The non-tender deadline is Tuesday at 7 pm CST, and if you're not clear what the non-tender deadline is, it is a deadline for teams to tender players on their 40-man roster contracts. Players they do not want to give a contract to they non-tender, and they become free agents.
Now it will be interesting to see what moves the Cubs make is regards to who they non-tender, and what non-tendered players they might sign. First, we'll discuss players that they might non-tender.
- Jason Adam, Michael Rucker, Trevor Megill, and Tommy Nance. All four were used by the Cubs in the bullpen this past year, and while each had their strengths and you can see some potential there, they clearly could not adjust to the major leagues, and allowed way too many runs. Perhaps they might keep one or two of these, but I expect them to non-tender most of these, if not all.
- Alfonso Rivas and Michael Hermosillo. I did an article on them not too long ago, and while I see definite potential in both, I'm not sure if the Cubs are going to hold onto them. I would hold onto Rivas, as he can play 1st (with Schwindel being the only other first baseman), and he can also play outfield. Perhaps they will tender both, but I wouldn't be surprised if they non-tendered one of these.
- Sergio Alcantara. He was a mixed bag in 2021. You could see his spurts of success and stellar defense, and you could also see his room for improvement both offensively and defensively. Although there isn't much depth at shortstop, he's one right at the edge, so it could go either way.
- Alec Mills. The more I consider the Cubs rotation and pitching, the more I see Mills getting in the way. I don't mean that in a bad way, I just mean that his type of pitching, and the Cubs goals, etc., don't quite fit in. If he was non-tendered, he can continue his career with another team that needs groundball producing pitcher, and make room for the young arms and possible rotation signings.
Right now, I think out of all Cubs players on the 40-man roster, these would be the most likely to get non-tendered. Of course, we've even seen a great player (who underperformed in 2020) get non-tendered, Kyle Schwarber. The Tigers non-tendered Matthew Boyd, (possible Cubs target?), and so it's really anybody's guess who the Cubs are going to non-tender.
But along those same lines, other teams are going to be non-tendering players, and the Cubs can now have access to players that they didn't before. Of course, like we've talked about a couple articles ago, the Cubs still have a lot of holes in the roster, and they will probably not fill them before the lockout.
MLB.com posted an article on non-tender candidates for each team. The Cubs' was Ian Happ, which I think is highly improbable, seeing that when he plays well he is a very valuable player. However, it is still something that could happen. Based off of their list and who *might* be non-tendered, I picked a couple favorites for the Cubs.
- Luke Voit, 1B. There is a lack of depth at first base for the Cubs, and if the DH includes the NL then Schwindel (or Voit) could get a DH role. But I like Voit because even though he had an off year in 2021, he still posted a 111 wRC and had 11 homeruns throughout his injury-shortened season. Fangraphs projects a .249/.338/.437 with a 120 wRC for 2022, so that's not too bad.
- Matthew Boyd, LHP. The Cubs missed out on Matz and Gray, and Boyd provides a tempting option similar to those two. He posted a 3.89 ERA with a 19.9% K rate in 2021, and a 30% HardH rate, which is pretty good. Again, not a high-velocity pitcher, as he averages 92.2 MPH with his fastball, but he can strikeout batters, and is not heavily reliant on groundballs.
- Aledmys Diaz, INF. The Cubs don't have much infield depth, with Alcantara and Bote being the main ones, and this might be a short-term solution. He batted .259/.317/.405 with a 100 wRC in 2021, so a pretty average player offensively. He has a low 19.4%K rate, and a 44.8% HardH rate, so those are both big pluses. He's played mainly third base and shortstop in his career, but he has experience in 6(!) different positions.
- Austin Barnes, C. I completely understand that the Cubs need a back-up catcher, and although I'm not convinced Barnes is the answer, he is an interesting option. He batted .215/.299/.345 in 2021, but he managed to get a 92 wRC. Although not an outstanding hitter in his MLB career, he is a decent defender, and could possibly work as Contreras' back-up.
Now, these are players that might not even get non-tendered (Boyd already has), but based on projected non-tenderings, these would be my pick for the Cubs.
The next couple days is going to be crazy, and with more signings today, it's hard to say if the Cubs will make any moves before the lockout begins.
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