DECEMBER 9: Lackey gets a full no-trade clause, Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports reports on Twitter. Brett Taylor of Baseball Prospectus had tweeted that the deal included at least some such protection.
DECEMBER 8: Chicago has announced the signing.
DECEMBER 4: The Cubs have reached agreement with righty John Lackey on a two-year deal worth $32MM, FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal reports (Twitter links). Lackey will receive $16MM in each of the next two seasons, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets. Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown had reported earlier today that the Cubs were intensely interested in Lackey and that the two sides were discussing possibilities for two- and three-year deals. Lackey is represented by Steve Hilliard of Hilliard Sports Management.
Lackey will be a mid-rotation starter in Chicago, pitching behind Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester (a friend from his days with the Red Sox). He had a terrific season with the Cubs’ division rivals in St. Louis in 2015, throwing 218 innings and posting a 2.77 ERA, 7.2 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9. He pitched for the league minimum last season due to a clause in the contract he initially signed with the Sox (although the Cardinals did add $2MM in bonuses); it appears his new deal will pay him closer to the $15MM-plus he received in the other years of that contract.
The 37-year-old Lackey is no spring chicken, so it’s no surprise that the Cubs aren’t making a lengthy commitment. After having Tommy John surgery and missing the 2012 season, though, Lackey has been very durable, making a total of 93 starts and pitching over 600 innings in the three years since. His velocity and peripheral numbers have also remained fairly constant in that time frame. That’s not to say, however, that he’s likely to post another 2.77 ERA in Chicago next season — like many Cardinals pitchers last season, his numbers with runners in scoring position were outstanding (opposing batters hit .200/.296/.273 against him). Lackey seems unlikely to sustain those numbers, although he would still be very productive even if he gained half a run or so in ERA.
The Cubs had previously been connected to starting pitchers like Jeff Samardzija (via free agency) and Shelby Miller (via the trade market). They also met with David Price before Price agreed to terms with the Red Sox. Obviously, Lackey costs significantly less than Price did or Samardzija seems likely to, and will not cost the Cubs any prospects other than a draft pick. (Lackey rejected a qualifying offer from the Cardinals, so the Cubs will lose their first-round pick in the 2016, 28th overall. The Cardinals will gain a pick at the end of the first round.) With Lackey in the fold, the Cubs’ rotation lines up as Arrieta, Lester, Lackey, Kyle Hendricks and Jason Hammel.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Well that escalated quickly…
There’s another workhorse starter off the board Mozeliak
Yep
Given his age, that 16MM is not something Mo would be interest in gambling on.
Yes, and he had a career year in St Louis, so we got the best year out of his entire career at a bargain price.
You know what this kind of reminds me of? Kyle Lohse. Had a great year, and hit the FA market. Lackey and Lohse are different pitchers, but still, time will tell if Lackey has the same decline as Lohse.
Edit: Looking at it, Lohse wasn’t horrible after that, but still he didn’t produce close to that last Cardinal year. Also, I don’t think he’ll produce close to what he’s getting paid. Lackey is older than Lohse was.
John Lackey has way better career numbers than Kyle Lohse. His downward trend and struggles are far less in his career than Lohse.
The Lackey deal doesn’t thrill me, but at least it’s only for 2 years. Couple that with the fact Lackey has been a MUCH better pitcher since having TJ surgery in 2012. His ERA since his return in 2013 (pretty much 3 seasons) is 3.35 to go with a 1.21 WHIP and a mediocre 3.73 FIP. The FIP worries me a bit, but even if he pitchers to the tune of 3.50 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and throws 200 IP each year the next two years I say it’s a huge win coming from the third starter slot.
I think bargain is quite the understatement. I’d love someone to find a WAR to $$$ spent. Dollar for dollar last season has to rank up as one of the best of all time.
Yet Mo rendered him for 15.8M… I realize it was one year… But I have no doubt he was still wanted in StL
I was hoping they wouldn’t go above $24M on a two year deal.
The overpay was probably in lieu of a third year.
Even at his age, he’s worth $16-17m per year for two years on the open market. It’s a great value.
It’s terrible value… The Cubs just surrendered a first round draft choice for a two-year investment
Thanks for the draft pick
Someone was going to give you the pick for Lackey… and it’s not the idea of giving up the pick that upsets me. I’m just annoyed that they’d give up a pick for a 2-year investment.
I thought I understood this but I’m a little confused…teams give up their highest unprotected pick for every QO’d free agent they sign? How would that work if the Cubs sign another guy with that situation and then another team signs Dexter fowler??
If they sign another QO player and Fowler signs elsewhere, they lose the Fowler pick. If Fowler somehow goes unsigned into the middle of the season, they then lose their second round pick.
If they sign another player with a QO they give up their second round pick. They will still pick #44th if Fowler signs elsewhere and they cant lose that compensation pick.
