Chicago Cubs: Does no significant signing equal a bad season?

The Chicago Cubs have had a quiet offseason. Especially if you look at the other teams of the NL Central, should this raise concern for the upcoming season?

You’ve heard it a million times the last few months. The Chicago Cubs don’t have enough cash. Whether that’s a valid reason or not, it seems like many people are worried about the Cubs this season.

The Red’s acquired Matt Kemp and Yasiel Puig; the Cardinal’s grabbed Paul Goldschmidt, and (as much as I hate to say it) the Milwaukee Brewers still have a pretty solid roster. And to top it all off, PECOTA stirred the pot by saying the Cubs are going to jump off a cliff and go into rebuild mode.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups
• Cubs: P.J. Higgins deserves to be in the lineup on a daily basis

The Central is going to be, in my opinion, the top division in the National League, and possibly in the entire league (which will make it fun to watch). We could have a three to four team sprint to the finish line.

I don’t think the Cincinnati Reds are entirely there yet, but they aren’t a pushover anymore. And with the addition of Goldschmidt, the St. Louis Cardinals are right back into contention.

And before I get too into the PECOTA thing, I just want to say that projections are completely stupid. These stupid sites can’t predict injuries, cold and hot streaks, distractions, and emerging players.

We know baseball is turning into an analytical game, but baseball is a long game and a long season, so you can’t just follow numbers by heart.

PECOTA, and many people around the league seem to forget we have three MVP caliber players in Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez. We have the best catcher in the league in Willson Contreras. We have two of the best defensive outfielders you can ask for with Jason Heyward and Albert Almora.

And we have a solid and veteran rotation with Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Cole Hamels, Jose Quintana and Yu Darvish. With all those solid players (and even left a few out, i.e., David Bote, Pedro Strop, Mike Montgomery, Kyle Schwarber and Ian Happ.) I have no idea how PECOTA expects a team like this to go from 95 wins to a dumpster fire.

What I am trying to get across is I don’t think Cubs fans need to be worried. Yeah, they didn’t have any big signings, but you don’t need one every year to put a good team on the field. And you never know how players are going to perform throughout a 162 game season. So, Cubs fans, step back, take a deep breath, and get ready for another impressive Cubs season!