What Cubs have left to do post-lockout: A lot — and fast originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
We already know the start of spring training is delayed, and an on-time start to the regular season is in jeopardy, with MLB’s lockout still in place.
So whenever the work stoppage ends, the Cubs and the league’s other 29 teams will face a frenetic, action-packed finish to the offseason leading up to camps opening.
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When MLB implemented the lockout on Dec. 2, we were in the middle of one of the most active Hot Stove periods in recent memory. The lockout brought a freeze to all big-league transactions.
For as active as teams were before the lockout, things will be even more hectic after.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said last week MLB anticipates less than a week between reaching a new labor agreement and the beginning of spring training.
That would leave little time for teams to conduct months’ worth of moves before camps open — or at least as many as they can before spring training begins, with more coming after.
In recent days, agent Scott Boras suggested to The Athletic that free agents might be ready to move quickly with all the groundwork laid before the lockout. It’s possible some trades could move quickly, too.
It remains to be seen just how frantic the lead-up to spring training is, but consider what the Cubs still have left to do before the regular season begins.
Roster filling
We’ll use roster filling here as a general term for additions via trade or free agency.
The Cubs made several moves before the lockout, signing catcher Yan Gomes, outfielder Clint Frazier and starter Marcus Stroman — their headline addition to date.
RELATED: How Stroman landed with Cubs after whirlwind week
They still have other holes to address and less time to do so, including shortstop, maybe a power bat, a starting pitcher (or two) to compete for a back-end rotation spot(s), and a veteran presence for the bullpen.
Carlos Correa would address the former two needs, and the Cubs had mutual interest with him before the lockout. Whether they go to the top of the market for him is a big question, and it may take them getting creative to add any of the big-name free agents left on the board.
The Cubs signed Stroman to a three-year deal with high average annual value, and a report from earlier in the lockout suggested they were interested in Correa on a seven-year deal.
That report came before Correa hired Boras, the top-grossing agent in baseball whose clients historically maximize their free agencies.
If Correa somehow wasn’t already bound for a massive deal, he certainly is now. Assuming he signs elsewhere, Trevor Story would be the obvious Plan B — if the Cubs go big.
Other shortstop options include free agents Jose Iglesias and Jonathan Villar, and potential trade candidates Nick Ahmed (Diamondbacks) and Isiah Kiner-Falefa (Rangers) — after Texas signed Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to lucrative multi-year deals before the lockout.
MORE: Free agents? Try these 3 trades on for size instead, Cubs
Arbitration
Teams will try to get deals done quickly, but there is precedent for the arbitration process carrying into the season following a work stoppage.
For the Cubs, that’s relevant as it pertains to Willson Contreras and Ian Happ, who were tendered contracts before the lockout but are arbitration eligible.
In a normal offseason, teams and arbitration-eligible players have until mid-January to agree to a salary for the coming season. If they don’t reach an agreement, each side submits a figure for a February hearing with a panel of arbitrators.
MLB still must set the new schedule for arbitration hearings once a labor deal is agreed to. There’s a chance it could bleed into the season, like it did in 1995 after the game’s last work stoppage.
That not only would cloud a team’s respective payroll situation, but obviously some players could be taking the field without knowing their salary.
Happ took the Cubs to a hearing last winter — the club’s third since 1993 — and won. It was the first time the Cubs lost an arbitration case since 1990 (Shawon Dunston).
Trades
Speaking of Contreras and Happ, they stand as two of the Cubs’ biggest trade candidates.
Contreras is entering his final season of club control and is the last member of the Cubs’ homegrown, position player championship core left following last summer’s trade deadline selloff.
If the Cubs don’t intend to extend him (more on that in a bit), it would make more sense to deal him before the season to maximize the return.
Happ is coming off an up-and-down season in which he experienced a career-worst slump at the plate the first four months before finishing strong.
With the roster at a transition point, this year could be decision time for the organization on Happ, whether that’s this spring or during the season. He’s yet to demonstrate he can put together a full season of production.
MORE: Impact decision for Cubs: Embrace Ian or play Happ-less
Contract extensions
Did someone say Contreras and extension?
The Cubs had not broached those talks with their starting catcher by the time the lockout hit, but he’s as much of a building block as anybody on the roster for the team’s current transition and next competitive window.
Contreras indicated last season he’s open to the team building around him going forward. He also told NBC Sports Chicago in separate conversations he wants to see the front office’s plan and direction before signing a new deal, whether they have interest in offering him one or not.
The Cubs historically have conducted extension talks in spring training, though whether the condensed timeline changes that is uncertain right now.
Assuming the Cubs want to build around the two-time All-Star starter and clubhouse leader who brings a competitive edge day in and day out, it would be wise to get those talks going as soon as possible once the lockout ends.
While we’re on the subject, the Cubs have had preliminary discussions with manager David Ross about an extension, team president Jed Hoyer said in October. Ross is entering the final year of his original three-year contract.
Teams are allowed to make hires and negotiate extensions with managers and coaches during the lockout. It won't be surprising if the Cubs announce a Ross extension after the lockout ends.
Rule 5 Draft
The minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft was held in December because those players are not subject to 40-man roster rules and the transaction freeze.
But the big-league portion was delayed due to the lockout. It typically occurs during the Winter Meetings, which were canceled.
The Cubs have roster flexibility with where they are in their process and could have a greater luxury of carrying guys who don’t have to be major contributors in the short term. That could include a Rule 5 pick sticking on the roster.
The last time the Cubs went through a transition, they selected Héctor Rondón in the Rule 5 Draft (2012). He made 45 appearances in 2013 (4.77 ERA) before blossoming into the team’s closer and a key reliever during their 2015 and 2016 playoff runs.
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