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Darvish to Cubs, 6/$126 Million + Incentives

UMFan83

By UMFan83,
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UMFan83

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Interesting info about the Cubs recruiting Darvish from his agent:

 

https://www.fanragsports.com/news/yu-darvishs-agent-likens-cubs-recruiting-to-alabama/

 

Apparently, the Cubs did a phenomenal job recruiting Darvish, who also drew interest from the likes of the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Texas Rangers.

 

“The Cubs — they know how to recruit a player,” said Darvish’s agent Joel Wolfe, according to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “It’s like the University of Alabama. They go the extra mile.”

 

Wolfe said that Chicago’s presentation wasn’t just about baseball; it was about why and how Darvish would thrive in the Windy City in general.

 

“It was very much like a high school football player trying to choose and he’s going to have the signing day,” he said. “Here’s what we have to offer you and your family as a place to live. This is what our organization is like. Here’s what we’re going to do with you. We think you’re a great pitcher, but here’s how we’re going to make you better. Here’s what we’ve done with other guys. This is exactly how we’re going to do it. Incredible detail.

 

Wolfe says that what clinched Darvish’s decision was how Cubs general manager Theo Epstein handled things.

 

“With all the offers getting very close together, we had to make a decision,” said Wolfe. “One thing that Theo said to him and to me right before was, ‘You’ve been traded. You understand what it’s like going to a new team. I want you to have the opportunity to come in here on Day 1. When you sign, there’s going to be all this talk about your contract, blah blah blah, but I want you to be able to — from Day 1 — just be a guy on the team.’”

 

I'm not really sure what he's trying to say in that last blurb that would make the Cubs stand out.

 

Found an Athletic article that goes into more detail on the last quote

 

Now sensing which buttons to push with Darvish, Epstein also urged Wolfe to finalize the deal before Wednesday’s first official workout for pitchers and catchers in Mesa and begin the acclimation process.

 

“With all the offers getting very close together, we had to make a decision,” Wolfe said. “One thing that Theo said to him and to me right before was, ‘You’ve been traded. You understand what it’s like going to a new team. I want you to have the opportunity to come in here on Day 1. When you sign, there’s going to be all this talk about your contract, blah blah blah, but I want you to be able to — from Day 1 — just be a guy on the team.’

 

“That meant a lot to him because it could have easily just been negotiating posture. [but] it resonated with him because nobody had really said that to him. It was mostly about ‘Do our deal, because our deal’s the right deal.’ But Theo was very clear in why he wanted to do it now. He then extended himself to put his money where his mouth was.”

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CaliforniaRaisin GOAT

CaliforniaRaisin

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has anybody found a link to the full press conference? I think it touched on much beyond Darvish, no?

 

There were two consecutive conferences. First there was one for the Yu Darvish signing with Theo, Yu and Yu's translator. Then, there was the start of ST conference with Theo, Jed and Joe.

 

No idea where it's archived. I saw it on Facebook Live.

Transmogrified Tiger All-Star

Transmogrified Tiger

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I'd feel the Quintana comments come off worse if he would have been FA eligible but was getting like 5 mil a year, or if he were just 1st year arb eligible or something. He signed an extension after his first good season in the big leagues that even with his best possible outcome realized, will cost him about 25 million or so. That's a perfectly fine trade off to make for a SP of all people, and especially considering he'd still be arbitration eligible without the extension, it's hard for me to get too worked up about Quintana feeling like a pawn.

 

Look, I know a lot of you think being a baseball robot is the thing that all the cool kids do, but it's more than a little odd to be talking about how you could afford the guy you just signed because the guy you traded for the year before is on a VERY team-friendly deal. Like, everyone knows it's true and he's right, but it just seems like one of those things where you don't talk it up to the press. What's the point?

 

Similarly, I know it's en vogue to be on the lookout for exploitation of players given the current offseason(and to an extent, political) climate, but I don't see a big issue in clarifying the logic behind the moves when there's a direct correlation. Quintana is on a team friendly deal, and part of that is a function of the arbitration system, but he's on a team friendly deal because of a conscious choice he made to lock in tens of millions of dollars that were far from certain at the time. I'd love for the Quintana's of the world to get a larger share of the pie in the future too, but I don't think it's gauche to point out that the contract he signed with another team facilitated other moves.

Sammy Sofa GOAT

Sammy Sofa

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I'd feel the Quintana comments come off worse if he would have been FA eligible but was getting like 5 mil a year, or if he were just 1st year arb eligible or something. He signed an extension after his first good season in the big leagues that even with his best possible outcome realized, will cost him about 25 million or so. That's a perfectly fine trade off to make for a SP of all people, and especially considering he'd still be arbitration eligible without the extension, it's hard for me to get too worked up about Quintana feeling like a pawn.

 

Look, I know a lot of you think being a baseball robot is the thing that all the cool kids do, but it's more than a little odd to be talking about how you could afford the guy you just signed because the guy you traded for the year before is on a VERY team-friendly deal. Like, everyone knows it's true and he's right, but it just seems like one of those things where you don't talk it up to the press. What's the point?

