Another busy night.
We may miss some MLB free agency things, but by the looks of it, there’s going to be plenty of time to recap as we enter the lockout here in a few hours. So, for now, let’s talk about a free agent signing near and dear to my heart…
The Cubs Got Stroman
Remember…was it Monday? Yesterday? Remember when we were talking about how maybe it was a good thing for the Cubs to not be making moves? That maybe they were going to come out of the lockout looking at a market better suited to teams trying to sign free agents? Well, we don’t have to ask that question. The Cubs made their big move. They signed Marcus Stroman. As first reported by…Marcus Stroman (he tweeted it out).
Stroman, first of all, is a good, good pitcher. 3.4 fWAR last year. 3.9 fWAR in 2019 (he opted out of the 2020 season). More than three fWAR in three of his other five seasons. He’s only 30, so no fears about imminent regression. He’s as good a bet as anybody to anchor a staff desperately in need of anchoring.
Stroman, second of all, is a cool dude. He’s scrappy—5’7”. He’s smart—Duke graduate. He has a lot of swagger, and he has a lot of fun. He’s a bit of a focal point for those who like to be grumpy about things like swagger and fun, so if you didn’t like Javy Báez, you might not like him, but personally, I’m a fan.
The deal’s reportedly for three years and $71 million, which might be a bargain and is so short that it’s unlikely to be a dud. It’s the exact kind of contract the Cubs have been looking for more of, and it implies a sincere effort to compete sooner than 2025, which was uncertain.
There’s a lot of offseason to come, but heading into the lockout, the Cubs have an adequate rotation (Stroman/Hendricks/Miley/Mills/Alzolay can compete in the Central) and locked in a good backup catcher. Do they have other needs? Yes. They could really use a big bat or two, and if one can play shortstop, it’d be a great fit. But that can still happen. Options remain unsigned. They enter the lockout with some hay in the barn, and that’s probably a good thing. Especially since it doesn’t rule out the possibility they’re gaming the market in the end too. The Stroman signing’s a relatively short-term deal.
Other Free Agency Moves
I may have missed a few things, but my impressions are that the other newsmakers today are mainly Chris Taylor’s return to the Dodgers, followed by some pitching moves: Rich Hill to Boston, Dylan Bundy to Minnesota, Mark Melancon to Arizona, Corey Knebel to Philadelphia. Nothing massive, but names of note. We may get more overnight, but otherwise, Stroman is the big one before the dead period begins.
Moving on to the other “off”-season…
Notre Dame Has Its Coach
And it turned out they had him the whole time.
The Irish are promoting Marcus Freeman, their 35-year-old defensive coordinator, to head coach. Tommy Rees is evidently getting a pay bump as well to remain the offensive coordinator. More details are emerging (Rees might be an “associate head coach” or something like that now).
The bottom line is that Notre Dame doesn’t seem to be undergoing too much of a transition. Brian Kelly may still pry away some assistants, and some recruits, but a lot of the power structure is staying the same. There’s continuity. And in the personnel game—keeping players from transferring, keeping recruits from decommitting—that counts for something. The Notre Dame class is ranked fifth right now on 247, its highest ranking since 2013, the class that came in on the heels of the team’s last trip to the national championship. Again, we don’t know if it’ll hold, but given how much credit Freeman has gotten as a recruiter, it seems more likely to hold up than, say, Oklahoma’s.
We’ll see. But with any coaching hire, you have to roll the dice, and given that Luke Fickell wasn’t readily available and there didn’t seem to be another coach who made as much sense as Fickell or Freeman, Notre Dame probably made the right move here, however it turns out.
Now, the Bad News
For Notre Dame. Good news for, well, Alabama. The College Football Playoff rankings last night were not kind to the Irish, and they were kind to the Tide, and that matters because a decent number of scenarios come down to an 11-2 Alabama vs. an 11-1 Notre Dame for the final playoff spot. Our model thinks that decision would go Alabama’s way. Here are all the other things it thinks.
Matt Campbell Watch
Matt Campbell is clearly not going to Notre Dame, leaving Oklahoma as the only other immediately obvious possible destination. There was a rumor today that Campbell is at least interviewing in Norman. We’ll see.
One note here: I missed how good Iowa State’s recruiting class is this year. I erroneously wrote recently that it was much worse than it is. It’s a good class. The best class in Ames ever, potentially. Hopefully it holds. Hopefully Iowa State can hold on to Campbell. We’ve talked a little bit on this site about how the grass might not stay all that green at OU, but to be fair, there are plenty more resources there than there are in Ames. We’ll see.
Jamie Pollard News
In other Iowa State news, athletic director Jamie Pollard announced today that he’s been diagnosed with testicular cancer. You can find more details elsewhere, but it sounds like they caught it early, hopefully before it had a chance to spread. We’ll keep our fingers crossed.
On the Basketball Court
Iowa State, freshly ranked, is wrapping up what’s currently a twenty-point win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff as this is typed. Solid evening ahead of the tougher stretch. More on this one tomorrow.
Purdue Is Good, Duke Is Not Unbeatable
Elsewhere on the hardwood, last night’s Big Ten/ACC action was highlighted by Purdue steamrolling Florida State before Ohio State snuck past Duke. Duke should have a fairly easy road through conference play, making this a useful data point: Duke’s a great team. Great enough to beat Gonzaga, even. But they’re far from unbeatable.
***
Too late for a viewing schedule tonight. To be honest, once I got through the Stroman stuff it’s been a lot of googling “Matt Campbell Oklahoma” and then Twitter searching “Matt Campbell Oklahoma.” I need to log off.
