Let’s start with Marisnick and then go to Arrieta.
Marisnick has never hit well, with the exception of his 2017 season in Houston, in which he posted a 173 wRC+ at home and a 69 wRC+ on the road. Incredible. Like that poker player who got caught cheating only because he was winning so much. “Don’t you think 173’s gonna get people on our scent, Jake?” Maybe that’s what did it. Maybe the Astros would never have been caught had Jake Marisnick not abused the system to win himself a few more years of middling major league at-bats. It was a great economic move. Marisnick is a wealthy man now.
Anyway, Marisnick’s not much with the bat but he’s got a good reputation defensively, some think he’ll hit well against lefties, Joc Pederson crushes righties, and…well, it’s $1.5M. That’s not bank-breaking money, even for these Cubs. Good bench piece.
What is potentially bank-breaking money for these Cubs, or at least appeared to be a few weeks ago, is $6M, which is what Jake Arrieta’s being paid to come back to Chicago.
It’s a bit of a weird move for the Cubs after letting Jon Lester walk, but for what it’s worth, it’s cheaper than Lester’s deal in Washington and at least FanGraphs has Arrieta projected to be the better of the two in 2021. And if nothing else, it’s really fun. If the Cubs are going to be mediocre, having Arrieta out there pitching his ass off, even mediocrely, will make it a lot better. You would rather watch the sun explode and engulf the world in flames with your best friend than go through that alone.
Now: Is Kris Bryant on the move?
The Cubs have to whittle their 40-man down by two spots to make room for Marisnick and Arrieta, but that doesn’t mean a trade is the most likely thing. The rumor that makes the most sense with Bryant is that he’d require J.D. Davis in return were he to go to the Mets, and J.D. Davis would go on the 40-man, making that a wash. So while that story’s certainly a live one, it doesn’t appear connected to these signings. These are happening independetly of Kris Bryant (we think—could be wrong), and it’ll probably be more DFA’s to make room, like what the Cubs did with Max Schrock this week.
We’ll see what happens. If the roster, as it currently stands, is what the Cubs trot out on opening day, there’s a lot to be happy about. The core is, sans Schwarber, intact. The rotation is weakened by Yu Darvish’s departure (and less fun), but is at least a rotation (Hendricks/Davies/Arrieta/Mills/Alzolay), which wasn’t a guarantee at points this offseason. The bullpen might actually be pretty good. The core needs to figure out how to hit again, but maybe that’s something Jake Arrieta can solve. After all, he’s made us all feel pretty darn great about the North Siders for one night in February. And that didn’t seem possible all offseason either.
