The Chicago Cubs appear to be full steam ahead in search of a bullpen reinforcements. The reliever/closer free agent market has been quite active recently, and while they did lose out on players like Tanner Scott, Kirby Yates, and Jose Leclerc, Jed Hoyer appears willing to spend money in this area. According to various reports, they have cast a net spanning into double digits.
Chicago Cubs interested in all reliever/closer options
Prior to Cubs Convention, ESPN reporter Jesse Rogers said that, “Chicago has basically checked in on all of the free agent relievers”. Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney at The Athletic have now also reiterated this point by saying in their recent piece that the list of relievers they have seriously evaluated easily reaches double digits.
Which reliever/closer options have the Cubs seriously evaluated?
Of the free agents remaining, the Cubs have been tied to Carlos Estevez, Kenley Jansen, Kyle Finnegan, David Robertson, Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek, Brooks Raley, Lou Trivino, Paul Sewald, and Danny Coulombe. Their list allegedly extends past these 10 players as well, with Houston Astros closer Ryan Pressly being identified as a potential trade target.
What’s the hold up?
Over the past week, the bullpen/closer market has been driven by the Athletics and Dodgers. The A’s signed Leclrec for one year, $10 million while the Dodgers added Scott for four years, $72 million and tentatively have a deal with Yates. Leclrec and Scott’s deals both include substantial money, so the remaining top end free agents may also be holding out for top dollar.
At this point the Cubs have to know who the next top player on their list is, but a cat and mouse regarding contract details and worth still has to be discussed. With less than one month to go before spring training, time may actually benefit Chicago as players may be willing to accept deals of lesser value. However, we’ve also seen free agents hold out into spring training before, so there really is no telling when the Cubs may finally sign a significant reliever/closer free agent.
Chicago Cubs have five prospects make Baseball America top 100 prospects list
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