Sources: Cubs Have Made Multi-Year Offer to Free-Agent Closer Tanner Scott

As we told you they would be last month, the Cubs are heavily involved on Tanner Scott, to the extent that they've made him an offer one source called "substantial"—meaningfully larger than the three-year, $43-million Craig Kimbrel deal that currently stands as the biggest investment the team has ever made in a reliever. At least one other team is around that level, too, though, and it's not clear how much further the Cubs are willing to go,

They're already positioning themselves to break their own mold when it comes to filling out the back end of a bullpen, but Jed Hoyer's front office never totally throws caution to the wind when operating in free agency. This will not be an exception. Scott isn't quite in a position to command the five-year deals (worth over $18 million per year) that Edwin Díaz and Josh Hader have recently pulled down, so the Cubs are trying to snag him, laying claim to a pitcher they regard as clearly superior to any other reliever available.

Scott, 30, has a 2.04 ERA and 34 saves in 150 innings of regular-season work since the start of 2023. Armed with a 97-MPH fastball and a viciously sharp slider, he has a 30.4% career strikeout rate, and that mark is 31.3% in the last two seasons. Opposing batters have hit just .186/.274/.254 against him in that span, as he minimizes hard contact nearly as well as he misses bats. He would become the best-projected Cubs closer to open a season since Wade Davis in 2017, and indeed, it's that kind of impact the team envisions getting from him over anywhere from three to five seasons.

He's a uniquely excellent fit for what the Cubs like to do on the pitching side, and for their roster, with its lefty-loaded rotation and right-leaning bullpen. Because the Marlins traded Scott to the Padres in July, he was not eligible to receive a qualifying offer when he became a free agent in November. That has augmented the Cubs' interest; they would not have been willing to give up a draft pick to sign him at the price to which they have already gone in this bidding.

A source said that, while there may end up being an opt-out in Scott's deal (depending on where he signs), that is not a major consideration in this particular case. Because he dodged the qualifying offer by being traded in the summer, Scott would be eligible for one if he exercised an opt-out clause, and the draft-pick forfeiture attached to players who receive a QO tends to put a damper on the market for relievers, as Kimbrel found out in 2018-19. MVP Sports Group, the agency founded and led by Dan Lozano, represents Scott and has worked out fruitful deals centered around options and flexible structures before, but it's believed that this deal will end up being fairly straightforward.

If the Cubs can't land Scott with this offer, they may pivot next to Kyle Finnegan, whose track record is much less dominant but whose stuff could play up to a similar level. They have some interest in Kirby Yates, Paul Sewald, and others, but Scott is their focus right now, and should he sign elsewhere, it's Finnegan with whom the fit seems to make the most sense.

Paying handsomely for a closer is not a novel idea for Hoyer, as he was quick to say when he appeared on the Spiegel & Holmes Show on 670 The Score Friday.

"We traded for Aroldis Chapman, we traded Jorge Soler for Wade Davis. We signed Brandon Morrow. We signed Craig Kimbrel," Hoyer said. "We don't not believe in the position ... I do think it has a lot of value."

This would be a larger stretch in that direction than the Cubs front office has made in many years, though, and under Hoyer, specifically, the team has leaned toward pursuing internal options and building a bullpen cheaply., Their willingness to go beyond their comfort zone with Scott reflects the way the structure of their roster has changed. With Pete Crow-Armstrong, Matt Shaw, Michael Busch, and Miguel Amaya penciled into the Opening Day lineup and high hopes for the contributions of young hurlers Javier Assad, Ben Brown, Cade Horton, Brandon Birdsell and Porter Hodge, the team has more financial flexibility with which to attack the bullpen.

On the other hand, in addition to their unwillingness to bid against much freer-spending teams (most notably the Dodgers) for a player at a position as volatile as relief pitcher, the Cubs feel a pressing need to keep some resources available to address their positional depth. Scott could be a capstone to their pitching staff, with the idea being that the depth of viable options in the rotation will make up for the lack of a true ace. Even if they reel him in, though, they need to do something to upgrade their bench. Thus. if forced to, they will let Scott sign elsewhere and focus on Finnegan, making a richer push for help on the infield to compensate for the less dominant pitching. 

In their ideal scenario, the Cubs will bring in the highest-profile free-agent reliever they've signed since either Kimbrel or Randy Myers, and do it within the next handful of days. They've made a push they consider aggressive, and Scott is likely to decide between a small handful of teams soon.