The Chicago Cubs had the most disappointing offseason among any organization in Major League Baseball. They barely made any moves and whiffed a lot.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani signed with the Dodgers, which was a big miss for the Cubs. Marcus Stroman left for the Yankees. Shota Imanaga and Hector Neris joined the team as two much-needed arms, but that was it.
Every other free agent seemingly didn’t make sense for Chicago’s policy on spending, despite being the third-largest market in the country.
In fact, Cubs fans who hope that their team will fortify its lineup by resigning Cody Bellinger may be sorely disappointed. Owner Tom Ricketts told ESPN that the payroll for 2024 is likely set. He does not plan to increase payroll without “more revenue.” He’s not budging on the budget.
That’s the beauty of baseball. You don’t have to have the highest payroll or the biggest stars. If you’re playing well, anybody can beat anybody. I was happy for the Diamondbacks. We’re right there at CBT (Competitive Balance Tax) levels. It’s kind of our natural place for us. That should be enough to win our division and be consistent every year.
— Tom Ricketts
Ricketts also believes that President of Baseball Operations Jed Hoyer put Chicago in a place to compete for the NL Central, regardless of whether Bellinger returns or not.
I think Jed had a really good offseason. We’ve added some parts that are going to be beneficial to the whole. I don’t see any reason why we wouldn’t be favored for our division this year.
— Tom Ricketts
His comments seem to indicate that there is no room for negotiation. Ricketts is not interested in negotiating with Scott Boras about Bellinger’s return. If the MLB All-Star outfielder is going to rejoin the Cubs, it will have to be on the team’s terms.
Chicago is done spending after spending very little, which makes their players’ new nicknames rather ironic. Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson are going by ‘Nickel’ and ‘Dimes.’
The self-declared nicknames unintentionally reflect the amount of money that Ricketts and Hoyer chose to spend during the offseason. Fans of the sport were very quick to point out the irony in response to the team’s post on X. Many of them quipped that they were confused why photo featured Swanson and Hoerner instead the team owner and his right-hand man. The “Nickel & Dimes” nickname may be more applicable to the front office!