@Pads Fans, I don’t think that’s true. I think compensation picks can still be lost. They aren’t protected
I think a team always loses its highest draft pick. This happened with the Yankees back in 2013 when they signed McCann, Ellsbury and Beltran, despite receiving 2 picks for Canon and Swisher.
The Yankees did not pick until the 2nd round in the ’14 draft
Unless they changed the rules within the last year and I somehow forgot, that is not the case.
Incorrect. For your second QO signing you lose your next highest pick no matter what it is or how you got it.
seamaholic that is incorrect. q.o picks are protected. the cubs would lose their second round pick now if signing another free agent. competitive balance picks arent protected and are tradeable but QO picks remain protected.
I think the confusion is that joparx might be under the impression that the team losing the player acquires the signing team’s draft pick – which is no longer the case.
I know the cardinals don’t get the 28th pick they get a comp pick…I wasn’t sure if they sign another QO’d player of they lose the second round pick or they lose the comp pick they will recieve if fowler signs elsewhere
I’ll gladly give up the pick to sign one of those second tier free agent starters for just two years.
All the others will get 3-5 years. Lackey is just as good as those other bums with a mere two year commitment.
Great signing
That’s assuming they aren’t signing anyone else who costs a pick (Heyward). In that case they are only losing a 2nd round lottery ticket
If I’m giving up ANY pick, I want more than a 2-year investment. Losing a pick isn’t as simple as losing the draft spot. It’s also about losing the slot money associated with that spot. You lose a lot of flexibility when you start giving up multiple picks that can affect the totality of the draft class.
Understood…but if the choice is that or giving Samardzija 5 years and $100 million…I’ll forfeit the pick. They are spending so aggressively on international free agents that it should offset far more than the 27th pick in the draft
When Fowler signs somewhere else they won’t be giving up too much of anything.
It’s not that they gave up a pick that bothers me… I assumed they were going to lose a pick whether it was on a guy like Samardzija or even a big-ticket player like Heyward.
My issue remains w/ the length of the investment. Lots of thumbs down, but no one has given a single reason why a two-year investment is worth sacrificing the totality of your upcoming draft.
They lost compensatory pick #46 while you parade around saying they lost their first round pick which isn’t the case. Calm down and get your ducks in a row.
No they lost a little higher than pick #28 depending on how many teams lose their picks ahead of them. But I’d rather have Lackey and go for it these two years. 108 years is enough.
They’re losing their 28th-overall pick for signing Lackey. If Fowler signs somewhere else then they add a comp round pick, and if they sign ANOTHER QO player, they’ll lose the Fowler pick.
You cant lose a compensation pick. They would forfeit their 2nd round pick and the team that they signed the FA away from would get pick 31-45 depending on who the player is. The compensatory round pick for Lackey was pick #46
Stop downvoting me because you don’t know the rules. Compensation picks were protected under the old Type A/B system, but not anymore. It’s JUST the first 10 picks now. See: the 2014 MLB Yankees draft.
They’ll lost maybe 6 or 7 or so draft slots, they’ll pick a compensation when Fowler signs else where, not a big deal or terrible value at all.
They have a bright future regardless of losing the pick. Winning now is probably Theo’s mindset.
If they make one more big move, I think they could win the nl central, hopefully they make the right moves
They can win the NL central now. The Cardinals bullpen, rotation and lineup is weaker than it was last year.
I’d love for the cubs to make a package for sonny gray but I doubt that would happen
The bullpen isn’t but the rotation and lineup are but free agency also isn’t over either.
Perhaps you should rethink that comment. First off, Waino is a an upgrade over Lackey. Lynn was terrible in the second half. Gonzales or Cooney are capable, and Reyes is looming. And that is assuming they don’t add anybody else. Even if nmmnmnmnmnmnmnm+
That’s the cost of doing business.
They gave up a #28 pick and they will be getting a #44 back for Fowler. At that level its not a top level prospect anyway so chill. They got a guy that solidifies their rotation and that is worth more than any draft pick.
Cards should be ticked they are getting #46 for Lackey.
They sacrificed the 28th pick and will still get a comp pick from whoever signs Fowler. With so many QO free agents out there they likely could still have roughly the 28-32 OVERALL pick this year. Not that big of a loss.
That being said i am bummed they signed Lackey. Lackey…. whose been mediocre most of his career. Lackey…. who was just mediocre in 2014 for the Cardinals and pretty mediocre all 2014 with the Sox and Cardinals (3.82 ERA and 1.28 WHIP). Lackey… who has career numbers of 3.92 ERA, 3.86 FIP, 1.31 WHIP, and nearly 2,500 IP under his belt. Oh yeah, and Lackey…. who’s 37 friggin years old. If those career numbers interest Theo and Jed why not shell out the years and money for Samardzija? 4.09 ERA, 3.84 FIP, 1.28 WHIP, and just under 1,000 IP. They’re the same player one’s just 6 years younger and has 1500 fewer innings on his arm. All I can say is I’m glad it is only for 2 years. My expectations though are that they just signed a white, older Edwin Jackson. Edwin Jackson didn’t have much worse career numbers at the time of his signing a few years ago look how stellar he did. Jackson was at least 29 years old when they got him and had half the innings on his arm Lackey has.
