Chicago Cubs: 3 takeaways from Kimbrel press conference

Kimbrel said he had a couple of players reach out to him telling him they want him in a Cubs uniform.

You have to love that the Chicago Cubs don’t have to rely on their front office alone to persuade a player to sign a multi-year deal with the team. Craig Kimbrel stated that former Cubs catcher David Ross, who is a special assistant to baseball operations for the team, told him about how great the Cubs culture is and how fun it is playing with this group of guys.

Ross who has three kids of his own told Kimbrel how family oriented the Cubs were. It was a major sticking point with Kimbrel who considers himself a baseball player behind a husband and a father.

Kimbrel also said that Jason Heyward sent him a long text, essentially stating that he wanted him on the Cubs. Heyward is known for his speeches has been an amazing teammate since signing with the team in 2016. Sure he’s had his struggles at the plate during his time here, but there’s no denying his high character.

You see this a lot in sports. Just look in town at the Bears when Eddie Jackson helped persuade free-agent safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to sign with the team on an extremely team friendly contract. That is the nature of sports these days. Without the contributions of Ross, Heyward and others who reached out to Kimbrel, who knows if he ends up here.