4 painful contracts the Chicago Cubs can't dump soon enough

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The Chicago Cubs are currently a few million dollars shy of the luxury tax threshold, with a total tax payroll of $232,557,750 according to Spotrac. The team is in relatively good shape in the financial department, with several players like Cody Bellinger and Dansby Swanson making big money while young players are starting to come up and supplement the roster.

But there are several contracts on the books that the team would like to jettison immediately. Unfortunately, the financial commitments on this list add up to more than $37 million and they won't be fulfilled until after the 2024 season. Below are four bad contracts that the Cubs' front office cannot wait to get rid of.

1. Kyle Hendricks: $16.5 million

Everyone in the Cubs' orbit right now knows that Kyle Hendricks is struggling. But what hurts is the fact that he is making $16.5 million this season, which makes him the second-highest-paid pitcher on the team for 2024 behind Jameson Taillon. This money is going to Hendricks via a club option the team picked up in the offseason. A club option that they might already be regretting just a month into the regular season.

Hendricks has given up at least four runs in each of his first five starts to begin the year and he has yet to go past the fifth inning. His ERA for the season sits at a problematic 12.00 and he has already surrendered eight home runs in 21 innings pitched. In 2023, Hendricks gave up a total of 13 long balls over 137 innings.

At 34 years old, Hendricks looks to be running out of gas rather quickly. Without his command, teams can feast on his low-velocity arsenal and every team he's faced so far has done exactly that. Unless he suddenly figures out what adjustments to make, the $16.5 million paycheck will look like a payroll blunder that could have been avoided by not picking up the club option. It's unfortunate because of Hendricks' track record with the team, which obviously included winning a World Series. But the writing seems to be on the wall, and the team put Hendricks on the 15-day injured list on Tuesday afternoon.

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2. Drew Smyly: $10.5 million

Southpaw Drew Smyly was also the victim of a sudden injury to his hip resulting in a trip to the 15-day IL this week. This roster move coincidentally came at a time when Smyly was struggling with a 4.97 ERA in his nine appearances out of the bullpen. He was replaced by Hayden Wesneski, who has been sharp in his small sample size in 2024. Starting the year with the Iowa Cubs, Wesneski had a 2.53 ERA and 10 strikeouts over 10.2 innings pitched. When he was initially called up last week, the 26-year-old kept the momentum going and dazzled in a four-inning relief appearance against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

And that's kind of the rub with Smyly. The Cubs organization has better options like Wesneski, who is younger and has a much higher ceiling. With Cubs' starters struggling to go deep into games right now, Justin Steele still on the injured list, and the bullpen getting taxed heavily, the team can't afford to have Smyly giving up so many runs in relief. Like Hendricks, Smyly just doesn't have the stuff, the velocity, or the results to warrant the paycheck he's getting. I think it's safe to say that Smyly won't be back after his contract expires this year.

3. Trey Mancini: $7 million

Unfortunately, the Cubs gave first baseman Trey Mancini a two-year deal when they signed him prior to 2023. The hitting struggles he sustained with the team were appalling, and he found himself out of a job by August because of them. That still leaves the Cubs on the hook for $7 million in 2023, which is money that could've gone toward upgrading the bullpen this offseason. I have nothing against the guy, he just simply didn't perform and it's still costing the team a decently sized contract.

After getting designated for assignment last summer, he signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds on August 30 but was released just a week later. He signed a similar deal with the Miami Marlins in January, but he opted out prior to the start of the season and he is still a free agent.

4. Tucker Barnhart: $3.25 million

Tucker Barnhart served as the Cubs' backup catcher last year and was acceptable in that role. The main culprit in Barnhart's downfall with the Cubs was the emergence of rookie Miguel Amaya, who after spending a few years banged up, finally made the major league roster and claimed the backup role behind Yan Gomes.

Barnhart is not a bad catcher and he is honestly a pretty good pitch framer. But his age and inability to hit were the main downsides to his game. Nobody was really expecting Barnhart to hit that well given his track record in the majors, but it didn't help his cause that he put up arguably the worst offensive numbers of his career in 2023 with a wRC+ of 53 and a .202/.285/.227 slash line. Like Mancini, Barnhart's deal will be off the books at the end of 2024, giving the team just a bit more financial flexibility for 2025's roster.

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1. Kyle Hendricks: $16.5 million

2. Drew Smyly: $10.5 million

3. Trey Mancini: $7 million

4. Tucker Barnhart: $3.25 million

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