(670 The Score) While they had internal discussions about all high-profile free agents this offseason, the Cubs were never serious suitors for reigning National League Cy Young winner Blake Snell or left-hander Jordan Montgomery as their sagas dragged out in free agency.
The primary reason the Cubs sat out those sweepstakes was because they only had the financial wherewithal to pursue one of powerful agent Scott Boras’ four main free agents this offseason, president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer indicated on the Mully & Haugh Show on Thursday morning. Once star center fielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger decided to return to Chicago on a three-year, $80-million deal, the Cubs were out of the hunt for another big fish.
Boras represents Bellinger, Snell, Montgomery and third baseman Matt Chapman. Snell joined the Giants on a two-year, $62-million deal.
Montgomery agreed to a one-year, $25-million contract with the Diamondbacks on Tuesday. His deal includes a vesting player option for a second season. Chapman signed a three-year, $54-million contract with the Giants.
While the exact payroll figures can vary from site to site, the Cubs are near the first MLB luxury tax threshold as Opening Day has arrived. That threshold is $237 million, and the Cubs have around $231 million in total tax allocations committed currently, according to Spotrac's calculations .
“Obviously, those are things that I think probably every team talked about,” Hoyer said when asked directly about Snell and Montgomery. “Because it became clear those players were going to get shorter deals, and that was going to be similar to what happened with Cody or with Matt Chapman. You know, candidly, when there was a situation, I guess it was late February where those four guys were out there plus a couple other free agents, we knew we had, financially, we could go after one of those guys and be aggressive to get one of those guys and push. Cody, for us, was the best fit, candidly. We felt like what he brought to our team, we knew him, he can play center, he can play first, he can play corner outfield if we needed him to. We felt like we needed a left-handed bat in the middle of the lineup, all those different things. We felt like of all those guys, he was the right guy for us to pursue. That was our decision, was to go after him.
“I think by the time after that, we were not able to go after those guys. Certainly, you can never have enough pitching, and I think the Giants and Diamondbacks got really good pitchers. But obviously, that was something we decided before that that Cody was the right fit, and we’re really excited we have him back.”
Listen to Hoyer's full interview in the audio player above. He also praised the Cubs' young pitching talent, which was another factor in the team's decision to pursue Bellinger over Snell and Montgomery. The Cubs believe they have several young arms who can be quality contributors when given a chance later in the season.
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