Craig Kimbrel will soon be working the ninth inning for the Chicago Cubs. He’s inked a three-year deal worth a reported $43 million. Will this move swing the division to Chicago, or can the Milwaukee Brewers overcome their suddenly free-spending rivals?
How have big contracts worked out for the Cubs?
Not well. The Chicago Cubs are paying a ton of money to Yu Darvish, Jason Heyward, and Tyler Chatwood, and haven’t gotten much out of it. In fact, the last deal longer than three years that the Cubs signed that actually worked out was Ben Zobrist, and that was back before the 2016 season.