MLB rumors: Chicago Cubs reportedly interested in Yoenis Cespedes
By Josh Hill
If you though the Chicago Cubs weren’t going to be contenders this year, think again.
To say this offseason has been a lackluster one for the Chicago Cubs would be to tremendously undersell just how little hope there is in the halls of Wrigley.
The only thing warm about the Cubs hot stove is the anger felt by fans who have watched a winter of inaction pass by like a midnight L train. Hope, much like that train, is empty as the Cubs seem to be taking a backseat to their South Side counterparts as the new contender in Chicago.
But the Cubs have made a few moves that seem to indicate they’re not totally packing it in this season. Jake Arrieta was brought back after a stint with the Phillies, and despite numerous trade rumors about breaking up the Cubs World Seires core — most notably Kris Bryant — nothing actually happened.
Bryant, Javy Baez, Anthony Rizzo, and Wilson Contreras are all still Cubs and it looks to stay that way for the foreseeable future.
In fact, the Cubs are looking to add to that core with a free agent that would surely signal that the North Siders are looking to one more run at a World Series in 2021.
Kevin Davidoff from the New York Post reports that the Cubs were among the bevy of teams at a scouting session for free agent slugger Yoenis Cespedes. From the sounds of it, Cespedes is still in All-Star form.
"“I could quote some of the scouts on site, except it would be more effective to express their general sentiments in a collective shrug, as many of them did, their shrugs meaning, “Yup, he’s still a physical wonder and somebody you can dream on.”"
Does adding Yoenis Cespedes make the Cubs contenders?
The Cubs have watched the Cardinals and Mets make massive improvements to their rosters this winter, with St. Louis adding Nolan Arenado and the Mets adding Francisco Lindor. Both players are newer the top of the MVP conversation and both make their teams sure-fire playoff contenders. The Dodgers added Trevor Bauer to its rotation and the Padres seemingly won the offseason by trading its way into they type of young dynastical roster the Cubs once possessed.
Meanwhile, Chicago lost Kyle Schwarber to the Nationals and let Jon Lester walk despite his open pleas to return for one more season with the Cubs. Add to that the losses of Tyler Chatwood, Albert Almora, Jason Kipnis, and Jose Quintana —- which has the added burn of making the Eloy Jimenez trade a total disaster — and it begins to become clear as to why the notion exists that the Cubs won’t compete in 2021. Even Theo Epstein quit this offseason, and the Cubs lost longtime radio announcer Len Kasper to the White Sox.
Adding Cespedes is a curious move for the Cubs given the offseason of change and the lackadaisical outlook it presents. But the core of the World Series team remains on the North Side, and with Arrieta coming back the Cubs could be surprise contenders that we’re all sleeping on right now.