Chicago Cubs: These moves prevented team from adding Bryce Harper

Chicago Cubs: Here we go – Tyler Chatwood and Yu Darvish

Dylan Cease is tied in with the 2017-18 offseason acquisitions Tyler Chatwood and Yu Darvish. With both Arrieta and Lackey departing, the Cubs had two holes to fill in their starting rotation.

The Cubs’ solution was to commit a combined nine years and $164 million to Chatwood and Darvish, both viewed as positive moves. Chatwood fared much better on the road (3.49 ERA, 16 games/13 starts) than at home in hitter-friendly Coors Field (6.01 ERA, 17 games/12 starts) in 2017.

In Darvish, the Cubs were getting a four-time All-Star with three 200+ strikeout seasons in his first five seasons. Furthermore, the Cubs took advantage of a slow offseason market to get Darvish at a somewhat discounted rate.

Of course, Chatwood led the MLB in walks in 2018 and Darvish made just eight starts, struggling to a 4.95 ERA before missing the rest of the season with elbow and triceps injuries.

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Chatwood and Darvish surely can bounce back in 2019 and beyond with the Cubs. However, signing one, if not both pitchers, may have been unnecessary if the Cubs had developed at least one premier pitching prospect by that time.

Because Cease was traded and the Cubs had no other top pitching prospects ready for the big leagues, signing Chatwood and Darvish was necessary. And if both pitchers’ debut seasons with the Cubs were great, this would be less of an issue. This is not the case, though.

Because Chatwood and Darvish struggled, the Cubs had to bolster their starting rotation in 2018. They did so in the form of Cole Hamels, who was spectacular with the Cubs (2.36 ERA, 12 starts).

The Cubs still don’t truly know what they will get from Chatwood and Darvish in 2019. Consequentially, picking up Hamels’ $20 million option was basically a necessity. Thus, the Cubs’ 2019 rotation is going to be very expensive.

Prospects like Adbert Alzolay, Justin Steele and Brailyn Marquez could join the Cubs in the next few seasons. Even if Cease was still with the Cubs, he was not going to be ready by the beginning of 2018.

Regardless, having Cease waiting in the wings would have changed how the Cubs attacked the 2017-18 offseason market. Imagine what their payroll would look like without the 2019 base salaries of Chatwood’s ($12.5 million) or Darvish ($20 million).