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Offseason In Review: Arizona Diamondbacks

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The D-backs followed up their 2023 World Series appearance with a narrow playoff miss and responded by making the biggest free agent signing in franchise history. Now brandishing one of the best one-two starting pitching punches in the sport, they'll look to ride a powerhouse rotation back into October baseball.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $46.35MM
Total spending: $216.35MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Waiver Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

Notable Losses

Arizona's playoff hopes in the 2024 season stayed alive until the very end, but they ultimately watched from home after missing the postseason by the literal narrowest margin possible. It was a bitter pill for the club and its fans to swallow -- particularly since the offseason promised considerable turnover. Star first baseman Christian Walker hit free agency, as did slugger Joc Pederson on the heels of what was arguably a career-best season. Closer Paul Sewald and key role players like Randal Grichuk and Kevin Newman also returned to the open market.

That all left plenty of work to be done, and not a ton of payroll space to make it happen -- or so it seemed initially, anyhow. General manager Mike Hazen publicly stated in November that he anticipated a payroll in the same range as 2024's $173MM figure. With Jordan Montgomery exercising a $22.5MM player option on the heels of a down year, the D-backs lost plenty of flexibility. There was still a decent amount of room, but they ostensibly needed to replace their first baseman, designated hitter, closer and multiple bench pieces.

As he set those payroll expectations, Hazen also made clear that bolstering the back end of his bullpen was a key priority. For the first third or even half of the offseason, the general expectation was that Arizona would seek high-end bullpen help and perhaps a more affordable replacement for Walker, who seemed destined for multiple years with an average annual value in the $20MM range.

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Yankees Still Exploring Market For Right-Handed Bats

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The Yankees have been hit hard by injuries both in the lineup and the rotation this spring, creating new needs on top of the existing lack of a clear option at one of third base or second base. (Jazz Chisholm Jr. can play either spot.) Concern over both of Giancarlo Stanton’s elbows and a calf strain for DJ LeMahieu have subtracted a pair of veteran bats from the lineup.

That’s likely paved the way for Dominic Smith, who’s enjoying a productive spring, to potentially make the club despite entering camp as a non-roster invitee. Erik Boland of Newsday reports that Smith’s chances are indeed improving, but the Yankees are still scouring the market for a right-handed bat to add to the mix. SNY’s Andy Martino also wrote this week that the Yankees are in the market for a righty bat.

One potential candidate to fill that need, outfielder Everson Pereira, was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre yesterday. Pereira went 7-for-20 with a pair of homers during Grapefruit League play, perhaps making the decision to option him amid multiple injuries a bit surprising.

Pereira, 23, is coming off a solid .265/.346/.512 performance in 182 Triple-A plate appearances last season. The former top prospect missed the final two-thirds of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery, however. While his spring output was generally encouraging, Pereira did fan in seven of his 25 plate appearances (28%). That’s not a big enough sample to worry about in isolation, but for a player who punched out at a 32.4% rate prior to that elbow injury in Triple-A last year (and in nearly 29% of his plate appearances the year prior), it’s not ideal. Injuries could always push Pereira back into the big league equation early in the season, and he seems likely to get some major league looks this year at some point, but for now the Yankees will get him regular at-bats in minor league camp and plan for him to open the season with Scranton.

At this point, the free agent market is largely picked over. Veterans Whit Merrifield, Adam Duvall and switch-hitting Robbie Grossman are all unsigned but are all coming off poor years at the plate. (Grossman did at least hit well from the right side of the dish.) The Yankees have had some contact with J.D. Martinez, but he’s a tough fit unless the injury to Stanton proves long-term; both are DH-only players.

As we enter the latter stages of spring training, the market figures to change, however. Veterans who are non-roster invitees with other clubs will be released or opt out of their current deals to seek new opportunities. Others will make their teams’ respective rosters, forcing those clubs to clear space by way of small trades or DFAs. Either could produce some right-handed bench depth for the Yankees if the team wants to avoid further spending with budget near its limit. Then again, Gerrit Cole’s 2025 salary is partially covered by insurance. That won’t reduce the Yankees’ luxury tax number, but they’ll get some money from that policy which could be redirected to a low-cost bat to round out the roster if an opportunity to their liking presents itself.