I’m not going to call you an idiot, but you just need to stop exaggerating because you’re coming across as one. Edwin Jackson has had one qualified season with an ERA under 4.00. That’s a terrible comparison. I saw you make it the other day too. Edwin couldn’t even find it in the NL. So not only was Lackey above average in the AL, he has been very good since moving to the NL. Lackey’s career war is right along with Haren and Chris Carpenter. Edwin’s is awful.
What A TERRIBLE DEAL!!!! LACKEY IS A BUM!!! The cubs already have a former red Sox pitcher who’s not worth the money!!! Now to sign a 37yr old pitcher with TOO MANY INNINGS on his arm is CRAZY & the team loses a draft pic!!! The cubs needed a TOP OF THE ROTATION STARTER, not an “innings eater”!!! Who cares if you pitch 180 innings, if you SUCK for the majority of them!!!
Holy cow! Maddon’s buying chicken and beer for everyone.
Jon Lester produced surplus value last year. The cubs DO NOT need a top of the rotation starter, they have 2.
Please go back to ignoring the cubs.
Not sure what cubs team you were watching last season!! Beyond Arrieta they had NOTHING in the way of CONSISTENT starting pitching!! Lester pitched like a #3 starter more often than not. Not commanding his “cutter” or other pitches (followed up by the standard “I’ve got to be better” in interviews after the game) most of the season & talking up a roster space with his personal catcher who couldn’t hit!!! So YOU go back to your computer geek, made up, useless stats, to try & justify your man crush. I’ll trust what I see when I’m at the games, and what Lester said so many times himself… HE HAS TO DO ALOT BETTER!!!
Yeah, the eye test is way more reliable than stats….
One of the downfalls of a big market team with so many bandwagon fansl
Yeah, don’t forget the part where HE repeatedly said…. “I’VE GOT TO BE BETTER, DO BETTER, OR PITCH DEEPER INTO GAMES”…… I’m sure I’ve been going to games liberty than you’ve been alive! Bandwagon?!? Ppppffffttttt….. You’re laughable
1. it has been proven over and over that professional athletes do not automatically make good evaluators.
2. What player doesn’t say things like this?
So now YOU know LESTER, BETTER THAN HE KNOWS HIMSELF?!?!!! LLLLLLMMMMMMMAAAAAOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m done with this conversation…… good evaluators…… LOL!!!
You don’t need to know a player to look at the number they put up and make a conclusion of those. If lester thinks he can be better, cool. That doesn’t change the production that he had last year.
I’m glad you’re done with the conversation though, since you have no actual facts to support any of statements. Keep on using your eye test. Bet you love pitcher wins and rbizzzzz too.
Yes I do love wins & so does every team, player, manager, and intelligent baseball fan. The last time I checked, players get paid to try and WIN! Fans pay & come to the ballparks to see the team try to WIN! Managers are fired when their teams don’t WIN! Teams make, or miss the postseason, & advance therein, based on WINS!!! (NOT, war, or whatever other REDICULOUS metric the stat geeks have come up with this morning) Front office personnel scout players, and sign FA to help WIN!!! So yeah, I’m pretty sure that WINS MATTER THE MOST!!
Arrieta
Lester
Lackey
Ross? Who knows? At the 4th?
Hendricks
Cubs have been bolstering their BP as well. Bosio is one of the best pitching coaches in the game.
Combined with a year of maturation with that lineup? ****Contreras will be a stud. The drought will be over within the next few years… And has anyone who “won the offseason” ever won a title? Just curious
Chester that’s a delusional take on Lester, who regressed badly with his command last year and is not likely to pitch like more than a fifth starter for the remainder of his contract.
Arrieta is more of a wait and see than anything else. He was good in the first half, then went insane. Come playoff time, his control reverted to what it looked like in Baltimore. Before last year, people wondered if Arrieta’s control would continue to hold up. I’m not sure he’s answered that question yet.
LOL. You are calling somebody delusional? Lester’s command “regressed” from 1.97 to 2.06 walks per 9 innings and was the 2nd best of his career. He was 8th in WAR in the NL, 7th in FIP, 8th in XFIP…. you know these are really easy things to look up.
Arrieta has has two great year in a row. Not sure what else you need to see
They got rid of Edwin Jackson. He also beat the Cubs in Game 1 sooooo….
