Cubs Free Agent Target: Blake Snell |
As we sit here now, several days into the New Year, millions of Cubs fans continue to wait for this team to do something. Sure, they have added a few players since the start of the offseason, but all of them were signed to Minor League contracts as the Cubs remain the only team without an MLB acquisition this offseason.
At some point, that has to change; otherwise, the Cubs are going to be rolling out a worse roster than last season, which doesn't bode well for the Fans, who thought they would be much better this season. When you look at the free agent predictor and where certain players will land, it still has Cody Bellinger and Rhys Hoskins landing with the Cubs, so at least there is some good to be had. However, none of the remaining pitchers appear destined to land in Chicago, and that has to be a concern if you are a fan, as the Cubs rotation isn't that great compared to other teams. Chicago knows that, but they also know they have a ton of young and talented arms ready to contribute should they need to rely on them this season. That is a dangerous way to live when you look at the Cubs' pitching rotation from a season ago, and many feel the Cubs still need to add at least one big-time free agent arm. While Jordan Montgomery and Shota Imanaga make the most sense, you do have the reigning NL Cy Young winner Blake Snell, on the market, and the Cubs should make him a priority at this point. Snell is one of a handful of pitchers to win both the AL and NL CY Young awards, and he did it within a five-year stretch, winning his first in 2018. That alone should create a ton of buzz, but for a Cubs rotation that could use a left-hander, Snell would be the perfect fit, even if there is a bit of risk with his contract. What risks, you may ask? Well, it is his age (33), for starters, and then the financial obligation tied to him as he will be paid a ton of money and will most likely be looking for a five or six-year deal. I want to think the money isn't an issue for the Cubs, even if it seems that way, but signing a 33-year-old to that long of a deal is very worrisome to many. However, should the Cubs get past that and look at his overall performance, you can see why they would want him and why he would be an excellent addition to what is otherwise a young and still unproven starting five. Many people will look back at this past season for Snell and focus on the second half when he was the best pitcher in the NL, as opposed to his shaky first half. Going a bit further, time with the Padres wasn't as great as he had hoped it would be, as there were many more downs than ups. Even then, Snell was very solid and compiled a 3.85 ERA between his two Cy Young seasons, compared to just 2.69 during those years. To put that into perspective on why many teams are hesitant to meet his demands, Snell can either be the best pitcher in the game we saw this season or similar to the league average. The Cubs already have a guy like that in Jameson Taillon, so you have to wonder if they would want two guys like that, even if one is coming off a much better season. Snell entered the offseason as the No. 4 best available free agent and No. 3 starter. With Aaron Nola and Yoshinbu Yamamoto off the board, Snell is now the best remaining starting option and wants to be paid like that. Initial contract projections have him landing a seven-year deal to take him to his age 40 season for an AAV of 28.5 million per season. That is good for a 200-million-dollar contract, which is a ton to invest in for a guy who will be 40 by the time his deal is up. With most fans wanting Montgomery or Imanaga as their primary option at this point, a lot of that comes down to Imanaga, who has one week left to sign before returning to Japan. Hopefully, something happens sooner rather than later so the rest of the starting pitching market can pick up. The Cubs better be in on that if it does, or they will be left behind next season.
