Chicago Cubs: Will Yu Darvish pursuit spur Brewers, Cardinals to action?

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HOUSTON, TX – OCTOBER 27: Yu Darvish #21 of the Los Angeles Dodgers walks off the field as he exits the game during the second inning against the Houston Astros in game three of the 2017 World Series at Minute Maid Park on October 27, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

The Chicago Cubs have been linked to Yu Darvish for weeks. If that turns into a deal, will St. Louis or Milwaukee made impactful additions in response?

First of all, I’d like to take a paragraph to wish all of you happy holidays. I hope this is a time when you gather with your loved ones and reflect on the more important things in life besides baseball. Having said that, baseball is still very good, and being a Chicago Cubs fan is pretty nice right now.

The Cubs entered the offseason with starting pitching as a glaring need. Both Jake Arrieta and John Lackey came off Chicago’s books as they hit free agency. Finding a way to replace a Cy Young Award winner and a veteran innings-eater with a postseason pedigree isn’t exactly a walk in the park.

With 40 percent of the starting rotation up-for-grabs, the rumor mill churned endlessly to open the winter. Chicago was seemingly connected to every single available arm on the market. Some of those rumblings started long before the postseason even drew to a close.

Chicago Cubs make a splash, solidify rotation

In the midst of all the theoretical marriages we heard, only one, thus far, has come to fruition. Tyler Chatwood, formerly of the Colorado Rockies, signed a three-year, $38 million deal back on Dec. 7. The team also signed Drew Smyly to a two-year deal, but he’s not expected to pitch in 2018 as he is recovering from Tommy John surgery, though I guess crazier things have happened.

With a rotation of Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and a wild card in Tyler Chatwood, the Cubs could use some stability from a guy with a proven track record.

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Enter Yu Darvish. Talks between the Cubs and Darvish didn’t surface until rather recently, but when they did, it wasn’t just smoke and mirrors. Darvish himself was the one to break news of the meeting via Twitter.

If the two sides hammer out the financials, watch out. Such a signing immediately resolves the rotation for not just 2018 – but for years to come. The Cubs could boast, in my opinion, the best rotation in baseball. At the very least, the one with the most upside.

In such a case, the Cubs would not only carry one of the best starting rotations in baseball. It joins one of the most promising young lineups in the game, along with a bullpen that has a couple fresh additions in Steve Cishek and Brandon Morrow.

With such a combination, it’s hard to imagine the St. Louis Cardinals or Milwaukee Brewers not pulling the trigger on a “big-ticket item” like the two on-the-way-out Cubs: Arrieta and Wade Davis.

CHICAGO, IL – OCTOBER 18: Wade Davis #71 of the Chicago Cubs pitches in the ninth inning against the Los Angeles Dodgers during game four of the National League Championship Series at Wrigley Field on October 18, 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /

Chicago could spur Brewers, Cardinals into action

St. Louis has been connected to Davis throughout most of the offseason in the same vein that Arrieta has been linked to Milwaukee. Both clubs gave the Cubs a run for their money and finished only six (Brewers) and nine (Cardinals) games behind Chicago in 2017.

The Cardinals already made a substantial upgrade, as they acquired Miami Marlins slugger Marcell Ozuna for Sandy Alcantara plus a couple lesser-known prospects. St. Louis President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak has stated over and over again: the Cardinals were making big changes to their team.

They’ve already added to the back end of the bullpen with the addition of Luke Gregerson and figure to be adding more. Davis could very conceivably be the guy St. Louis decides to throw money at this winter, and why wouldn’t they? From 2014-2017, Davis accumulated 7.4 WAR while posting an MLB-best 1.45 ERA.

Apart from the fact that signing Davis means the Cubs can’t re-up with him, the Cardinals would be getting a top-shelf reliever to solidify the ninth inning role.

Brewers need a Lester-like move

And then there’s the Brewers. Milwaukee finished the season just one game shy of the second wild card spot and are looking to add a front-line starter to signal the turning of a corner. Milwaukee has been reportedly in on Arrieta all offseason long.

In a lot of ways, the potential addition of Arrieta reminds me of how the Cubs added Lester three years ago. It was clear the team was ready to take off, but it wasn’t until Lester came on board that Chicago was taken seriously.

Arrieta could be a big pain for the Cubs

Arrieta, 32 on March 6, burst onto the scene with the Cubs in 2014, posting a 2.53 ERA over 156 2/3 innings, though he was still unheralded at that point and time.

In 2015, Arrieta went to a whole new level of dominance. The right-hander went 22-6 with a 1.77 ERA over 229 innings to go along with 236 strikeouts. Of course, that all came en route to the 2015 National League Cy Young Award.

He took a step back in 2016 and another step in 2017, but he’s still an impact arm. Dating back to 2014, only Clayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber, Chris Sale and Max Scherzer have totaled more WAR than Arrieta’s 18.5.

Milwaukee would love to get their hands on a veteran starter with a resume like Arrieta’s, and if they do, it’s not outlandish to think they could take off in similar fashion to that of the Cubs in 2015.

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Now, I’m not saying if the Cubs do manage to lure Darvish in it’ll cause St. Louis and Milwaukee to make these deals. But should Darvish dawn the Cubbie blue, the incentive to go after Davis and Arrieta might become to great to ignore. If that happens, the race for the NL Central might be uncomfortably close.

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