CHICAGO The recent signing of Joc Pederson rounded out the Cubs' starting outfield, but the team has still been on the hunt for ways to supplement that cast. Chicago found what it hopes will be a solution in Jake Marisnick.
On Thursday, the Cubs reached an agreement with Marisnick
We now know that pitchers and catchers are due to report to Spring Training on time, and whatever else changes between the league and the players in subsequent negotiations, the season schedule is not changing.
That leaves us doing a check in: two weeks from the official start of Spring Training, what is left for the Cubs to do this offseason?
Well, answering that question necessarily depends on what you think the Cubs have been trying to accomplish with the 2021 season. Full-on compete? Soft reboot? Heavy restart?
Let’s start with the competing side of things. The NL Central – yes, even with the addition of Nolan Arenado – still looks like a place where the Cubs could easily compete in 2021. And, since trying to win a bit in 2021 out of the gate is not incompatible with various levels of stocking the organization up for the future, it has always been plausible that the Cubs really do want to try to win in 2021 while also making moves that build for the future. So let’s fo