Chicago Cubs: Looking at the team’s non-tender candidates

The Cubs will likely non-tender several players before the December 2 deadline.

As the organization looks to shed tens of millions of dollars in payroll and usher in a new era under Jed Hoyer, something like the non-tender deadline becomes far more relevant. The Chicago Cubs have until  next Wednesday, December 2, to decide whether or not to bring back some familiar faces.

The top non-tender candidate is outfielder and former first-round pick Albert Almora. Chicago largely relegated the 26-year-old to bench duty in 2020 given his immense offensive struggles in recent years.

Since the start of the 2019 season (and really, midway through the 2018 campaign) Almora has looked lost at the dish. A 64 OPS+ tells you all you need to know about what he’s done at the dish in the last two years. As a guy who never drew many walks, his lack of hitting spelled doom.

Almora is due a projected $1.575 million via arbitration this offseason. Given the team’s clear desire to shed payroll, there’s little to no chance they tender him a contract. Consider it money saved and the center field job firmly in the hands of Ian Happ heading into 2021.

Chicago Cubs will either non-tender or trade Kyle Schwarber

You always felt that Kyle Schwarber was relatively safe under the watch of Theo Epstein. The former Cubs president of baseball operations was openly a fan of the former first-rounder, but with his future now in the hands of Jed Hoyer, things could be different.

MLBTR projects Schwarber for a $7.9 million salary in his final pass through the arbitration process. It seems likely Chicago works out a trade for the former Indiana University standout, but if all else fails, don’t be surprised to see the Cubs non-tender him ahead of the Dec. 2 deadline.

Just a year ago, non-tendering Schwarber would have been unthinkable. After all, he stole the show in the second half of 2019, teaming up with Nicholas Castellanos to give the Cubs a deadly one-two punch in the outfield. Down the stretch, he belted 20 home runs and slashed .280/.366/.631 – a dramatic improvement on his career marks.

But he fell back into old habits this season, hitting the ball hard but having little to show for it. His .188 average, simply put, didn’t get it done – despite his ranking in the top five percent of hitters in average exit velocity.

The offense needs to have a different look moving forward and Schwarber’s departure could be one way the Cubs make that happen this offseason.

Chicago Cubs are already actively trying to trade Kris Bryant

At this point, it sure feels like Hoyer is doing everything in his power to trade the former NL Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player ahead of Dec. 2. With just one year of team control left and a projected $18.6 million salary, Kris Bryant is the guy who seems mostly likely to be moved in the next week.

Bryant, 28, is coming off the worst season of his still-brilliant career. He battled through injuries, batted just .206 with a .293 OBP and hit only four home runs. Knowing all that, though, we’re still talking about a guy who was 37 percent better offensively than a league average player from 2015-2019, evidenced by a .284/.385/.516 line.

We’ve already seen Kris Bryant rumors connecting the third baseman to the Yankees, Nationals and Braves, among others. But if Hoyer can’t get a decent return on the open market, could the Cubs actually consider non-tendering Bryant and saving the nearly $20 million he’s owed next year?

I doubt it. Were trade talks to fail in the next week or so, I suspect Chicago would hope Bryant bounces back and look to deal him ahead of the deadline next summer. But with major payroll concerns in Wrigleyville, the new regime might not have a choice in how this plays out.