leave. That ban will carry over into 2019, rendering him ineligible to play for the season’s first month or so. Russell will not appeal the suspension, per the announcement.

3:06pm: Cubs shortstop Addison Russell will be suspended under Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy, reports Jesse Rogers of ESPN Chicago (via Twitter). The precise length of his ban is not yet certain, though Rogers suggests it’ll be between 25 and 40 games.

Russell, 24, was placed on administrative leave in September after allegations of physical and verbal abuse were brought forth by his ex-wife, Melisa Reidy. Commissioner Rob Manfred had already conducted an investigation into Russell last year after a friend of his ex-wife made allegations at the time, via social media. Reidy didn’t cooperate with the investigation at the time — a decision which she explained to Rogers in an interview that is well worth a full read for those who’ve yet to gather the full details of this situation.

The 25- to 40-game length of the ban will make Russell’s suspension one of the lighter punishments handed out by Manfred under the current policy. Earlier this season, Roberto Osuna received a 75-game suspension, and other high-profile cases have included Hector Olivera (82 games), Jose Reyes (51 games) and Aroldis Chapman (30 games). Suspensions for Olivera, Reyes and Osuna all came after criminal charges were pressed, however (resulting in jail time for Olivera; charges against Reyes were eventually dropped, while Osuna agreed to a one-year peace bond as the charge was withdrawn).

Criminal charges have not yet been brought forth against Russell, and there’s no clear indication that they ever will. Regardless, the suspension severely clouds Russell’s future with the organization. The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney recently reported (subscription required) that there has been a “sense around the team” that Russell has played his final game as a Cub.

Should the Cubs elect to retain Russell, he’ll be under club control through the 2021 season (this suspension’s length won’t impact his free-agent timeline). He’d be due a raise on this season’s $3.2MM salary after posting a dismal .250/.317/.340 batting line through 465 games. If not, he can be non-tendered and sent out into free agency, with Javier Baez likely sliding over to assume regular shortstop duties.

Cubs Expected To Keep Joe Maddon For 2019 Season

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Though the Cubs’ postseason run ended earlier than the team hoped, the loss in last night’s NL wild card game doesn’t seem like it will lead to a change in the dugout.  The Cubs are expected to retain manager Joe Maddon through the 2019 season, ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers reports.

Maddon is under contract through next year, in what will be the final season of the five-year, $25MM deal he signed to come to Chicago in October 2014.  MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi reported earlier today, however, that a contract extension doesn’t appear to be coming in the near future, nor have Maddon’s representatives recently inquired about a new deal with Cubs management.

It’s hard to argue with Maddon’s track record since coming to Wrigleyville, as the Cubs have a 387-261 record and four postseason appearances in his four seasons as manager, highlighted by the curse-breaking 2016 World Series championship.  Despite all this success, there have been whispers that Maddon and president of baseball operations Theo Epstein “are not always on the same page,” as The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal phrased it earlier today.  Some of Maddon’s in-game tactics led to some criticism from pundits and fans over the years, and Rosenthal’s subscription-only piece outlines some of the instances where Epstein could have found fault with Maddon’s decisions this year, such as possibly overusing Brandon Morrow.

While it seems as if Maddon could be entering the 2019 season as a “lame duck” manager, such a situation might not be unusual for either side.  Maddon said last winter that he doesn’t broach the subject of contract extensions, as “I believe if we take care of our own business properly, that’s the kind of stuff that takes care of itself.”  As Rosenthal noted, Epstein himself (plus GM Jed Hoyer and VP of scouting/player development Jason McLeod) was a lame duck for much of 2016, which was the last year of his initial five-year contract with the Cubs.  It wasn’t until September of that year that extensions were announced for all three parties, so it perhaps wouldn’t be a surprise if Epstein and Cubs ownership waited until later in the 2019 season to approach Maddon about a new contract.  Or, conversely, waiting could give both sides more time to decide if they want to continue their relationship.

Cubs Notes: Maddon, Hamels, Chavez

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The offseason introspection has already begun for the Cubs in the wake of last night’s 13-inning loss to the Rockies in the NL wild card game, and the team’s early exit from the postseason caught many inside and outside the Cubs organization by surprise.  Here is some of the initial aftermath of Chicago’s loss, and what questions the club will be facing this winter…

  • One of the more pressing matters could be Joe Maddon’s future, as the manager’s contract is up after the 2019 season.  According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (subscription required), “talk has persisted within the industry that [Theo] Epstein and Maddon are not always on the same page,” and the Cubs’ elimination could allow a reason for a change in the dugout.  As Rosenthal notes, however, Maddon did well to lead the Cubs to 95 wins despite a number of down years from several hitters and a lack of production (either due to injury or under-performance) from Yu Darvish, Tyler Chatwood, and Brandon Morrow — the front office’s three big signings from the 2017-18 offseason.
  • Maddon received votes of confidence from players such as Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras, Kris Bryant, and Javy Baez, who all praised the manager to reporters (including Steve Greenberg of the Chicago Sun-Times).  Despite the Cubs’ issues this season, Rizzo said that “we still figured out a way to win.  That’s all credit to [Maddon].  Without his leadership here, guys aren’t playing the way they play.  [Rookie] David Bote is not coming up here and playing the way he plays without Joe’s leadership.”
  • Cole Hamels is hoping the Cubs pick up his $20MM option for 2019, telling The Athletic’s Patrick Mooney (Twitter link) and other reporters “Hopefully, I did everything I can to convince them that [exercising the option] would be something that would be valuable.”  Few trade deadline acquisitions had a bigger impact than Hamels this season, as the southpaw posted a 2.36 ERA, 8.7 K/9, and 3.22 K/BB rate over 76 1/3 IP after coming to Chicago in a deal with the Rangers.  The $20MM club option can be bought out for $6MM, leaving the Cubs with a $14MM decision on the veteran lefty’s services.  The Cubs already have over $70.5MM committed to Darvish, Chatwood, Jon Lester, and Jose Quintana (assuming Quintana’s own club option is exercised) next season, though even with that heavy investment in the rotation, one would think Chicago is leaning towards retaining Hamels given how well he pitched.
  • Another midseason trade acquisition was even more adamant about returning to the Cubs, as ESPN.com’s Marly Rivera reports (via Twitter) that Jesse Chavez was telling teammates “If I’m not wearing this [uniform] next year, I’m done.”  Chavez, also acquired from the Rangers in a separate July trade, was almost untouchable over 39 innings out of Chicago’s bullpen, posting an eye-popping 1.15 ERA and 8.4 K/BB rate, striking out 42 batters and issuing just five walks.  Chavez turned 35 last August, though it would be surprising to see him hang up his glove if a return to Chicago wasn’t in the cards, as one would imagine several teams would have interest in the impending free agent.  It could also be that Chavez was simply speaking in the heat of the moment, after the grueling elimination game.
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