Chicago Cubs have to go sign Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg

Chicago Cubs: This guy would look alright wearing blue pinstripes in 2020

The Nats threesome cost roughly $93 million last season and the Astros came in at a relatively frugal $75 million since Cole hasn’t cashed in on a free agent deal.

Yet… yet… yet.

The Cubs 2019 rotation came in at $85 million for all five starters, plus an extra $12.5 million for Tyler Chatwood, who was signed as a starter two years ago. The top three paid starters, Lester, Cole Hamels, and Darvish earned $67.5 million. While those numbers are nearly in line with one of the World Series participants, it wouldn’t be ludicrous to replace Hamels’ $20 million figure from this past year with a $30 million figure for… say, a Gerrit Cole or Stephen Strasburg.

With Cole and Strasburg officially both free agents now that Strasburg has opted out of his deal with the Nationals, what are the chances the Cubs look to add the ace they’ve been missing since the three amigos took them to the promised land in ’16?

Not good.

There I said it. All signs point to the idea that the Cubs won’t have the money to go after either of the big name aces this winter. You might now be asking, if the Cubs don’t have the money, and it’s unlikely that they sign them, why write about their chances?