Chicago Cubs have decisions to make with these team options

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Will Theo Epstein embrace change and decide to not exercise team options on any of these key returning pieces of the Chicago Cubs roster?

A number of players on the current Chicago Cubs roster going into 2020 have club options on their contracts. Big decisions for the front office will come when they have to decide to which options they decide to pick up or not. Keep in mind that there are also buyout options based on performances for several of these guys.

Obviously the Cubs have one of the highest payrolls in the league and could still be looking to shift/save some money even with a good chunk of the 2019 payroll coming off the books. Trades will also be in play as a way of moving money around, but most of the players making the most on the team such as Yu Darvish, Jason Heyward and Jon Lester will most likely be back.

While the list might not be enormous there are some key players who have club options in 2020. Some seem obvious pickups and some are a bit more debatable.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Chicago Cubs: This team’s heart and soul will undoubtedly return

Let’s get one thing straight, Anthony Rizzo is going nowhere. His club option is worth $14.5 million with a $2 million buyout and will have another one of the same value in 2021. Will Rizzo just end up getting extended? He very well could, but his age and recurring back issues do become a factor. Regardless on an extension or not, Rizzo is going to be a Cub in 2020.

Outside of being the team leader, Rizzo was one of the most consistent hitters on the club last year. He slashed .293/.405/.520 with a .924 OPS (second-highest in his career), 27 homers, 94 RBI, 141 wRC+ and a 4.0 fWAR player in 146 games in 2019. He is also in Gold Glove conversations for first baseman.

Looking at Rizzo’s deal he is on an incredibly club-friendly one which the Cubs gave to him when he did not have much service time under his belt. He is currently the longest tenured Cub in terms of MLB service time with the Cubs. Next year we will see him again in a Cubs uniform with his old pal and new boss, David Ross.

Chicago Cubs: A disastrous September has caused some doubts

Jose Quintana has a $11.5 million club option in 2020 with a $1 million buyout. Will this one be picked up? Right now it seems more likely yes than no, but there are arguments for both sides and it is not set in stone by any means.

The 30-year old lefty who was famously acquired from the White Sox for a rather large haul had streaks of greatness before stretches of awfulness. On the whole, he pitched to a 4.68 ERA, 3.80 FIP, 1.4 WHIP, 8.0 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and 10.1 H/9 in 171 innings, which was his lowest since his rookie year.

Note that he had a 3.90 ERA going into September before he really fell off the rails. Also worth noting in that September he had .447 BABIP against and .352 BABIP against in the second half with a 3.53 FIP compared to a 5.40 ERA.

The overall 3.80 FIP and 4.68 ERA is an 88 point difference, which is fairly big. So no, there was no consistency, but it could be argued Quintana saw some tough luck with balls in play (go back and watch the tape) but he still just did not miss enough bats late in the season.

So is he worth bringing back? It could all depend on what moves they make for starters. Though bringing back Quintana for $11.5 million to be their four or five starter feels like a perfectly fine thing to do. Improvements can still be made while picking up his option. This can go either way.

Chicago Cubs: End of the road for the team’s former closer

Yes, Brandon Morrow still is a guy. The veteran rightly who has not pitched since mid-2018 has a club option of $12 million with a $3 million buyout in 2020. Morrow missed all of 2019 due to elbow issues which included surgery in November of 2018.

If he was still younger it could be a different story, his brief time as a Cub was very good. It included a 1.47 ERA, 2.96 FIP, 1.1 WHIP and 22 saves in 35 appearances in 2018 before the All-Star Break. However he has dealt with these injury issues for a while and is 35. $12 million for a very damaged arm is a big risk.

Last summer, Chicago went out and signed free agent closer Craig Kimbrel to a three-year contract, hoping to solidify the ninth inning moving forward. Morrow was never going to be a stabilizing force given his injury woes – and with the late-inning role off the table, there’s no way the Cubs pay this kind of money for a guy who hasn’t pitched in a year-and-a-half.

Do not count on Morrow’s option being picked up.

Chicago Cubs: Decisions to make when it comes to the bullpen

The last few guys will just be listed briefly since none of them were signed to big deals or had a ton of service time in the Chicago Cubs organization.

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Derek Holland: Veteran lefty really struggled as a Cub and is pretty much guaranteed not to return.

Tony Barnette: The soon-to-be 36-year-old pitched in only 1 1/3 innings in 2019 and has a $3 million club option in 2020. He had injury problems and was placed on the restricted list to evaluate his personal life. He’s also probably not coming back.

Kendall Graveman: He spent 2019 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and is slated for a $3 million club option in 2020. If Theo and company still see value in him, they may give him a shot. This is actually one of the more interesting decisions.

David Phelps: Sample size was small but we saw some decent work from him in his 17 innings as a Cub last year. 18 strikeouts and 3.18 ERA. His club option would be just $1 million so he could be a cheap option for pen depth next year.

Next. Bring back Ben Zobrist?. dark

There are so many areas of the roster that could see changes. Picking up some of these club options could be an indicator of what is on the market and who is Theo and co feels still has value to the team even if it is questionable.

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