Chicago Cubs: Frugal offseason approaches didn’t matter in the end

The Cubs continue to piece together rosters – and have little to show for it.

After winning it all in 2016, the Chicago Cubs appeared poised to embark on a dynastic conquest. They had all the pieces in place to be the next 1990s Atlanta Braves or New York Yankees. Although the Braves won just one title and the Yankees won four, both represented model franchises and were legitimate contenders to win it all year-in and year-out.

Chicago reached a third consecutive NLCS in 2017, but it was apparent the team was running on fumes. They barely escaped the Division Series matchup against Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals – and the Los Angeles Dodgers made short work of Joe Maddon’s club, taking the series in five games.

Theo Epstein and the front office looked to help the team re-tool that offseason, following the losses of key contributors, including former NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta, John Lackey, Wade Davis and Jon Jay. Chicago went out and added Yu Darvish late in the offseason, along with Tyler Chatwood, Brandon Morrow and Steve Cishek.

Of course, Morrow pitched just half a season with the Cubs before losing the next two-plus years to injury. Darvish made just eight lackluster starts in 2018, then hit the shelf with injuries. Despite all that, it looked like the team was headed to a third consecutive NL Central crown until a late-season swoon and eventual Game 163 loss at home to the Brewers quickly squashed those hopes.

Cubs kept running it back – while tirelessly watching their spending

Despite that September collapse and subsequent Wild Card Game loss in the 2018 postseason, Epstein did little to shore up a roster that was clearly flawed. He stuck with manager Joe Maddon, and the most notable offseason acquisition that winter was veteran infielder Daniel Descalso.

Bryce Harper was a free agent. Cubs fans were smitten with the idea of Harper teaming up with longtime friend Kris Bryant for years to come on the North Side. But that was not to come to fruition. Missteps by Epstein had backed him into a corner in the eyes of ownership – which was no longer willing to keep throwing money at the roster in order to fix it.

Essentially, Epstein and the front office was tasked to lie in the bed it had made.

The result? Well, you guessed it. Chicago won just 84 games, despite a midseason signing of Craig Kimbrel – finishing third in the NL Central and missing the postseason for the first time since 2014. The Cubs and Maddon went their separate ways, bringing about a new era on the North Side.

A managerial search that always seemed destined to end with David Ross getting the job concluded in late October 2019. So was this a precursor to major change and roster shake-up. Hardly.

Cubs will get a clean slate under new president of baseball ops Jed Hoyer

Chicago had been insistent on re-setting their luxury tax penalties. We knew this and it was reinforced, constantly, by the team’s approach to roster-building in recent years. Despite their inability to do so – they’ll avoid the major impact of their actions, giving new president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer a chance to remake the roster in the years to come.

As part of the deal reached by MLB to play the shortened 60-game season, a few things were put into effect: there would be no payment of a luxury tax this year and no revenue-sharing between large-market and small-market clubs. That’s good news for the Cubs, who lost tens of millions of dollars without the usual ballpark and Wrigleyville experience.

So, here we are. We’ve heard for years that the team needed to be more fiscally responsible and the luxury tax loomed large like the eye of Sauron over every move the team made – or didn’t make.

Now, none of it matters. The Cubs will be under that mark in 2021, resetting the clock on any penalties and, perhaps, giving Hoyer more flexibility should the game return to a sense of normalcy next season.