MLB Rumors: Cubs and Red Sox bidding war, Astros fall short, Rangers strike back

MLB Rumors: Cubs and Red Sox bidding for reliever

Both the Chicago Cubs and the Boston Red Sox have failed to meet lofty expectations set entering the offseason. Both teams missed out on playoff berths and entered the offseason with new personnel. The Red Sox hired Craig Breslow to replace Chaim Bloom as their primary decision maker, and the Cubs hired Craig Counsell away from the Brewers to take David Ross' spot as the team's manager.

The Red Sox have been more active than the Cubs, but it's hard to say that they've gotten much better. They did add a second baseman in Vaughn Grissom, but replaced Chris Sale's upside with Lucas Giolito's innings, and downgraded going from Alex Verdugo to Tyler O'Neill.

The Cubs added Shota Imanaga and Michael Busch, but lost Marcus Stroman and have yet to bring Cody Bellinger back. It's safe to say that they look worse on paper than they did last season too, which is not what Cubs fans want to hear.

Both of these teams seem to be hesitant to spend money, but are both interested in signing reliever Ryne Stanek according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale. Stanek probably makes more sense for the Cubs who have a bigger need in the bullpen, but could make sense for Boston too, especially if they look to dump Kenley Jansen's contract.

Stanek is coming off a bit of a down year out of the Astros bullpen, but has been one of Houston's better relievers in the last three years, posting a 2.90 ERA in 186 appearances overall in an Astros uniform. He can get both righties and lefties out, and can pitch late in games if needed.

He certainly has more interest around the league, the New York Mets in particular, but it's fun to see these two teams who have been mostly underwhelming this winter showing interest in one of the better arms still out there.