Chicago Cubs News: Cubs sign Darvish, still holes to fill

The Chicago Cubs signed Yu Darvish to a six-year, $126 million contract. With that out of the way, the Cubs can look to pin down a few of the other areas on the roster.

It finally happened. The Chicago Cubs and Yu Darvish agreed to a contract. I mean, whatever will we write about now? All jokes aside, it’s been a long time coming for the Cubs and Darvish who have gone back and forth all winter. Now, with a full rotation ready to go, the team will look to fill some of the other holes that remain.

One of those spots will be that of the backup catcher position. While Victor Caratini seemed like a good bet, Chris Gimenez may have got the leg up in the competition with the signing of Darvish. Gimenez was Darvish’s “regular” catcher in Texas and may have the upper hand now in Chicago. While the Cubs do have faith that Caratini can be the guy, the signing might have been influenced by Gimenez being on the roster.

Our Tim Stebbins said that the Cubs didn’t need to overpay a starting pitcher. And for the Cubs, they didn’t. With all the talk of contracts near $200 million, $126 looks good. And while the Cubs were forced to put the sixth year in there, they got the AAV down to a much more manageable number–one they were comfortable with.

These and other stories you might have missed:

‘Cubs finally sign Yu Darvish’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Cubs still have role player decisions to make’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Cubs shouldn’t overpay a starter‘ – Cubbies Crib

‘How Darvish signing impacts FA’ – MLB.com

‘Cubs save their best move for last’ – ESPN

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