Jon Lester gets $25M a year. He put up a 3.34 ERA, 2.92 FIP, and a 1.12 WHIP. At $25M that’s a bargain. And if the homer section of the Cubs fan base would wipe the drool from their lip they’d realize Lester had a stellar 2015. If he can repeat his 2015 five more times over the course of his contract, he’ll be considered a MAJOR bargain. Just think, Zimmermann is getting paid just 3M less than Lester and look at the year he is coming off of. I seriously hope you’re just trolling. Over the last 2 seasons Lester and Price’s numbers are almost identical. Yet Price is getting $6M more than Lester.
*cough* 2011 *cough*
I wouldn’t call a pitcher at his age who has had some flakiness in his career “worth it” at 16 or 17 million until you see it for your eyes. Then again, it really isn’t an overpay either. Inflation has risen in the last five years for pitchers.
2 years and $32 is not an overpay. He was predicted by many sites to be in the $16M AAV range. And actually, almost all the sites that did predictions that I’ve seen had him pegged for a 3 year deal, AAVs ranging from $14-18M. Getting him for 2 years and $16M AAV is actually a bargain I’d say from what the market was predicting he’d get. Am I thrilled with the idea of Lackey? No. I think he is a mediocre pitcher. BUT, since coming off tommy john surgery he’s been pretty solid since 2013. If he can just put together two seasons of a 3.50 ERA and a 1.20ish WHIP I’d call it a major win of a deal. Those numbers are slightly worse than what he’s been doing the last 3 years…. but a 3.5 ERA from your third SP….. I’ll take that all day…. even if it is from a 37 year old pitcher on his last legs.
Quite the change in attitude Good for you. He’ll do well.
As a Cubs fan, really happy this is 2 years. With some of the Samardzija rumors out there…I’ll take this
Really takes care of that rumor
As a Cubs fan, I’m incensed that the Cubs would give up a draft pick for a 2-year investment. That’s a TERRIBLE waste of a pick. And for all the Samardzija rumors out there, you do realize that the difference in AAV between the supposed Samardzija contract and the assumed Lackey contract is $1 million in AAV, right?
3 years is a pretty big difference…no?
We get it, you’ve said it 4 times now in the span of 20 comments. You think it’s a waste of a pick for a two year commitment…but just in case, make sure to tell us your feeling on it 8 more times please.
No one has yet to give one solid reason why they feel otherwise… Drafts are long term investments. You lose the slot money associated with a 1st rd pick, and it affects your ability to maneuver throughout the draft. If this was 2008, then fine – but there are strict spending rules in place now.
A year ago, the Blue Jays had the 29th pick of the draft. It was valued at 40% of their entire draft pool.
They get a supplemental round pick when fowler signs. The overall loss is probably about 500k from their draft pool
Lots of people keep mentioning Fowler. The reason I keep repeating myself is because people are glossing past the part of the statement where I’m saying “You don’t do this for a 2-year commitment.” I’ve also said multiple times that losing the pick doesn’t bother me since I expected the Cubs to give up a pick in a FA signing at some point this winter. If people would stop retorting with “But they still have a Fowler pick,” then I’d gladly stop repeating myself…. I could not care less that they gave up the pick; I care what they got for the pick.
A rather reliable 3-4 pitcher on a short term contract? Yeah….awful.
But that is why you could sign him to a 2 year deal. The potential draft pick loss no doubt reduced the amount of competition. Pick you poison 5 years/100 million for Leake/Smarj, significant prospect loss for Miller/Carrasco or a draft pick for Lackey.
And just to make you feel better. Since the draft started, only four 28th picks in the first round have even produced 10 career war. Probably not losing much
If the Cubs plan on also signing someone like Heyward or one of the other pitchers that declined a qualifying offer than they were going to lose their first round draft pick anyways. So maybe their plan is that they sign another big name free agent and then you could say they gave up their first round pick for that player and their next pick for Lackey. Would that make you feel better?
How about.. you shouldn’t care about the pick as much because the Cubs have a stocked farm system, and the front office (who is smarter than you and the rest of us) finally feels they are in a period in which they can “go for it.” Maybe as a Cubs fan you have just gotten into this pattern of a constant rebuild, and that has become your comfort zone. But this signing is GOOD news because the future is finally here. I bet they aren’t even finished. This short contract opens the door to sign someone else.
So please relax and take solace in knowing that the organization, who has valued its draft picks, feels it is okay to sacrifice one here because they are finally in a position to do so. Is that a good enough answer for you? If it’s not, you’re going to continue to get downvoted. I guess it only makes sense that someone who frets over getting downvoted would also fret over his club trying to win now.
Please clarify your thoughts on giving up the draft pick.
2m in aav, but 58-68m in total contract. Pretty big difference there.
You want reasons? Alright.
1. The other QO-tied players aren’t worth the contracts they’re going to get, including Samardzija. Writing off 2-3 years on the end of a deal they day you sign it holds no appeal to me.
2. $1MM AAV is still $50-60MM total dollars — or more. Writing that off as some kind of small deal doesn’t make it one.