Reds Return Rule 5 Selection Cooper Bowman To Athletics

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The Reds have returned Rule 5 draft selection Cooper Bowman to the Athletics, per announcements from both clubs. Cincinnati’s 40-man roster count drops to 39. Bowman does not need to go onto the 40-man roster with the A’s.

Bowman, 25, was initially drafted by the Yankees but was one of four players who came to the A’s via the August 2022 trade that sent Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino to the Bronx. After that deal, he posted some decent Double-A numbers but struggled in his first taste of Triple-A.

He appeared in 152 minor league games from the start of 2023 through July 28 of 2024, mostly at Double-A but with four Complex League games in there as well. In his 705 plate appearances during that stretch, he walked at an 11.8% clip and kept his strikeouts down to a decent 20.9% pace. His combined .272/.369/.450 batting line led to a 125 wRC+. He also stole 73 bases in 81 tries and lined up defensively mostly at second base but with stints at third base, shortstop and center field.

He was promoted to Triple-A for the final few weeks of the 2024 season and struggled, hitting just .218/.284/.308 in a 38-game sample. But with the speed, defensive versatility and the decent offense at Double-A, the Reds perhaps saw enough for Bowman to carve out a utility role at the big league level, so they nabbed him in the Rule 5 draft.

That gave him a chance to break camp and make his major league debut but Bowman hit .120/.267/.120 in his 30 plate appearances this spring. That’s a small sample size but was apparently enough for the Reds to change course. Per Rule 5 regulations, the Reds would have had to keep Bowman on the big league roster all year or else put him on waivers. Any claiming club would have been bound by the same rules as the Reds, so it appears no other club was willing to give him a 40-man spot. Bowman will instead return to the A’s and give them some extra non-roster depth.

Blue Jays Re-Sign Dillon Tate

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March 12: The Jays officially announced their signing of Tate today. Bastardo was transferred to the 60-day IL as the corresponding move. Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet report report that Tate’s deal is a split contract that pays him at a $1.4MM rate in the majors and includes bonuses of $50K for reaching 45 and 50 games pitched.

Since Tate is on a split deal and has a minor league option remaining, he can be sent to Triple-A Buffalo without first needing to clear waivers — at least for the time being. He’s at 4.144 years of major league service, placing him just 28 days away from the five-year mark. Once players reach five years of MLB service time, they can’t be optioned without their consent.

March 10: The Blue Jays and right-hander Dillon Tate have agreed to a major league deal, pending a physical, reports Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet. The details of the deal for the CAA Sports client have not yet been publicly reported. The Jays will have to open a 40-man roster spot but could easily do so by moving Alek Manoah or Angel Bastardo, who both had Tommy John surgery last June, to the 60-day injured list.

Tate, 31 in May, was with Toronto briefly at the end of last year. The Jays claimed him off waivers from the Orioles on the first day of September. They optioned him to Triple-A, recalling him to the majors on September 18. He made four appearances with the big league club as the season was winding down. The Jays could have retained him via arbitration, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting a $1.9MM salary, but the club non-tendered him instead.

Prior to that brief stint with the Jays, Tate’s journey had many ups and downs. One of the top names going into the 2015 draft, the Rangers took him with the fourth overall pick. Initially a top prospect, his stock wobbled a bit with some health woes. The Rangers flipped him to the Yankees in the August 2016 trade that sent Carlos Beltrán to Texas. He posted some decent numbers in the Yankees’ system but also missed time with shoulder troubles. He was then traded to the Orioles as part of the July 2018 trade that sent Zack Britton to the Yankees.

Tate was with the Orioles for the six-plus years from that Britton trade to being claimed off waivers by the Jays. Though he had been a starting pitching prospect, the O’s moved him to a relief role, perhaps in response to the injuries he had already been battling. Since then, he has occasionally shown flashes of potential as a reliever but the health woes have continued to get in the way.

From 2019 to 2022, Tate logged 179 innings out of the Baltimore bullpen. His 19.4% strikeout rate in that time was subpar but he limited walks to a 7.2% rate and also got ground balls at an excellent 58.1% clip. Among pitchers with at least 170 innings in that time frame, only Clay Holmes, Framber Valdez, Richard Bleier and Josh Fleming kept the ball on the ground at a better rate.

