2020 Chicago Cubs Offseason Thread

[chibears55]

An owner has one job. To provide money. It's all he's good for. Any billionaire can fill the role. 2018 is around the time Ricketts stopped using his money to fix flaws in the team. Which makes him pretty ****ing useless.

He didn't really stop using his money though, they spent 193 in '18, 237 in '19, and then 215 in '20 ( or whatever the prorated ended up being)..
Part of the problem was whom some of that money was spent on.

I get it, he a billionaire and should have deep pockets year after year, but how many teams (owners) are spending over the Threshold year after year?

Since the Tax Threshold started only 8 teams total have gone over it at least once in 17 yrs of it..

[Only eight teams have ever exceeded the luxury tax threshold: the San Francisco Giants, the Boston Red Sox, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees, the Chicago Cubs for the first time in 2016 and the Washington Nationals for the first time in 2018.]

Top 4 teams in Total Tax paid for being over..
Yankees 348 Dodgers 150 Redsox 50
Cubs 11

Yankees Astros and Cubs would of been over in 2020 but it was suspended

So, unless you're a fan of the Yankees or Dodgers, you're not going to see your billionaire owner free spending much and for most teams, at all. They cut themselves off at that Threshold

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[Stratos]

An owner has one job. To provide money. It's all he's good for. Any billionaire can fill the role. 2018 is around the time Ricketts stopped using his money to fix flaws in the team. Which makes him pretty ****ing useless.

Yeah but he could also see the writing on the wall with the current cast of players we had that were underachieving. Part of me can't blame him for not throwing more of his money into that fire.

[Randall Simon]

He didn't really stop using his money though, they spent 193 in '18, 237 in '19, and then 215 in '20 ( or whatever the prorated ended up being)..
Part of the problem was whom some of that money was spent on.

I get it, he a billionaire and should have deep pockets year after year, but how many teams (owners) are spending over the Threshold year after year?

Since the Tax Threshold started only 8 teams total have gone over it at least once in 17 yrs of it..

[Only eight teams have ever exceeded the luxury tax threshold: the San Francisco Giants, the Boston Red Sox, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Detroit Tigers, the Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees, the Chicago Cubs for the first time in 2016 and the Washington Nationals for the first time in 2018.]

Top 4 teams in Total Tax paid for being over..
Yankees 348 Dodgers 150 Redsox 50
Cubs 11

Yankees Astros and Cubs would of been over in 2020 but it was suspended

So, unless you're a fan of the Yankees or Dodgers, you're not going to see your billionaire owner free spending much and for most teams, at all. They cut themselves off at that Threshold

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The tax threshold is ruining baseball.

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[CubsRule08]

https://www.latimes.com/sports/angel...llegal-product

Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Adam Wainwright were named in this “sticky situation” story.

[thawv]

https://www.latimes.com/sports/angel...llegal-product

Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Adam Wainwright were named in this “sticky situation” story.

Very interesting. But certainly not a surprise in any way. I'm sure many have been aided by other means too.

[cuzi]

The tax threshold is ruining baseball.

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Baseball, the only sport of the 4 major sports in the US without a salary cap and the tax threshold is ruining baseball... the things people believe.

[TheRealTI]

I don’t think the correct Cubs take here is that they waited too long to sell. I think the correct Cubs take is that it’s BS that they can’t buy in an offseason where you can get stars for next to nothing.

They could have built a really great team with a payroll up against the tax in 2021.

I do think there's something to the idea that the Cubs waited too long to sell players. Theo himself admitted they bet on players too long.

I do agree with your general point though. This is the best time in many, many years to acquire premiere MLB talent at below market value rates. Teams are shedding payroll for obvious reasons so we could be acquiring great players from them via trade or we could be signing great free agents at discount rates.

It's exactly why the Darvish trade was not "selling high." We sold him after a good season yes, but we sold him in the worst selling market in years. Unlike KB/Baez where they have just one year left, we didn't have to sell Darvish this offseason.

If you're a big market team, one of the advantages you theoretically have is deeper pockets. One way to capitalize on that advantage is to buy when other teams cannot or when it's a buyers market. Instead we are using our excess funds to service Ricketts' Wrigleyville property debt.

[thawv]

I do think there's something to the idea that the Cubs waited too long to sell players. Theo himself admitted they bet on players too long.

I do agree with your general point though. This is the best time in many, many years to acquire premiere MLB talent at below market value rates. Teams are shedding payroll for obvious reasons so we could be acquiring great players from them via trade or we could be signing great free agents at discount rates.

It's exactly why the Darvish trade was not "selling high." We sold him after a good season yes, but we sold him in the worst selling market in years. Unlike KB/Baez where they have just one year left, we didn't have to sell Darvish this offseason.

If you're a big market team, one of the advantages you theoretically have is deeper pockets. One way to capitalize on that advantage is to buy when other teams cannot or when it's a buyers market. Instead we are using our excess funds to service Ricketts' Wrigleyville property debt.

Outstanding post Real!

[GoCubsGo617]

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/...dies-at-age-93

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[CubsRule08]

The Dodgers certainly have the deep farm system to make a solid deal here, but so far the Cubs’ asking price has been too high for interested teams like the Dodgers to pursue in earnest.

Jim Bowden (take it FWIW) says the Cubs asking price is “too high” for Kris Bryant

[ILMindState]

Jim Bowden (take it FWIW) says the Cubs asking price is “too high” for Kris Bryant

Sounds like agent speak

[JD94]

https://twitter.com/nypost_mets/stat...632812546?s=21

What’s up with us and catchers and SS’s?

[1908_Cubs]

https://twitter.com/nypost_mets/stat...632812546?s=21

What’s up with us and catchers and SS’s?

As well, note his age; 19.

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[Stratos]

https://www.latimes.com/sports/angel...llegal-product

Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and Adam Wainwright were named in this “sticky situation” story.

It's unfathomable to think that major league baseball players have been cheating. It really shocks and surprises, not to mention boggles the mind.

Thanks to baseball, i've learned that you need to cheat to get ahead in life, and have told my young son to look up to these heroes so he can learn these valuable life lessons. When there's million-dollar contracts on the line, integrity is for sale. Make me proud son! Thanks for your amazing product MLB!

[Stratos]

I don’t think the correct Cubs take here is that they waited too long to sell. I think the correct Cubs take is that it’s BS that they can’t buy in an offseason where you can get stars for next to nothing.

They could have built a really great team with a payroll up against the tax in 2021.

I think the Cubs could have been buyers overall this offseason, but gone forward without their current core of players. They definitely need a change, but that doesn't mean a rebuild and going cheap like they are.