3. The Cubs ownership and leadership have stated numerous times that they don’t have that much money to spend. That’s likely to remain the case at least until they negotiate a TV deal, likely to be closer to 2019. We can see at that point how much we have to spend and what holes we need to fill, and we can do that better without somebody like Samardzija still under contract.
4. In two years, the Cubs’ are going to have a lot of financial questions to answer. Bryant will be a Super 2, a decision needs to be made on Arrieta, and one year later Russell and Schwarber will join the mix. Tying up our dollars in advance for somebody who isn’t elite doesn’t make sense to me.
17M/yr for a 37 yr old pitcher???
::fake rage::
OMG!!!
17M a year for Lackey is much better than 13M a year for Tim Hudson fresh off of ankle surgery or 15M a year for RA Dickey..
To those saying that they’d rather have Lackey for 2 years than Samardzija for 5 … I’m sorry, but this is ridiculous. You don’t surrender a first round draft choice for a 2-year free agent investment.
I would take Lackey over Samardzija right now, even though Samardzija has less innings on his arm, Lackey is battle tested in the post season and he’s a post season bulldog. A good signing for the cubs
Samardzija was arguably one of the starters in baseball last year. Lackey was actually really good.
They were on pace for what, like the 25thish overall pick?
2 years of Lackey at 16-17M is worth more than a mid-level prospect, which is what that would produce.
I think Samardzija is a good pitcher but he played with a bad defense behind him and pitching in a hitters park, I think the angels should try to sign him , but it’s possible the cubs bring him back as well.
Yes he was a starter in baseball. Go on.
28th. It’ll be a little bit later, but the pick they get back from fowler more or less makes up for losing the 28th pick
Its not 28th because of QO’s.
They are losing their 28th pick. They will be getting a pick, which is slightly later than 28th when Fowler signs with another team.
Nvm…i just reread what you said. You’re factoring in teams moving down because they gave up picks. My b
mike trout was the 25th overall pick. baseball is high variance. first 2 rounds talent is far and above more likely to produce in the bigs.
Quick list here: Sean Gilmartin, Zach Lee, Raymond Fuentes, Ben Revere, Daniel Bard, Colby Rasmus, Blake DeWitt, Daric Barton, and John Mayberry, . Those are the 9 players who were picked #28 overall since 2000 who have made the majors. Which one of those guys are you gonna build your team around? Not a single one of those dudes is the missing piece on a championship team. But if you want to build a team around those guys, be my guest.
They were going to lose their pick regardless, more than likely. Besides, it’s the 28th pick and they’ll still receive a comp pick themselves from whoever signs Fowler which with all the qualifying offered free agents out there, their compensation pick will likely still be around the 28th-32nd overall pick still. So cool it on acting like you know everything. Signing either Samardzija or Lackey is hardly ideal. I’m just glad it is for only 2 years instead of Samardzija’s 4-5 likely at a higher AAV.
I love that move for the cubs!
Well, too bad Big John goes to the Cards DIVISION rival, but nonetheless, thanks John.
Thats not even a bad deal. 2 years is a good number for both parties.
It’s a great deal for the cubs, hopefully he can have the same year as he did last year, he’s been better since getting tommy john
16 mil? Doesn’t that seem kind of too much?
Not really. Tim Hudson got 11.5M/yr a year off of major ankle surgery. Lackey just had an ace-caliber year
30 million for Price, 22 million for Zimmerman, 16 or 17 million for Lackey looks to line up just fine with the market. He’ll probably even pitch better than Zimmerman this season. That contract could look like a bargain.
Meh, I can see that argument, but when you limit a contract to 2 years, you’re probably gonna pay a little more in aav.
You don’t surrender $90 mil. for a picther with a lifetime war of 7.1 over 8 seasons. Thank god they didn’t sign Smarch! They got a way better pitcher for a small fraction of the committment. Smart again, Theo.
At least Cards get a draft pick
Once Fowler signs elsewhere you won’t get anything great.
I didnt say great draft pick, its a draft pick. Cards will take it
Felix Pie and a bucket of baseballs.
Fowler signing elsewhere has almost no bearing on the Cards acquiring a comp-round pick in this transaction.
And by almost you mean none, correct.
Will definately accept the pick and 32M towards another player. Thanks to J Lack though, I do appreciate what he did in the Lou
Last year, Lackey had a war of 5.7. That’s worth about $30 mil. in this market. Plus, he’s got loads of playoff experience AND success.
Are they not going to try to trade for Shelby Miller now?
I think the Cubs want to see what their young position players can do for them now
The asking price for Miller was so high, a deal was unlikely anyways.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t trade for a young controllable starter!
sonny gray , jose quintana , danny salazar ,
That ship sailed when the braves wanted 2x+ what he is worth.
They’re still trying to acquire another pitcher. But please God no on Shelby Miller. The difference between him and Kyle Hendricks last year was Andrelton Simmons saving Miller time and time again… other than that, Hendricks year was vastly superior.
