Cubs Rumors: Andrew Miller close to joining St. Louis Cardinals

Cubs Rumors: Murphy joins Rockies on a two-year pact

When the Cubs went out and acquired Daniel Murphy for the stretch run, we knew what it was – a rental. Over the final month or so with Chicago, the veteran slashed .297/.329/.471 for a slightly above-average 108 OPS+.

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Now, he’s headed out west to join the Colorado Rockies on a two-year, $24 million deal with an option for 2021. What’s most intriguing, though, is that he’ll reportedly play first base for his new team. A noted subpar defender, it’ll be interesting to see how he transitions to a new position.

There’s no doubting what Murphy can do with the stick. Upon arriving in Chicago, he helped spark a stagnant Cubs offense as the team ran off an impressive winning streak. But, ultimately, it wasn’t enough to help Chicago win a third-straight division title as the team fell flat over the final month as the Brewers surged past them to win the NL Central crown.

As for the Cubs, as things currently stand, they’ll rely on some combination of Javier Baez, Ben Zobrist, recently-acquired Daniel Descalso and Addison Russell (although his future is very uncertain right now) to handle the middle infield duties in 2019.

So, at least for now, the story remains the same. The rest of the National League seems to be getting better while the Cubs take a wait-and-see approach. There’s a lot of offseason left and, despite the talent on this roster, there are holes that need addressed if this team wants a deep October run next year.