Free agent target for the Chicago Cubs reportedly agrees to deal with the Angels
The Chicago Cubs take another target off the board in their ongoing hunt for bullpen improvements. At this stage of the offseason, the Chicago Cubs may be experiencing déjà vu. They had their list of targets at first, but they failed to acquire even one of them, leaving them as the only Major League team without a new player. The Cubs situation then heated up. In a single deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, they added Shota Imanaga to their starting rotation and obtained a top prospect and bullpen piece.
As many predicted, including Jed Hoyer, that Chicago would have the best final stretch of the offseason of any team, things were looking much better for the team. But with target after target of theirs going off the board, it appears as though we are going back to the early months of winter.
Josh Hader’s wage request may have deterred many teams from considering him overall, but the front office would have preferred to add him if the price was right. However, the Houston Astros were his final team. Jon Heyman of The New York Post reports that Robert Stephenson, one of their four targets, will reportedly be joining the Los Angeles Angels.
According to Jack, aka “@Jolly_Olive” from JomBoy Media, the contract is for more than $30 million over three years, with an option included. After he added a cut fastball to his repertoire and recorded career-best numbers with the Tampa Bay Rays last season, Stephenson was regarded by many as the greatest right-handed reliever available.
The Cubs still have alternatives, but the competition to sign the best players available will get harder as more players are cleared off the market.