Whew. Busy week, relatively speaking, for the Cubs. I was hoping this is how things would look in the first full week back from the holidays, but you never know with offseasons in the current era. I guess a lot of the activity was driven by a single Cubs trade, but the Cubs did also claim a pitcher on waivers, and signed another to a minor league deal. A relative bounty of activity in its own right. Plus renewed rumors on the positional side.
Good to see the Cubs got deals done for their three arbitration-eligible players by yesterday’s deadline. Justin Steele and Javier Assad were the only two before this week’s trade, which brought Edward Cabrera into the fold. And, when a team trades for you on the eve of the arbitration-exchange deadline, you probbbbbably have quite a bit of extra leverage to ask for a little more money. That may well be what happened with Cabrera and the Cubs, as he got almost 20% more in his deal than the MLBTR projection ($4.45M, versus $3.7M). On the one hand, $750,000 is almost nothing relative to payroll, and shouldn’t be a limiting factor in anything the Cubs do. On the other hand, it’s at least worth pointing out how well Cabrera did for himself: not only does he get the extra money in 2026, relative to projections, but he also guaranteed himself more money in 2027 and 2028, assuming he is tendered a contract for those seasons. The nature of arbitration is that it builds on itself, such that an extra $750,000 in year one typically would mean, oh, an extra $1 million+ in year two. I’m not talking about the overall raise, which could/should be a lot more (we hope, since it’d mean he had a great 2026!). I’m talking ONLY about the EXTRA portion of the bump that he’ll get precisely because his 2026 salary is higher. It’s impossible not to wonder about extension talks, by the way, since you organically get the opportunity in these talks to also drop some thoughts about future salaries. Did the Cubs bring it up with Cabrera? Or will they go year-to-year through arbitration, as they have with virtually every pitcher who reaches arbitration under the Theo/Jed regime? It’s a little hard to argue with their philosophy – if you can get a guy to sign pre-arbitration (like Kyle Hendricks), that’s one thing, because it can be a huge bargain. But once the guy reaches arbitration, and the price tag shoots way up as free agency nears, you’re suddenly talking about trading the best “contract” ever (essentially three under-market team options) for a relatively large guaranteed chunk. With pitchers, there’s a lot of added risk there, and potentially not a lot of payoff if you aren’t getting (1) a bargain on the AAV, (2) some free agent years covered, and/or (3) multiple team options. (Maybe the Cubs can talk to Steele and Assad, too, anyway. Just to see what’s what. You never know when a guy just wants to lock down a guaranteed life-changing chunk of cash. Might as well ask.) Speaking of pitchers and arbitration and all that, Tarik Skubal and the Tigers couldn’t come to an agreement before exchanging figures, and hoolllllly smokes were they far apart:Two-time AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal filed for a $32 million salary this year while the Detroit Tigers countered at $19 million, sources tell ESPN. The $13 million spread is by far the largest in salary-arbitration history and sets up for a fascinating hearing in February.
Isaac Paredes $9.95M vs. $8.75MWilliam Contreras: $9.9M vs. $8.55MTyler Stephenson: $6.8M vs. $6.55MJoe Ryan: $6.35M vs. $5.85MKris Bubic: $6.15M vs. $5.15MEric Lauer: $5.75M vs. $4.4MVinnie Pasquantino: $4.5M vs. $4MYainer Diaz: $4.5M vs. $3MKyle Bradish: $3.55M vs. $2.875MKeegan Akin: $3.375M vs. $2.975MReid Detmers: $2.925M vs. $2.625MBryce Miller: $2.625M vs. $2.25MDylan Lee: $2.2M vs. $2MCalvin Faucher: $2.05M vs. $1.8MGraham Ashcraft: $1.75M vs. $1.25MEdwin Uceta: $1.525M vs. $1.2MCade Cavalli: $900K vs. $825K
It’s not an enormous spread, but I’ve gotta believe that $1.35M difference for the Brewers and Contreras could impact their budget a little bit. Again, most of these will not be negotiated further, so I’ll be rooting for Contreras in the arbitration. And it’s happened. The Main Street/FanDuel broadcast deals are dead:The nine teams: Braves, Marlins, Brewers, Royals, Angels, Reds, Cardinals, Rays, Tigers.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) January 8, 2026 There’s now a lot more financial uncertainty for those nine clubs, some of whom will try to line up their own new local deals, but most of whom will probably turn their local rights back over to MLB to do the best it can. Feels like a substantial luxury tax raise combined with stiffer penalties is far more likely than a cap:If the next CBA doesn't involve a salary cap, you can expect the luxury tax threshold to rise, says @Ken_Rosenthal. pic.twitter.com/ebo0toqPwH
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— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) January 8, 2026Blackhawks Trade Brossoit, Allan to San Jose for Future Cap Help #blackhawks t.co/7vYU09f1F4
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) January 8, 2026BULLS vs HEAT POSTPONED! Slippery Floors Prevent Tip-Off t.co/WDhIAEzZlb
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) January 9, 2026What Tricks Does Ben Johnson Have Up His Sleeve This Week? t.co/R0Hym0Hc8A
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