MLB insider's praise of Cubs' offseason move offers a glimmer of hope

With Major League Baseball entering the final weeks of the regular season, it offers an opportunity for reflection on the moves made last offseason and their true impact.

At the moment that moves happened, it was difficult to classify any of the Cubs' moves last offseason as true impact deals. There was hope that the deals would prove to be impactful but that was the bed the front office chose to lay in by being creative with their signing of Japanese starting pitcher Shota Imanaga and trade for Michael Busch.

In fact, it was the signing of Imanaga that landed the Cubs within the Top 3 of Jon Heyman's ranking of the best moves that were made this season.

While the focus for most Major League teams were on Shohei Ohtani and Yosinobu Yamamoto, the Cubs were quietly courting Imanaga. Imanaga inked a four-year deal with the Cubs worth $53MM but his production during his first Major League season places him among the National League's top starting pitchers.

Through 27 starts this season, Imanaga has a 3.03 ERA with a 6.36 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Even the Cubs could not have projected the success that Imanaga has had this season.

Shota Imanaga's contract offers slight hope for Cubs fans.

If Cubs fans are going to have any hope this offseason that the front office will make an impactful change, Imanaga's contract is the evidence that they can point to. Intelligent spending has been rightfully mocked by Cubs fans but Imanaga's deal is the blueprint of that model for Jed Hoyer.

Where that becomes a problem, and why Imanaga's contract is only a glimmer of hope for fans instead of an expectation, is that a team like the Cubs has proven that the model does not translate to postseason success. Intelligent spending has been the theme of the Cubs' offseason over the past three years and it has yet to result in a postseason berth. Intelligent spending is nice to have but for the Cubs, it can't be the only thing they have.