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

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.