Chicago Cubs: Which signing will they regret?

It wasn’t so long ago that the Cubs gave a contract to an aging star pitcher, hoping to squeeze enough gas out of the tank to cruise into a pennant. That pitcher was Greg Maddux. The Cubs brought back their one-time ace for his age 38 season on 2004. It was a safe move because Maddux was a fan favorite and showed he still had the ability to eat innings and get outs.

This off-season, the Cubs signed John Lackey with similar hopes. Lackey had great success last season with the Cardinals, and the Cubs are hoping there’s enough gas left in the 37-year old’s tank to provide good rotation depth behind Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester.

The Maddux deal worked out well for the Cubs. They got two full years of 200+ innings and several more quality starts through part of the third season before the then-playoff-irrelevant Cubs traded him to the contending Dodgers.

It’s reasonable for the Lackey to produce similar results for the Cubs. And it doesn’t hurt that Lackey is signed to just a two-year deal. So even if the aging star does not produce at a $16 million-level, the Cubs will not long be bogged down in paying Lackey.

Due to the short-term length of the contract, it will be hard for the Cubs to regret signing John Lackey.

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