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SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – The Cubs were
supposed to have the makings of a dy-
nasty when they ended their 108-year
World Series drought in 2016. They
weren’t supposed to be trying to trade
away an All-Star this winter to prolong
their window of opportunity.
The Yankees won 103 games and
were within two games of the World Se-
ries, but considering this is the first dec-
ade in the last 100 years they failed to
reach the World Series, do they go back
to their old ways and drop $250 million
on a pitcher?
The Mets went in for the kill a year
ago, making aggressive, perhaps even
reckless, moves, and now are trying to
decide whether they stay pat or double
down.
The Red Sox have virtually the same
team that won the World Series champi-
onship a year ago, but instead of trying
to win their second title in three years,
they’re more interested in carving away
at their payroll.
Four marquee franchises.
Four different agendas.
During the first day of the annual
general manager meetings at Omni Re-
sort, their bosses laid out the plans for
2020, trying to balance expectations
and madness.
The Cubs, who have not won a post-
season game since 2017, have let teams
know they are open for business. They
will listen to offers on everyone from in-
fielder Kris Bryant and Javy Baez to
catcher Willson Contreras to outfielder
Kyle Schwarber.
“This was coming,” Cubs president
Theo Epstein told Chicago reporters.
“It’s not like it was going to be one gener-
ation of players and that’s it. We knew,
when a lot of our best players were cost
controlled, those were the years we
could squeeze the most amount of tal-
ent on the roster, and there would be dif-
ficult decisions and change ahead at
some point. We’re just rapidly ap-
proaching that time, that’s all.”
The Red Sox produced the greatest
season in franchise history just last
year, when they won 108 regular-season
games and the World Series, but sud-
denly money has become a concern.
Owner John Henry is making it no se-
cret he would like the club to strip its
payroll by $30 million to get below the
$208 million luxury tax and fired gener-
al manager Dave Dombrowski and hired
Chaim Bloom to do the dirty work.
“It’s no different from how it was laid
out when I got here,” Bloom told Boston
reporters. “It’s certainly something we’d
like to do. It’s not something that we’re
absolutely mandated to do, but it’s cer-
tainly a goal. ...
“We know our objective is to priori-
tize sustainability, prioritize competi-
tiveness, not just this coming year but
also in the long term.”
In other words, they want to win the
AL East, but only if they could do it at
their price, meaning 2018 MVP Mookie
Betts and his projected $28 million sala-ry is on the block, and DH J.D. Martinez
and starters Chris Sale, David Price and
Nathan Eovaldi, too.
The Yankees haven’t acted like the
old Yankees in years, but after their
championship drought is 10 years and
counting, GM Brian Cashman hinted
that maybe times are changing.
They desperately could use an ace,
and there just so happens to be two of
the biggest prizes in years on the free
agent market with Gerrit Cole and Ste-
phen Strasburg.
“Of course, we’re going to talk to
Strasburg,” Cashman said. “We’ll talk to
Cole. We’ll talk to the higher-end guys.
And we’ll talk about some surprise guys.
Obviously, great talented players that
have earned so many accolades along
the way, and for good reason. They are
some of the premier pitchers the game
has seen at this time. ...
“We’ve got to wait to see how this
stuff plays out and see how that dustsettles. Time will tell what our roster will
eventually look like this winter, but it’s a
good strong roster the way it is now. If
things don’t play out a certain way with
one individual, we have alternatives.
“We have a lot of talent that’s hungry
and looking to take another step. The
players see how close we are. (Manager)
Aaron Boone described it perfectly. We
weren’t a player or two away, we were a
play or two away from playing in the
World Series.”
And the Mets want to become the
Yankees.
They already told the world they
weren’t trading starter Noah Synder-
gaard or closer Edwin Diaz, and al-
though starter Zack Wheeler is a free
agent who could command $100 million
in free agency, GM Brodie Van Wagenen
declared they want to keep him, too.
If they can’t keep Wheeler, they’ll
grab another starter. And if they have to
convert Seth Lugo or Robert Gsellman
back into being starters again, they’ll
acquire high-end relievers.
“We’re going to be creative, we’re go-
ing to be open-minded, to just about
anything,” Van Wagenen said. “Last
year, we were pretty aggressive in free
agency. We made offers early on in the
offseason, some of it that were accept-
ed, others that weren’t. We set out a
pretty specific agenda for ourselves, and
we moved. We weren’t going to wait.
“We went out and executed our plan,
and I think we’ll try to do the same thing
this offseason.”
Well, we’ve got three months to see if
any of these four franchises can walk
the talk.
It’s almost impossible to find an ex-
ecutive who believes the Red Sox can
trade Betts and get a significant return.
Will the Cubs really have the guts to
deal Baez or Bryant?
The Yankees haven’t paid $200 mil-
lion to a free agent since Alex Rodriguez
in 2008, so are they really going to alter
their course now?
The Mets keep saying they want to be
great, but their bank account keeps say-
ing no.
Three months remain until the start
of spring training.
Let’s see who really goes for the gus-
to.Bob Nightengale
Columnist
USA TODAYKris Bryant was named the NL MVP in 2016, but the Cubs might trade him three
years after they won the World Series.CHARLES LECLAIRE/USA TODAY SPORTSMarquee teams declare their intentions