However, a forearm/flexor strain kept Tate on the IL for the entire 2023 season. He returned to the mound last season with his results backing up a bit. He tossed 36 2/3 innings between the orange and blue birds, with a 4.66 ERA. His strikeout rate and ground ball rate fell to 16.5% and 49.6% respectively. His fastball velocity, which averaged as high as 95.5 miles per hour in 2021, was down to just 92.6 mph last year.

Amid those struggles, both the Orioles and Jays sent him to the minors at times. He had better results down there, tossing 21 2/3 Triple-A innings with a 2.08 ERA, 23% strikeout rate and 4.6% walk rate, though his 41.4% ground ball rate still wasn’t up to his usual standards.

For the Jays, it’s a fairly low-risk deal. The cost hasn’t yet been reported but is likely something barely above the league minimum and might even be a split deal of some kind. Tate still has an option remaining, so he can be kept in Triple-A as bullpen depth, at least for a little while. His service time count is at four years and 144 days. That puts him 28 days shy of the five-year mark, at which point he would have the right to refuse an optional assignment.

The Toronto bullpen may be taking a hit this spring, with Erik Swanson getting tested for some elbow discomfort. Assuming Swanson starts the season on the IL, the Jays project to have a bullpen core of Jeff Hoffman, Yimi García, Chad Green and Nick Sandlin, leaving four spots potentially available. It’s possible that Yariel Rodríguez could end up in a relief role if Bowden Francis takes the final rotation spot. The Jays likely want a lefty in there, which could be Brendon Little, Josh Walker or Easton Lucas. Guys like Tommy Nance, Zach Pop and Ryan Burr are out of options, though Burr has been delayed by a shoulder injury.

Nick Robertson is also on the 40-man but has options. Adding Tate to the roster gives the Jays another optionable righty for the time being. His past prospect pedigree and strong big league results from 2019-22 give him a bit more intrigue than many optionable depth arms. If Tate can stick on the roster all year, he will be shy of six years of service, meaning the Jays could then retain him for 2026 via arbitration.

Rangers’ MRIs On Mahle, Bradford Come Back Clean

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March 12: Mahle’s MRI came back clean, tweets Kennedi Landry of MLB.com. The plan will be for him to get back on the mound within the next few days.

Texas had another injury scare pop up when southpaw Cody Bradford reported elbow soreness, but he’s also received a clean MRI, president of baseball operations Chris Young announced this morning (via Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News). He’ll still be shut down from throwing for the next four to five days in hopes that the discomfort subsides, but the imaging seems to have ruled out a severe injury.

March 11: The Rangers scratched right-hander Tyler Mahle from today’s scheduled Cactus League start with what the team termed “forearm soreness,” per Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. The Rangers called the move precautionary, but forearm discomfort is always an ominous development for a starting pitcher — particularly one who’s still working toward his first full season since 2023 Tommy John surgery. At this time, the team has not planned an MRI, per Victory’s Jared Sandler.

Mahle, 30, started five games for the Twins in 2023 and pitched quite well before an elbow impingement and flexor strain prompted a four-week shutdown. Not even two weeks later, Minnesota announced that Mahle would require Tommy John surgery, ending his 2023 campaign.

Mahle became a free agent at season’s end, and the Rangers signed him to a two-year, $22MM deal. It’s a backloaded contract — $5.5MM in 2024, $16.5MM in 2025 — reflecting the idea that the hope was for Mahle to pitch a bit late in 2024 and be a full-fledged member of the 2025 starting staff. It was a heavier commitment than is typical for starters who sign two-year deals while they’re on the mend from UCL reconstruction in the first place, and the fact that Mahle pitched only 12 2/3 frames last year makes the commitment all the more substantial.

At his best, Mahle was an underrated mid-rotation arm with an air of further upside. Home runs plagued him frequently during his early days with the Reds, and it comes as no surprise that his splits away from the launching pad known as Great American Ball Park were far more encouraging than his output at home. Mahle showed plenty of ability to miss bats and posted roughly average walk rates for most of his career.

