Implications of the Chicago Cubs Signing Jameson Taillon
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The Chicago Cubs made two huge splashes Tuesday. The first was the singing of 2019 MVP Cody Bellinger to a one-year, $17.5 million deal, the second was the signing of starter Jameson Taillon.
There are plenty of moves left for the Cubs to make, one which will likely be a signing of one of the top remaining shortstops. However, the Taillon signing is especially illuminating into what and how this Chicago front office is thinking.
In the current MLB free agent market, Taillon was just behind Jacob deGrom and Carlos Rodón in terms of talent. Taillon is not yet a bonafide "ace," and at age-31, he is likely to deviate much from his career 3.84 ERA over 143 starts.
That being said, Taillon does come in as one of the veteran guys in the Cubs rotation and will slot nicely in behind Marcus Stroman. Having a respectable one-two punch at the top of the rotation immediately makes Chicago a more formidable foe in a wide open National League Central race.
Additionally, there is plenty of high end talent already slated to claim some of the rotation spots such as Justin Steele, Javier Assad and Hayden Wesneski. The impact Taillon will have on these young players is indispensable.
However, the signing of Bellinger and Taillon also sends another message. For weeks, ownership and the front office have been publicly pushing that they plan on spending this winter and doing whatever it takes to get back to contention.
Bellinger and Taillon are good starts in immediately improving the club, but it also proves that the front office wasn't just giving lip service to the fans and the media. They really are committed to improving through free agency.
Perhaps more importantly, these two signings also indicate they aren't done just yet. There may be plenty more to come.
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