 

Similarly, I know it's en vogue to be on the lookout for exploitation of players given the current offseason(and to an extent, political) climate, but I don't see a big issue in clarifying the logic behind the moves when there's a direct correlation. Quintana is on a team friendly deal, and part of that is a function of the arbitration system, but he's on a team friendly deal because of a conscious choice he made to lock in tens of millions of dollars that were far from certain at the time. I'd love for the Quintana's of the world to get a larger share of the pie in the future too, but I don't think it's gauche to point out that the contract he signed with another team facilitated other moves.

 

There's just zero need for it beyond, "hey, look how smart we are." When you're talking about your franchise in The Show, great! When it's something that involves actual people that you're going to have to negotiate with, maybe it would be the smarter play to not try to needlessly show off at what is arguably at Quintana's expense. Like, I doubt anyone would want Theo talking up how great it is that Rizzo and Bryant are so affordable vs. their production right now when they sign Harper next year.

 

Basically there was no "logic that needed to be clarified." It's not a huge deal, but it probably wasn't the best choice, that's all.

Edited by Sammy Sofa
jersey cubs fan GOAT

jersey cubs fan

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Has anyone checked in on Quintana? Has he vented anything on social media? Im sure he's pretty shaken up over these comments saying that because he's lived up to/exceeded the first multi-million dollar contract he will sign in his lifetime he now has a fancy new teammate and better odds to be a World Series champion. Hopefully he has a good therapist who will help keep his head up through this crisis.
well this is just a ridiculous attempt at ridiculing a justifiable concern about the way Theo publicly stated how he was able to take advantage of an underpaid that player.
Cubswin11 All-Star

Cubswin11

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Theo talks all the time about how our young, cheap, homegrown offensive talent affords us to do a lot of different things with money too, like signing Lester, etc. Should he not do that either? This seems like a silly thing to make a big deal out of.
Sammy Sofa GOAT

Sammy Sofa

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Theo talks all the time about how our young, cheap, homegrown offensive talent affords us to do a lot of different things with money too, like signing Lester, etc. Should he not do that either? This seems like a silly thing to make a big deal out of.

 

Once again, it's not a huge deal; just probably not the best idea. If he had said something as broad as you did here? Great! Specifically pointing out that Quintana's team-friendly deal that helped make this happen? Probably something that's not necessary to single out.

entbird79 College Ball

entbird79

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Theo talks all the time about how our young, cheap, homegrown offensive talent affords us to do a lot of different things with money too, like signing Lester, etc. Should he not do that either? This seems like a silly thing to make a big deal out of.

 

Once again, it's not a huge deal; just probably not the best idea. If he had said something as broad as you did here? Great! Specifically pointing out that Quintana's team-friendly deal that helped make this happen? Probably something that's not necessary to single out.

 

giphy.gif

Sammy Sofa GOAT

Sammy Sofa

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Theo talks all the time about how our young, cheap, homegrown offensive talent affords us to do a lot of different things with money too, like signing Lester, etc. Should he not do that either? This seems like a silly thing to make a big deal out of.

 

Once again, it's not a huge deal; just probably not the best idea. If he had said something as broad as you did here? Great! Specifically pointing out that Quintana's team-friendly deal that helped make this happen? Probably something that's not necessary to single out.

 

giphy.gif

 

YES, WE KNOW.

Bluescale College Ball

Bluescale

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I would hope this is a lesson for Theo and he doesn’t mention Rizzo’s contract at the Bryce Harper press conference.

 

It's obviously something Anthony's already thought about somewhat:

 

“It’s kind of fun to see all these guys breaking (salary) records...You can start dreaming: ‘Hey, if I keep this pace up, what can I make in a few years?’”

 

and

 

“I love playing here...This is like home to me. I’m very comfortable here. I love the fans. I love what we have going on and the Ricketts (family). I want to be here as long as I can be. I’d love to play here my whole career.

 

“But obviously there is a business side of it. You just never know what’s going to happen. That’s four more years away. That, I can’t control.”

 

Fortunately for the Cubs, he seems like the least likely person to be bitter, as long as he is respected and loved by the team and fans. It's a good idea for the front office to be tactful when speaking up about cost controlled players.

 

For reference, here's the article I took those quotes from: http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/cubs/ct-spt-cubs-anthony-rizzo-contract-sullivan-20180205-story.html

Bluescale College Ball

Bluescale

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Wolfe says that what clinched Darvish’s decision was how Cubs general manager Theo Epstein handled things.

 

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that Darvish's agent doesn't seem to know who our GM is? In fairness, it could just be bad reporting...

David GOAT

David

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Wolfe says that what clinched Darvish’s decision was how Cubs general manager Theo Epstein handled things.

 

Am I the only one bothered by the fact that Darvish's agent doesn't seem to know who our GM is? In fairness, it could just be bad reporting...

 

That's not a quote, so the person who screwed up is whoever wrote it (was it Heyman?)

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