Theo loves his ex redsox players!
Great signing for the Cubs. Now they have a strong 1-2-3 of Arieta, Lester and Lackey with 4 guys fighting for #4 and #5. Its still not even the Winter Meetings yet. Now they need a CF and they are set.
I think they should sign Upton or maybe cespedes. I don’t like Schwarber in left or right, he should split time at first with rizzo or just catch. Maybe they could look at span or parra.
Rizzo isn’t coming out of the lineup.
Not sure where else to put Schwarber though, they have a lot of depth which is a good problem to have
LF and sprinkle in some catcher. Dude had like 2 months to practice playing lf. He’s never going to be a good defender, but I think he can be better than a butcher and that bat should play
he played lf 60% of his time in college. so little more than 2 months to “practice” playing lf.
Not sure where else to put him? Only fans outside Chicago think about this one. He’s playing LF – it’s the least premium defensive position in the entire game. Barry Bonds and Manny Ramirez managed to handle LF … That people even bother thinking Schwarber has to move from LF is just silly.
Rizzo appeared in 160 last year, there’s no time to split there. And MonteroRoss handle the pitching staff too well to give up a lot of time there. He’ll be in the outfield.
Rizzo appeared in 160 last year, so there’s little to no time to split there. And Schwarber isn’t experienced enough to get much time ahead of Montero or Ross. He’ll be in the outfield.
Rizzo wont be coming out of the lineup unless he is hurt. Schwarber will do just fine in LF, his bat more than compensates for any deficiencies on defense. The Cubs really just need a CF.
Baez playing CF in the winter league. I doubt they go into next year counting on that, but I could see a platoon of him and Span
I can Maddon moving Baez, Bryant, and Swarber around next year.
Baez has only played in one game in Winter Leagues. He played SS.
There was a report that he was going to play CF earlier today.
He might now, he played SS in his only game so far. Still almost a month left in Liga de Beisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente
Unless Hendricks or Hammel get Steve Blass disease, I feel that they will be #4 and #5
Whos the 4 guys fighting for 4 and 5? Edwards, Hendricks, Hammel and Wood?
I’d love to see the cubs make a package for sonny gray but that would cost the entire farm system, or atleast 3 of the top prospects
He’s not available. I’d much rather see them focus on pitchers that are.
Salazar would be a nice option or Quintana
Quintana would require a return similar to that of Cole Hamels, which wouldn’t be met by the Cubs without Schwarber, or just completely unloading the farm, which is also unlikely
Quintana is on a very team friendly contract, and prolly one of the most underrated pitchers in the game .
Carassco!
I thought of something, I wonder it would cost to get shields or tyson ross
Hendricks, Baez and a couple top 5 prospects for Ross. Lots less for Shields if the Cubs are winning to take on his salary. The Cubs did offer him more per season in AAV on a 3 year deal before he signed with the Padres than his current salary for 2016-2018, so that is not out of the question. Maybe just Baez and another top prospect.
Wait, you think Shields nets Baez and a top prospect and the cubs pay his whole salary?
They’d be wise to see if a package of Soler, Torres, McKinney and Edwards couldn’t interest the Marlins or the A’s. Maybe it doesn’t… but it’s a ton of talent and worth the shot for two premium, cost-controlled aces.
Why not trade for David Price? He’s just as available.
As a cards fan I’m sure not looking forward to facing Lackey he’s as tuff as they come he’s the Cubs #2 starter
Cards already have to face Lester and Arrieta, its not gettin any easier for them. Thats why this offseason their plan is to spend money for quality
I think this was one move the Cards had to do was to bring lackey back because losing lynn for the season puts them down 2 starters in that rotation. They might go in house options, or sign kazmir plus take a flyer on cliff lee.
I like Kazmir, will be very interested to see how his market plays out
Kazmir is very appealing yes however Idk if the Cards are interested specifically in him
Well they were willing to give price 190 million, I think he made the mistake of going to boston, he would of been better with the cardinals.
Yes, and had Boston not offered $30 million more, hed be a cardinal. But probably better they didnt sign him, lot of money
He would of had better success in the post season, A better playoff atmosphere in st.louis. And having one of the best pitch framers in the league behind the plate. Price and Waino would of been a great 1-2 punch
Yes, but obviously, money is what wins the bidding war, and Cardinals offered more than theyve ever offered to anyone
Yea , but I heard boston offered 200 million first, and then the cards put up 190 and he was about to take the deal and then the red sox went to 217, thats what I heard.
Oh, I didnt hear that part. Well, he shoulda taken the Cards offer yes.
I am more shocked the cubs didn’t make a nice offer for price, I am pretty sure thats where everyone had him going
I know, I didnt expect the Cards to be all-in on Price, and the Cubs to bid heavily on him, but it was the opposite
I have Greinke going to the giants
And they wont consider Greinke or Cueto (most likely)
Greinke gone to Arizonia, I doubt they go after Cueto as SF, LA both got blindsided, by Arizonia look for both teams to come out swinging on Cuteo, and don’t for get the Cubs they still have their big wad to blow yet.
