It wasn’t the spring surprise Cubs President Theo Epstein pulled off two years ago with the Dexter Fowler signing.
If only Yu Darvish had waited a few more days, he could’ve waltzed into spring training unannounced and provided the type of Hollywood story the Cubs seem to crave.
The only real surprise is that Darvish didn’t have to take a big discount after waiting until early February to get a deal. Freeze or no freeze, the Cubs got their man, and Darvish got $126 million over six years, with a chance to make more.
So a slow-speed pursuit that began in mid-December ended with a splash four days before pitchers and catchers report to Mesa, Ariz. Why it took so long to get something done is irrelevant at this point. In the end, the Cubs fulfilled their primary offseason objective — find an ace — and nothing else matters.
Darvish, Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks, Jose Quintana and Tyler Chatwood form a lock-tight rotation that compares with any in the National League. It should be enough to assure the Cubs a third straight Central Division title, and with a revamped bullpen and most of the same lineup, a second championship in three seasons seems well within reach.
It all depends on whether Darvish does his thing, if new closer Brandon Morrow and set-up man Steve Cishek can safeguard the back end of games, and if Chatwood is as underrated as the Cubs believe.
If all four click, this offseason may be deemed the best of Epstein’s tenure in Chicago. If not, well, the window is still open for a few more years. Until Saturday, Epstein’s grade was probably a B-minus, namely because the Cubs hadn’t addressed their biggest need.
Naturally, even if Yu is Yu and the Cubs do get back to the World Series, reminders of Darvish’s woeful outings against the Astros in last year’s Series are certain to crop up. But that’s something to fret about down the road, not on a day when you’re shoveling out a parking space and using old kitchen chairs as placeholders.
With spring training starting Tuesday, the Cubs are calling dibs on the NL pennant.
Kudos to Epstein for making the deal happen, even if he made anxious Cubs fans suffer a bit through the long, cold winter, wondering if they’d get the ace they felt they were entitled to. The Brewers’ aggressive moves in January, signing Lorenzo Cain and acquiring Christian Yelich, made the Cubs appear sloth-like, even though they’d signed Morrow, Chatwood and Cishek early and re-signed Brian Duensing.
The Cubs’ 2018 payroll is now estimated at $184 million, which would keep the Cubs under the luxury tax, and they won’t lose a draft pick since Darvish was ineligible for a qualifying offer after being traded from the Rangers during the season. Best of all, the Cubs were able to hang onto their young core — Javier Baez, Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber and Albert Almora Jr. — instead of dealing one or more for a starter, a possibility Epstein hinted at during his post-mortem in October.
Darvish and Jake Arrieta ranked 1-2 on the free-agent market. Epstein had to get one or the other. After a couple of months of radio silence, no one seemed to care anymore whether it was Darvish or Arrieta, as long as it was someone with a track record of excellence.
Mission accomplished.
The signing should begin a rush of free-agent deals, and perhaps end speculation by agents that collusion was to blame for the freeze-out.
Aside from his importance to the Cubs’ postseason hopes, Darvish’s presence also gives them a marketing boost at home and abroad. Despite missing out on Shohei Ohtani, the Cubs figure to be a big deal in Japan again, though they hope it’s not a rerun of the last time they signed a big-name Japanese star to a long-term deal.
When he came to the Cubs after the 2007 season, outfielder Kosuke Fukudome was hyped as the left-handed bat they were lacking in their Division Series sweep at the hands of the Diamondbacks.
A large Japanese media contingent began to follow the Cubs, and manager Lou Piniella accommodated the group in spring training by stepping on a toy goat for a Japanese TV station, signaling Fukudome’s arrival would break the Billy Goat curse.
When Fukudome hit a tying, three-run home run in the ninth inning against the Brewers in the season opener at Wrigley Field, it looked like an instant legend was in the making. Fans in the bleachers jumped while waving professionally made signs with Japanese lettering.
The signs were meant to read “It’s Gonna Happen,” but something got lost in the translation. “It’s An Accident” was the literal translation, and as it turned out, Fukudome’s opening day heroics were a mere blip in an otherwise disappointing stay in Chicago.
But that was a different time, and a different player. Darvish already has proven himself at the major-league level, and since the Cubs already made it happen in 2016, he won’t arrive as the missing link, as Fukudome was deemed to be back in ’08.
A decade later, the only souvenir I have left from the Fukudome era is “Say It In Japanese,” a pocket translation guide. It didn’t have the phrase I was looking for, but a friend in Tokyo sent me a translation that assuredly will be on novelty T-shirts by opening day:
“Hidoku nai youni shiro.”
In other words, try not to suck.
Twitter @PWSullivan
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