After blowtorching the Championship Core at the 2021 Trade Deadline, the Cubs still managed to spend a fair chunk of change on a trio of interesting names last winter in free agency in Marcus Stroman, Seiya Suzuki, and Yan Gomes. While none were considered marquee additions, they managed to post a combined Wins Above Replacement (WAR) value of 4.6, per FanGraphs. Their combined salaries for the ’22 season clocked in at $39 million; if market value suggests 1 WAR is worth about $8.5 million, then this collection of players nearly met that expectation to the cent (4.6 * $8.5 = $39.1 M).
So here we have “spending,” we have “intelligence,” and yet… we still have a team that has a long way to go.
Don’t let the second half record hype you up too much: this is still a team that finished 14 games under .500 in an incredibly mediocre division. Turning the page and churning the roster takes time and comes with plenty of bumps and bruises, but in order for the Cubs to take the next step back towards legitimate contention, they need to aggressively supplement their existing talent.
This team has plenty of holes to fill, but thankfully, an apparent willingness (finally) to utilize their vast resources to do so. “Intelligently,” of course.
So let’s all take part in another great American past-time and pretend to spend someone else’s money. Here’s my wishlist for the offseason heading into the 2023 season.