Chicago Cubs: 5 myths about the team’s trade deadline moves

Chicago Cubs: Myth #2 The Cubs could be competitive in 2022

Some look at the payroll dump in 2021 and believe that the Cubs will go for it right away in 2022. Ricketts has stated this recently.  Perhaps sign big fee agents, maybe even bring back some or all of the core.

That’s not how a teardown or rebuild work.  The point isn’t to just free up payroll. It’s to pack your farm system with prospects and draft picks, wait until they percolate up to Triple-A, and then bring them all up at once and have the payroll space to make additions as needed.

If the Cubs blow out the payroll in 2022 and beyond then they cramp that plan.  Then, with all those signed free agents on the payroll all that young talent they traded for and drafted is blocked.

They’ll bring in some roster filler on one- or two-year deals.  But a big splash? Not next year nor the year after, in 2023. Hoyer wouldn’t commit to a date when the Cubs will be competitive but I will. Keep your eye on 2024.

Why 2024? Because by then a huge portion of the acquired talent will have risen to the higher minor league levels and the last financial albatross and waste of a roster spot, Jason Heyward, will be gone.

Chicago Cubs: Myth #3 The core wasn’t performing so they were traded

This common misperception is based mostly on the team’s failure to get to, much less win, another World Series, and the individual struggles of the core in a particular season or part of a season.

But the real issue with the Cubs wasn’t with its core players. It’s been everyone else on the bench.

In 2016 the bench collectively slashed .228/.310/.328 with a .638 OPS.  In 2019 that cratered to a .199/.286/.337 slash and a .622 OPS.  2020 was even worse, a .176/.270/.297 slash and a .567 OPS.

More from Cubbies Crib

• Cubs should keep close eye on non-tender candidate Cody Bellinger
• Cubs starting pitching has been thriving on the North Side
• Make no mistake: the Cubs are very much about power hitters
• Cubs are giving pitcher Javier Assad a deserved shot
• Cubs: It’s time to start thinking about potential September call-ups

Then there was host of other cast-offs and roster mistakes: Robel Garcia, Jonathan Lucroy, Carlos Gonzalez, Martin Maldonado, Steven Souza, Jr, Jose Martinez, not to mention the failures of Jason Heyward, Albert Almora, Ian Happ and David Bote.

If you want know just how bad this current group on the bench is just watch as they struggle to win even a third of their remaining games.

The bottom line is if you wrap a core of great players with crap like that well it’s no surprise your team is going to, well, stink.  The front office is fully to blame for this mess.

Chicago Cubs: Myth #4 Jed had to trade the core because Ricketts is cheap

Tom Ricketts is a lot things.  Cheap isn’t one of them. Stupid isn’t one ether.  He gave Theo and Jed all the financial backing they asked for, until 2021, when he finally, and rightly, turned off the faucet.

When it comes to the Cubs, Ricketts has two responsibilities and he knows it: Make sure the resources are there for the team, and write checks.  He’s done both.

Among other things, he paid for: the renovations to a decrepit Wrigley Field, allowed Theo and the gang to completely rebuild the scouting, farm, and player development systems and build a new facility in the Dominican Republic, and he cut checks like money was free.

Since 2016 the Cubs have been in the top 10 in MLB payroll.  In 2019 they were #2 and in 2020 they were #3.  In 2019 and 2020 Epstein’s Cubs exceeded the Competitive Balance Tax threshold and the Cubs had to pay the luxury tax both years.  Yet in 2019 the Cubs didn’t make the postseason and in 2020 they washed out of the Wild Card Series 2-0, scoring just one run.

Against that, in 2021, without doing anything, they were headed to another top payroll and a third consecutive year over the luxury tax.  Heck I’d have turned off the faucet, too.

Chicago Cubs; Myth #5 This isn’t 2012 again

Yes, it is, but it is different., too.  The talent the Cubs have acquired and will acquire, though drafts and trades, will percolate up faster than it did from 2012-2014 because of the all the investment in player development and technologies.

In addition, unlike 2012 there’s already talent in the system (Brennen Davis, Miguel Amaya, etc.), and young controllable talent on the MLB roster (Nico Hoerner, Adbert Azolay, recently-acquired Nick Madrigal).

Plus, they’re not rebuilding a stadium or the whole scouting, farm and player development systems.  The one wild card here is the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Who knows how that will go?

Now if they’d just be honest and say this is a rebuild.  But they won’t because Tom is afraid that fans and sponsors will stay away.