A healthy Mahle would slot into the middle of a boom-or-bust Texas rotation that’s rife with talented arms and even more packed with questions. Jacob deGrom was baseball’s most dominant arm until injuries derailed his mid-30s. He’s pitched 197 1/3 innings since 2021. Nathan Eovaldi was excellent in his first two seasons with the Rangers but has already had a pair of Tommy John procedures in his career. Jon Gray has been on the injured list in each of the past six seasons. Cody Bradford missed about half of the 2024 season with a back injury. Jack Leiter, who started in place of Mahle today, is a former No. 2 overall pick who has struggled immensely in the big leagues (8.83 ERA, 35 2/3 innings) and through much of his pro career in the minors. Former Vanderbilt teammate Kumar Rocker has surpassed Leiter in terms of prospect stature, but he’s less than two years removed from Tommy John surgery himself.

If Mahle ultimately needs some downtime, the Rangers can still go with a rotation including Eovaldi, deGrom, Gray, Bradford and one of Leiter/Rocker. Prospect Emiliano Teodo is also on the 40-man roster but the club intrigued by the possibility of him in a relief role, while non-roster candidates in camp include Adrian Houser, David Buchanan, Dane Acker and Caleb Boushley.

Rangers Sign Hunter Strickland To Minor League Deal

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The Rangers announced Wednesday that they’ve signed veteran right-handed reliever Hunter Strickland to a minor league deal with an invitation to big league camp. The All Bases Covered client will be reunited with his first big league skipper, Bruce Bochy, who managed him as a rookie with the 2014 Giants.

Strickland, 36, has had a rollercoaster run in terms of year-to-year performance recently, but he’s coming off a strong season with the Angels. Last year, the right-hander tossed a career-high 73 1/3 innings for the Halos and recorded a tidy 3.31 earned run average in that time.

Strickland’s 19.4% strikeout rate was lower than average and the 22.2% mark he carried into the 2024 campaign, but he turned in a solid 8.2% walk rate and did a nice job avoiding hard contact. Opponents averaged 88.9 mph off the bat against him and logged a 35.5% hard-hit rate. Strickland has long been adept at inducing harmless infield flies, and that continued in 2024 when 16% of his fly-balls were of the infield variety. That’s a good bit higher than the league-average 10% and generally tracks with Strickland’s career rate dating back to 2017 (15.7%).

While Strickland has had some rough seasons throughout his career, he’s been good far more often than he’s been ineffective. He touts a 3.40 ERA in his career and a 3.61 mark across the past three seasons. His heater has dropped a good bit from the 98 mph he averaged early in his career, sitting at 94.5 mph in Anaheim last year, but Strickland has generally remained a solid middle relief arm.

The Rangers have completely overhauled their bullpen this offseason, bidding farewell to Kirby Yates, Jose Leclerc, Andrew Chafin and, presumably, David Robertson. While Robertson remains unsigned, the Rangers are about $4.5MM shy of the luxury tax threshold, per RosterResource, and ownership appears loath to cross that mark once again.

In place of that departed quartet, Texas has acquired Robert Garcia from the Nationals (in exchange for Nate Lowe) and signed free agents Chris Martin, Hoby Milner, Shawn Armstrong, Jacob Webb and Luke Jackson to small big league deals ranging from $5.5MM guaranteed (Martin) to $1.25MM (Webb, Armstrong).

Strickland will compete with fellow non-roster vets like Jesse Chavez and JT Chargois as he vies for a spot in Bochy’s bullpen. He’s an Article XX(b) free agent (i.e. six years of service, finished the prior season on a major league roster/injured list), meaning that his minor league deal will have three uniform opt-out dates included by default: five days before Opening Day (March 22), May 1 and June 1.

White Sox Sign Travis Jankowski To Minor League Deal

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The White Sox announced this morning that they’ve signed veteran outfielder Travis Jankowski to a minor league contract. The Excel Sports client will head straight to big league camp. He’d been with the Cubs on a minor league pact for the early portion of spring training. While the Cubs didn’t make any formal announcement about Jankowski’s release or him opting out of that deal, he’s clearly parted ways with Chicago’s north-side squad as they travel to Tokyo for next week’s series against the Dodgers.

Jankowski, 33, had a solid year with the Rangers in 2023 as the fourth outfielder on their World Series-winning roster. He appeared in 107 games, tallied 287 turns at the plate and delivered a respectable .263/.357/.332 batting line (97 wRC+) to go along with quality baserunning and glovework. He wasn’t able to follow up on that in a return effort with Texas in 2024; Jankowski played in 104 games last year but hit just .200/.266/.242 in 207 plate appearances.