LOL – GREINKE went to the Diamondbacks in a surprise heard around the world for a whopping 34.4 Million
Cards have won enough. Let the Cubs win one in our lifetimes.
May the best team win
Are Snake or Lester taking a season off?
No, just Lackey was better than Lester last year.
Depends what you look at. He’s also not projected to be this year.
Yeah well the Cardinals will counter with….Mark Buehrle. so…yeah take that.
Now I think they go after Heyward.
Na , I want the angels to go after him, Gordon would be a nice fit for the cubs
I don’t really get why Gordon would be a better fit for the cubs? You’d think a 26 year old Heyward would fit in better with a core that is in its early-mid twenties.
I think they are both even on defense but I think Gordon is a better hitter honestly
Gordon plays lf, heyward play rf. He’s also a fair bit younger
wait so losing a draft pick is only worth it if ur signing someone to a 6-7 year deal when u always lose on that kind of deal??
this is a GREAT deal for the cubs.. very low risk for a pitcher who has pitched like an ace
17m/y for a 37 year old pitcher is pretty bad in my mind.
He did have a great season last year but last year was the out liar in his career.
His career average states he’s a 3.50 era type of guy.
If so how much better is he from Hammel and Hendricks?
I hope they can get someone with higher upside because
this may give us depth in the regular season but
won’t do much for us in the post season.
Thanks for everything John Lackey that you did in St Louis.The Cardinals lost a great guy and a player but we have WainWright, Garcia, Wacha,Martinez and we have a lot of options, in signing another pitcher. Best of luck in Chicago
Nooooooo……….. (depressed)
The last time Epstein signed Lackey, it didn’t work out…
Last year was John’s best season of his career.
He’s career average era is 3.92 meaning that he could be worse then
Hendricks or Hammel. Don’t like the signing at all.
Shhh… don’t tell these guys that this deal is terrible, they’ll mark your post with a thumbs down
He’s a career average era is 3.92 last year was his best year.
I wouldn’t say that, Lackey had an amazing year in 2013 considering he was 35 and coming back from major surgery, and without him in that 2013 rotation Boston probably doesn’t make the playoffs let alone win it all.
Depth isn’t what the cubbies need.
It’s impact arms that can match up with the mets in the playoffs.
I’d like to see Jed and Theo go after Teheran / Salazar / Carrasco
even if it means giving up Soler and a couple guys down in the minors.
3.75 ERA is what I’m HOPING for from him. I just get the feeling they just signed another Jason Hammel. All I can say is hopefully that if this is going to be their “big” pitching addition in free agency they’ll now aggressively go after Heyward, and trade for another pitcher….. preferably a guy like Quintana or Danny Salazar out in Cleveland. Arrieta, Lester, Quintana/Salazar, Lackey, and Hendricks is a pretty solid rotation.
Not a bad deal, I just hope in doesn’t mess the team chemistry.I could see Cubs bringing in Span on a similar 2 year deal in CF . while exploring a trade for Carrasco or Teheran
Although Carrasco will cost the Cubs a huge return I could see Cubs possibly trading Baez,+one of (McKinney/vogelbach/candelario/Torres) carrasco will obviously require more
I can see the Cubs pursuing span on a similar 2yr deal for CF position while still exploring a trade for Carrasco/Salazar/Teheran while I wouldn’t want them trade Soler it’s a possibility that him or Baez could get package along with one of
(McKinney/Torres/candelario) + another mid level prospect
Why are all my comments being edited out?
Not a bad deal for the Cubs, this most likely means they’re out on shark and could explore a trade for Carrasco/Salazar/Teheran. Although I wouldn’t want the Cubs to move Soler I could see the Cubs moving either Soler/Baez + one of (McKinney/Torres/calendario) + a midlevel prospect depending on which pitcher we get back,obviously Carrasco will take a lot more. I could also see the Cubs bringing span in on a similar lackey deal to play in CF
Yeah, the cubs gave up a pick, but if they were already intending to go after heyward or Gordon it really doesn’t matter.
Decent signing, definitely puts their rotation in a better position. Replacing hammel and making a trade for a better, younger sp should still not be ruled out though.
John Lackey for Allen Craig and Joe Kelly has the be one of the worst trades for Boston in recent years. Craig is one of the worst players in baseball and Kelly isn’t much better. And now Boston can’t get any draft pick compensation from losing Lackey and the Cardinals are going to get another young talent.
Most picks turn out to be nothing at all. Craig is awful. Kelly still has time.
Good signing. People need to step back and realize what the money means: This is basically 2 years of 2 WAR value per.
The Cards get a draft pick too, can that trade be any more lopsided?
There wasn’t a trade?
