Chicago Cubs Offseason: Three reasons it’s not time to worry, yet

Reason 1: Cubs may still make a big signing

There’s been a nauseating amount of rumor reporting on where outfielder Bryce Harper and infielder Manny Machado are going to end up in 2019. They are the two prize free agents of this class, but at this point, it’s not very clear where they’ll be.

There have been a number of teams rumored to be in on Harper and/or Machado. The initial belief before the 2018 season even ended was that the Cubs would find a way to clear money and sign Harper. There weren’t many reports of the Cubs being interested in Machado, but Harper has a personal connection.

Harper grew up with Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant in Nevada. They started playing baseball together at the age of eight. They’re close friends, and so are their families. As of right now, not many analysts believe that the Cubs will get Harper.

There’s a rumor going around that Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts isn’t letting Epstein and his front office spend big money on free agent acquisitions. It’s one sentence plucked from this Athletic article about Harper that basically says Ricketts won’t approve big signings for 2019.

I’m not sure how true this rumor is, but many Cubs fans have become convinced it means there’s no way the team signs Harper. My point here is that nothing has been decided yet and that I’ll always trust Epstein to be able to work some magic.

Just a few weeks ago there was a rumor that the Cubs were trying desperately to unload the bloated contract of outfielder Jason Heyward. That would’ve freed up some room for Harper. There’s a chance the front office could still pull off a trade similar to this one.

Don’t count Epstein and the Cubs out of the Harper sweepstakes just yet. You never know what he has up his sleeve.