I don't know what the Cubs' plans for 2022 are. I presume that once they start letting fans back into the stands - and into all the bars, restaurants and stores in the surrounding neighborhood properties that are also owned by the Ricketts - and the Marquee Sports Network starts having its full inventory of 150-whatever games, the Cubs' cash crunch is going to be a thing of the past.
The Cubs only have $40MM in salary commitments in 2022. They have $20MM in options that can be picked up with Kimbral and Chafin, which I would assume - unless one of them has an absolutely outstanding year - won't get picked up.
BR estimates that the Cubs' 10 arbitration eligible players will get approximately $50MM. But of these 10, only Ian Happ, Willson Contreras, Kyle Ryan and Trevor Williams are expected to contribute anything this year - and in the cases of Ryan and Williams, those expectations are certainly in some doubt. Those latter two, and the rest can easily be cut if they aren't worth the bump in salary. So that $50MM is probably closer to $30-35MM.
The only returnees on the roster will be - Contreras at catcher, Bote and Hoerner in the infield, Heyward and Happ in the outfield. Hendricks, Mills, Alzolay and Williams as starting pitchers. And Kyle Ryan, Brad Wieck, and Rowan Wick in the pen
The Cubs will be ~$130-140MM shy of the luxury tax and 13 MLB players shy of a MLB quality roster. Pretty much all of the star shortstops are going to be free agents - Correa, Lindor, Seager, Story and Baez; two of the top first baseman - Freeman and Rizzo; two of the top third basemen - Bryant and Jose Ramirez. A great DH - JD Martinez. And a bunch of Hall of Fame pitchers heading into the twilight of their careers - Greinke (age 38), Verlander (39), Kershaw (34), Scherzer (37), Jansen (34). Not to mention several other interesting less established players, reclamation projects, and etc.
The Cubs will not have any particular reason not to spend money. There's nothing to tear down in order to do a rebuild. It's already been torn down. They can sign a ton of players and can take on salaries other teams want to dump. Jed is going to have the chance to completely remold the team into his vision. It will be very interesting to see what he does.
The Cubs only have $40MM in salary commitments in 2022. They have $20MM in options that can be picked up with Kimbral and Chafin, which I would assume - unless one of them has an absolutely outstanding year - won't get picked up.
BR estimates that the Cubs' 10 arbitration eligible players will get approximately $50MM. But of these 10, only Ian Happ, Willson Contreras, Kyle Ryan and Trevor Williams are expected to contribute anything this year - and in the cases of Ryan and Williams, those expectations are certainly in some doubt. Those latter two, and the rest can easily be cut if they aren't worth the bump in salary. So that $50MM is probably closer to $30-35MM.
The only returnees on the roster will be - Contreras at catcher, Bote and Hoerner in the infield, Heyward and Happ in the outfield. Hendricks, Mills, Alzolay and Williams as starting pitchers. And Kyle Ryan, Brad Wieck, and Rowan Wick in the pen
The Cubs will be ~$130-140MM shy of the luxury tax and 13 MLB players shy of a MLB quality roster. Pretty much all of the star shortstops are going to be free agents - Correa, Lindor, Seager, Story and Baez; two of the top first baseman - Freeman and Rizzo; two of the top third basemen - Bryant and Jose Ramirez. A great DH - JD Martinez. And a bunch of Hall of Fame pitchers heading into the twilight of their careers - Greinke (age 38), Verlander (39), Kershaw (34), Scherzer (37), Jansen (34). Not to mention several other interesting less established players, reclamation projects, and etc.
The Cubs will not have any particular reason not to spend money. There's nothing to tear down in order to do a rebuild. It's already been torn down. They can sign a ton of players and can take on salaries other teams want to dump. Jed is going to have the chance to completely remold the team into his vision. It will be very interesting to see what he does.