Although there’s still a whole lot of offseason to go in terms of unsigned free agents and untraded trade possibilities, it does feel like a fair time to check in on the spending around MLB this offseason.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan did so in a variety of ways, from the total added salary, the free agent signings, and the trade values.
All are interesting for discussion purposes, but I’m gonna share the free agent signings, because it is probably the one that is the most interesting for Cubs-related context:
Toronto: $277MBaltimore: $185.1MPhiladelphia: $182MNew York Mets: $113MAtlanta: $104MSeattle: $99.8MSan Diego: $92.2MLos Angeles Dodgers: $74.5MDetroit: $59MChicago White Sox: $57.1MArizona: $50.3MChicago Cubs: $47.6MPittsburgh: $36.8MNew York Yankees: $29MSan Francisco: $25.4MCincinnati: $24.5MMilwaukee: $23.3MTampa Bay: $22.5MTexas: $20.6MMiami: $15MSt. Louis: $12.5MCleveland: $11.9MLos Angeles Angels: $8MMinnesota: $7MWashington: $5.5MKansas City: $5.3MA’s: $3MHouston: $2.6MBoston: $0Colorado: $0
That feels about right, doesn’t it? Middle of the pack from a median perspective, having signed a number of free agents (Shota Imanaga, Phil Maton, Hoby Milner, Caleb Thielbar, Jacob Webb, Tyler Austin), but far away from the clubs that’ve signed significant contracts thus far. Also, it’s only one spot ahead of the Pirates.
In a lot of ways, this number either doesn’t matter or can be misleading, since it treats all spending – whether on a 10-year deal or a one-year deal – as being spent right now. In other words, it doesn’t necessarily tell you a lot about what a team is doing for 2026, specifically.
On the other hand, I think it does provide interesting context for who has been aggressive, broadly speaking, so far this offseason. And also, who might still have appetite for major expenditures from here. I’m looking at the Yankees, Giants, and Cubs on the one end of that spectrum, while the Blue Jays, Orioles, Braves, Phillies, Mariners, and Padres have already taken on a lot – relative to expectations for those clubs’ spending, anyway.
As Passan points out in his tweet, though, looking only at free agent commitments doesn’t tell the whole story, since a team like the Red Sox has added almost $60 million in salaries via trade. It’s also why I don’t mention the Mets there among the clubs that’ve added a lot of salary, because they’ve also shed a significant volume of salary.
I will point out that Passan has a -$9 million for the Cubs on the trade side of things, which reduces the expenditures, but it seems odd to include that. It refers to the Andrew Kittredge trade, where the Cubs sent the reliever to the Orioles for cash. But the thing is, that was before the 2026 club option decision was made, which the Cubs obviously weren’t going to exercise. He wasn’t under contract with them for 2026. So, what, if they hadn’t traded him, he gets bought out, and there is no -$9 million attached. But since they traded him and the Orioles picked up the option, the Cubs “saved” $9 million in 2026 salary? That, uh, makes no sense.
Not a dig at Passan, mind you, because this undertaking is kinda gargantuan, and these nits can probably be picked all over the place. Plus, frankly, Kittredge at $9 million for 2026 seems like a pretty solid deal, so arguably the Cubs should have retained him, and thus kinda-sorta-in-a-very-backwards-way did save $9 million.
Anyway, the point here is mostly that (1) the Cubs aren’t an outlier in commitments this offseason in either direction, and (2) here’s hoping they add some significant commitments from here and move up that list. Not because it matters where they are on this list, but instead because the types of guys they need to add – in free agency at least – are almost certain to require significant commitments.
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