The biggest winners of the MLB offseason so far are the teams that landed the big fish. Aaron Judge re-signed with the Yankees, the Phillies signed Trea Turner, and the Padres added Xander Bogaerts to an already star-studded lineup in San Diego. But the Cubs have quietly had a great offseason as well.
The Cubs landed Dansby Swanson, who could be the next face of the franchise on the North Side in Chicago, and they made a few other under-the-radar moves as well. Cody Bellinger, Trey Mancini, and Eric Hosmer are all guys that can still contribute in the lineup and Jameson Taillon bolsters the rotation a bit.
MLB insider Jon Heyman and Tony Gwynn Jr. of the Audacy Original Podcast “Big Time Baseball” talked about the Cubs’ activity and explained why they’re “one of the clear winners of the offseason.”
“Mancini, Hosmer, Swanson. These are some pretty decent moves I think,” Gwynn Jr. said (10:19 in player above). “I love the Swanson move for the Cubs as they kind of wrap up their offseason.”
“Absolutely. The Cubs, to me, are one of the clear winners of the offseason,” Heyman said. “I like the Swanson move. I think after the other signings it was going to have to be a high contract but not crazy. The way he performed last year, winning the gold glove with all the great shortstops in baseball, hitting so many home runs – and clutch home runs. He hit a home run in all three of those key Mets games where the Braves ended up winning that division. I think Swanson’s a terrific player.”
The Cubs signed Swanson to a seven-year, $177 million contract for an average salary of $25.2 million. That may seem like a lot, but it may be a bargain compared to Trea Turner (11 years, $300 million) and Xander Bogaerts (11 years, $280 million).
Swanson hit 25 home runs for the second straight season in 2022 while racking up 96 runs batted in and a .277 batting average. He’s expected to slot somewhere in the top of the Cubs lineup.
“They added Taillon as well. Now I wouldn’t call that a bargain at $68 million, although I think the Phillies offered him even more than that. And Hosmer is a guy getting at a bargain at this point for the minimum and might be good for that club and I think he’ll bounce back as well,” Heyman continued. “They’re one of my clear winners, the Cubs, no question about it.”
The Cubs were never really in contention last season but they only finished seven games under .500 in a rather weak NL Central – compared to the other two divisions, at least. Swanson and the rest of the offseason additions could help the Cubs climb back over .500 and get into the playoffs in the coming years.
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