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Through their signing of Jon Lester, trade for Miguel Montero and other various moves this offseason, the Chicago Cubs have made one thing clear: They plan to compete starting in 2015. Whether they're truly competitive this upcoming season remains to be seen, but for the first time in several years, the team actually has an expectation of success.
They've done plenty this offseason already, but before the dust settles and pitchers and catchers report to spring training in February, a lot more could be done. Here are three more questions that need answers for the Cubs before they break camp and ...
Though 2015 doesn't officially begin until January 1, the Chicago Cubs have already kicked off their 2015 by making a huge splash in free agency and a few trades during the 2014-15 offseason.
Most importantly, the Cubs signed starting pitcher Jon Lester to a six-year, $155 million deal on December 10. Just days before, the Cubs traded for two-time All-Star Miguel Montero and signed his former coach from Arizona, former Cub Henry Blanco.
Other moves have included signing starting pitcher Jason Hammel and manager Joe Maddon, both of whom are key pieces for the future of the Cubs.
However, the Cubs still have moves to ...
The Chicago Cubs have been very active this offseason after starting off slow, adding catcher Miguel Montero via trade and pitchers Jon Lester, Jason Hammel and Jason Motte via free agency. While all of these moves should majorly improve the Cubs in 2015 and beyond, one move qualifies as the biggest steal.
That move was the Montero trade, which gets overlooked since it was made around the same time as the team signed Lester to his megadeal.
The Cubs sent minor league pitchers Jeferson Mejia and Zack Godley to the Arizona Diamondbacks in the deal. While Mejia, who went 2-4 with a 2.48 ...
There's a warm cheer sweeping throughout the city of Chicago this week, but it's not the holiday season.
It's baseball.
Forget the summer of 2014. December is the highlight of the Chicago Cubs' 2014 season by far.
The Cubs crossed off their No. 1 goal for the offseason and inked LHP Jon Lester to a six-year, $155 million deal, beating out the Red Sox, Giants and Dodgers for Lester's services. The team also brought back starting pitcher Jason Hammel, who posted a 2.98 ERA in 17 games for the Cubs as well as traded for two-time All-Star catcher Miguel Montero.
So Back to the ...
It's possible, likely even, that in the long and storied history of Major League Baseball, there has never been a team coming off five consecutive losing seasons with more hype surrounding it than the Chicago Cubs have right now.
All the hope and expectations are justified to an extent. It's been a busy offseason already, kicked off by the surprising hiring of manager Joe Maddon, furthered by the return of right-hander Jason Hammel and the trade for veteran backstop Miguel Montero and capped (at least so far) by the $155 million splurge on ace left-hander Jon Lester during the winter meetings.
No doubt: ...
On the same day the Chicago Cubs officially announced they signed Jon Lester, the team is reportedly shoring up the bullpen.
According to MLB.com's Carrie Muskat, the Cubs agreed to a one-year deal with veteran reliever Jason Motte:
Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports reported on the financial details of the deal:
Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan reported that the nature of the potential contract might signify Motte getting a chance to close in Chicago:
Closer has been a sore spot for the Cubs over the past few years. It's seemingly become an annual tradition for the franchise to switch closers midseason.
While the 32-year-old has only ...
The Chicago Cubs officially introduced starting pitcher Jon Lester as the newest member of the organization on Monday afternoon. Fox Sports: MLB captured the moment on Twitter:One thing that isn't clear in that picture is the number Lester chose, No. 34. Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune explained the significance:It's certainly no mistake that Lester chose the number of the last great Cubs ace. The expectations that come along with this signing are obviously high, and Theo Epstein certainly didn't pretend otherwise as he was introducing Lester, per Bob Nightengale of USA Today:Lester wasn't backing away from those expectations, per Dylan McGorty of 120 Sports:His ...
SAN DIEGO — From his 20th-floor room here in the Grand Hyatt hotel, from his first winter meetings as the manager of the Chicago Cubs, Joe Maddon's view is breathtakingly spectacular.
Out the window is a gorgeous and expansive panorama of the San Diego Bay, sun sparkling on the water. Down below and to the right is Kansas City Barbeque, the iconic joint that served Tom Cruise and Co. in key scenes in the 1986 blockbuster film Top Gun. And sharpening into focus on the horizon is Jon Lester, the ace free-agent left-hander who the Cubs will sign later this evening.
There is a ...
After being disappointing for most of the offseason by missing out on a couple coveted free agents, the Chicago Cubs made their first major free-agent splash in five years. That splash, of course, was the six-year, $155 million contract they signed ace Jon Lester to at the winter meetings.
The craziest thing about this signing is how drastically it potentially changes the Cubs' offseason plan. Now that they have their ace, they may feel as though they can compete in 2015 and pursue a big bat to solidify themselves as contenders this upcoming season, according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports.
This ...
It’s official: Jon Lester is now a member of the Chicago Cubs after signing a six-year, $155 million deal. As Scott Miller of Bleacher Report recently wrote, the Cubs’ dreams of finally contending might be here. Exactly for that reason, the Cubs need to make a strong push to sign superstar starting pitcher Max Scherzer—at whatever price tag it will cost them.
With Lester signing at the $155 million mark, Scherzer is reportedly seeking a contract worth more than $200 million. Evaluating him on the same scale as Lester, he actually deserves the money (if you actually believe anyone deserves $200 million ...
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