Or do you mean boston > stl?
Back in 2011 no one saw this coming. Now they regard him as one of the better pitchers in the league. Ironically, since his surgery, he’s gotten EVEN BETTER than he was in his prior years.
That being said, I don’t think he’s the difference maker for the Cubs.
So if the Cubs win the World Series will we still worry about a first rd pick? Come on we have so much depth in farm system who cares ? Sign heyward and grienke boo hoo we lose draft picks that may be sacking groceries in a few years . Great sign Cubs rotation stronger and cards weaker. Go Cubs!!
They can’t sign heyward and greinke.
GRIENKE GONE PEOPLE GONE! HELLO – ARIZONIA SHOCKED EVERYONE!
If I where the GM I would have taken James Shields off of Prellers hands and
handed him some prospects to take on some of his salary if I was going cheap.
The Cubs hitting is vastly superior than the Cardinals as seen in the playoffs. With this move, their pitching staff is now better than the Cardinals. This equals ….. A new Central Division Champion for 2016. The Chicago Cubs!!! The Cardinals have a reputation of not signing big free agents. They get only low hanging fruit!!! Ha! That won’t work for them any more. Plus, after the Cardinals hacking into The Astro’s, other MLB GM’s are hesitant to even trade with the Cards. The Cubs are in great position for years to come!!! P.S. Please resign Fowler!!!
Where are you getting that gms are hesitant to trade with them? And the cardinals just offered Price $190m, I don’t think they’re scared to spend.
Now sign Cueto. Not samardzija but Cueto.
I would like to see a post on the where this puts the Cubs on the following issues: 1. Do the Cubs lose the Fowler pick if we sign another QO free agent?
2. Do the Cubs still go after Shelby Miller or Samardzija and deal away Hammel/Hendricks/Wood? (one of the above, if Wood, Hendricks to the pen.)
1. Yes.
2. I think they signed lackey when shark’s market got to rich. And yes, Kaplan said that they will be going after a young starter in a trade.
This fits the Cubs model of signing aging veteran starters passed their prime and then throwing their hands up in the air when their five first baseman defense doesn’t help them prevent runs.
This is great news. Having lackey will help Lester. This is a great sign.Be happy Cubs fans.
I knew the Cubs would sign him. I still think they are going after the Shark or Cuteo next. To round out that rotation if they can’t do a trade for Miller or Ross. I believe they will through everything they have at Heyward…Think that is their next move personally.
I like this signing a lot! Lackey just flat out knows how to pitch and the best part is he pitches well in the postseason, cough, david price. Cubs aren’t my team but wow are they fun to watch!
How come has brought up the idea for the Cubs to trade for Puig?
I would rather see the Cubs go for Cespedes. They are already have a flighty player who cannot pay attention to the game in Castro. Though it brings up a good point. The Cubs need hitting. Fairly certain that against the Mets in the playoffs the Cubs ‘Aces’ had a 4+ ERA. Sometimes you need good hitting to come through and can you really trust the Cubs to hit better in the playoffs due to experience? This team led the league in strikeouts last season. Good pitchers will destroy you if you are like that.
None of my comments got posted thanks MLB Trade Rumors and goodbye!
With Lackey signing to relatively a cheap deal, and with news that the Cubs are going to try Baez out in CF this winter and spring; I’d be interested in seeing the Cubs sign maybe a Gerardo Parra as their 5th OFer behind Coghlan just as insurance in case Baez flounders in CF. If he sticks out there it would be awesome. Assuming they don’t trade anybody Castro would be at 2B and my best guess and personal opinion is that Castro should be the lead-off hitter. He’s had his most success at the plate as a lead-off hitter before the front office decided that Castro *should* have power and moved him down in the order. As a lead off hitter Castro has a .301 BA and a .346 OBP in just shy of 500 ABs. If they do trade Castro though and Baez still plays CF they do have still promising, young 2Bman in Tommy La Stella who owned a .320 BA and .404 OBP in his minor league career. Having said that, with the addition of Lackey, and hypothetical addition of Parra (guessing around 3 yrs $27M), what do you think about them playing the gamblers hand of signing Fister, Latos, AND Cliff Lee to all 1 year deals and pretty much make it a bloody battle for that final rotation spot. I figure those three on 1 year deals combined would cost about $36M. That’s a total addition of $61M in free agent additions, but they’d likely on keep the one who performs the best in Latos, Fister, and Lee and then trade the other 2 either before the season starts or shortly thereafter like pre-May. One of those SPs should bounce back this year and having them as your 3rd or 4th starter would be nasty if they return to just a resemblance of their old selves. Fister at $10M, Latos at $12M, and Lee…. maaybe at $14M at the most.
Latos? No way.
He’s too far removed from good production to even take a chance on.
Don’t think Fister will come for a one year deal.
Lee is the only one worth a gamble considering upside and the fact that
he got better as he aged.