Dating back to his 2015 MLB debut in San Diego, Jankowski has appeared in parts of ten straight big league seasons, suiting up for the Padres, Reds, Phillies, Mets, Mariners and Rangers along the way. He’s a lifetime .236/.319/.305 hitter with good speed who can handle all three spots in the outfield.

Jankowski will give the White Sox some outfield depth at a time when at least two members of their expected Opening Day roster are now slated for the injured list. Left fielder Andrew Benintendi suffered a broken hand when he was hit by a pitch earlier in Cactus League play. That injury will keep him off the field through at least the end of camp and possibly into mid-April. He’ll then need a rehab assignment. Reserve outfielder Austin Slater, who inked a one-year deal in free agency, is dealing with an oblique strain suffered last week. The Sox estimated he’d be out of game action for two to three weeks, leaving a season-opening IL placement a real possibility.

Jankowski is a known commodity for new White Sox skipper Will Venable, who was on the Rangers’ coaching staff for each of the past two seasons. He’ll compete for at-bats in left field or off the bench. Luis Robert Jr. is slated to man center field, with offseason signee Mike Tauchman in right. The ChiSox also signed Michael A. Taylor as a glove-first option off the bench. Other outfielders on the 40-man roster include Dominic Fletcher and Oscar Colas. Joey Gallo, Corey Julks and Cal Mitchell are among the other non-roster outfielders in camp.

The Opener: Scherzer, Giolito, Tigers

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As the start of the regular season gets closer, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:

1. Scherzer dealing with thumb soreness:

Veteran right-hander Max Scherzer is dealing with a bout of soreness in his right thumb, according to Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet. Manager John Schneider called the Blue Jays’ decision to scratch Scherzer from his upcoming start tomorrow is the club “just being extra careful.” Scherzer missed time in 2024 with a litany of injuries, one of which was a nerve issue in his right arm that spanned his thumb to his triceps. If this latest thumb/nerve issue proves to be more serious, Toronto could call upon right-hander Yariel Rodriguez to step into the rotation from the bullpen or carry Jake Bloss, who is currently ticketed for Triple-A, on the big league roster to open the season.

2. Red Sox, Giolito await MRI results:

The Red Sox rotation has been tried by injuries this spring, with Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello both already poised to start the season on the injured list. It’s possible another starting pitching option will join them, as right-hander Lucas Giolito is scheduled for an MRI after leaving yesterday’s game due to hamstring tightness. If the issue is severe enough to keep Giolito off the Opening Day roster, the Red Sox have a number of viable depth options to help cover for the absence. Quinn Priester might already be lined up to take Bello’s spot already, but other options on the 40-man roster incclude Richard Fitts, Cooper Criswell, and Josh Winckowski.

3. How will the Tigers fill out their outfield?

The Tigers were expected to welcome outfielder Wenceel Perez back into the lineup today after he was sidelined by a back issue last week, but Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press reports that Perez is absent from today’s Grapefruit League lineup and is not expected to play. With Matt Vierling and potentially Parker Meadows both slated to start the season on the injured list, Perez has stood out as a center field option for the Tigers to open the season. If he’s also ticketed for a late start to the 2025 campaign, however, the Tigers may need to get creative in filling out their outfield mix.

Riley Greene was ticketed for everyday duties in left field but could slide over to center if needed. Kerry Carpenter could spend more time in right field rather than serving as a regular DH. Zach McKinstry and Andy Ibanez both have at least some outfield experience, but it seems likely the club could benefit from another outfielder joining the roster like Justyn-Henry Malloy or perhaps even non-roster invitee Jahmai Jones. If Carpenter plays more in the outfield instead of filling the DH slot in the lineup, that could also create an avenue for Spencer Torkelson to get back into the lineup after losing the first base job to Colt Keith.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Sought $500MM Net Present Value In Extension Talks

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Last week, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. told ESPN that his asking price in extension negotiations with the Blue Jays was south of $600MM. The star first baseman didn’t publicly identify his exact demand, though he noted he was looking for a 14-plus year deal.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic provides more specifics, reporting that Guerrero wanted a net present value of $500MM to bypass testing the open market. That could have taken the form of an even $500MM+ without deferrals or a deferred deal with a loftier overall guarantee that would still have pushed the NPV to half a billion dollars. A hypothetical 14-year extension worth $500MM would come with an approximate $35.7MM annual value and would run through Guerrero’s age-39 season (assuming it began this year).

The deferrals were evidently a sticking point. Jon Heyman and Joel Sherman of The New York Post report that Toronto offered a deal that was in the $500MM range overall but included deferred money. According to that report, the NPV would have landed between $400MM and $450MM. Shi Davidi of Sportsnet writes that the NPV on the team’s offer was close to $450MM, suggesting they came in at the higher end of the range initially reported by The New York Post.

That would still have represented the third-largest guarantee in league history. Juan Soto easily holds the record at $765MM without deferrals. The Shohei Ohtani deal is respectively valued around $461MM and $438MM by the league and Players Association, respectively. Guerrero sought a number that would have placed him behind only Soto in net present value. His reported asking price was nowhere near Soto money, which so handily shattered prior precedent that it may be an outlier for a while. Still, it seemingly landed upwards of $50MM higher (in NPV terms) than the Jays were willing to go. Guerrero indicated he wasn’t interested in continuing negotiations beyond the opening of Spring Training. He has left the door open to reconsidering but said at the start of camp that he anticipates testing free agency.

The Jays have at least expressed a willingness to stretch the budget beyond Guerrero’s asking price for star players. They were seemingly willing to match the contract that Ohtani accepted from the Dodgers. Their precise offer to Soto isn’t clear but is believed to have been between $600MM and $700MM. That shows they’re not entirely averse to this kind of signing, yet it’s also a fact that the largest contract in franchise history remains the comparatively modest $150MM George Springer deal.

Toronto’s latest offer represents a significant jump from where they opened talks. Guerrero said over the offseason that the Jays’ offers before the Soto bidding were in the $340MM range. While the Soto price point didn’t make them willing to write a blank check for Guerrero, it seemingly contributed to them going $60MM+ above where they had been in terms of present value.

Guerrero is a career .288/.363/.500 hitter. He’s coming off his second-best season, as he raked at a .323/.396/.544 clip with 30 homers a year ago. At his best, he looks like one of the top five hitters in the game. He hasn’t quite maintained that level on an annual basis, though. He finished among the top six in MVP balloting in 2021 (finishing runner-up that year) and ’24. In the intervening two seasons, he hit .269/.341/.462 across nearly 1400 plate appearances. That’s still very good but not the kind of overwhelming numbers that’d force teams to essentially overlook questions about his defensive profile.

Assuming he gets to the market, Guerrero is likely to be the top free agent in the class. Kyle Tucker is arguably a better overall player, but the Cubs outfielder will hit free agency at age 29. Guerrero will get to the market at 27. The two-year age gap gives Guerrero the better chance to land a deal that stretches beyond a decade despite teams’ general reluctance to make extremely long commitments to first basemen.

Offseason In Review: Chicago Cubs

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The Cubs added star power in the Kyle Tucker trade, but otherwise made modest additions despite several other big swings.

Major League Signings

2025 spending: $33.25MM
Total spending: $56.25MM

Option Decisions

Trades and Claims

Notable Minor League Signings

Extensions

  • None

Notable Losses

Much like the previous winter with Marcus Stroman, this Cubs offseason kicked off with a pivotal player option decision that would affect their financial flexibility.  This time, Cody Bellinger elected to take the $27.5MM owed to him in 2025 in lieu of a $2.5MM buyout, which also preserves a $25MM option on 2026 with a $5MM buyout.  Bellinger's decision was not surprising, as he's now positioned himself to decline the '26 option having collected a total of $32.5MM for '25.

The Athletic's Patrick Mooney suggested a couple of times early in the offseason that the Cubs were seeking a starting pitcher who "could be trusted in a playoff game."  Nonetheless, it wasn't long before Mooney's colleague Sahadev Sharma wrote that "the top tier of the starting pitching market has been ruled out" for the club.  Blake Snell, Max Fried, and Corbin Burnes would go on to sign contracts ranging from $182-218MM (though some included deferred money), and the Cubs were seemingly never a factor on them due to what I assume are philosophical objections to five-plus year commitments to thirty-something-aged free agent starters.

Instead, Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer made a pre-Winter Meetings strike for 34-year-old southpaw Matthew Boyd.  Boyd was available on a two-year contract because of his age and injury history.  After totaling 355 2/3 innings for the 2018-19 Tigers, Boyd has not reached 80 innings in a season since.

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