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January is usually fairly slow in the baseball world, but we are due for plenty of action this year!

Things are already picking up as the Chicago Cubs have emerged with two big moves in a week. They snagged one of the “big four” hitters, but the other three, in addition to two of the top starting pitchers available this winter, all remain unsigned.

Today, we’ll break down the latest moves by Chicago and all of the recent free agency buzz!

Alex Bregman and Edward Cabrera to the Cubs

We had been hearing the rumors all offseason, and the Cubs have finally struck in the past week! Within a few days, Chicago traded for a key starting pitcher and signed one of the top bats on the market, the first of the big four to sign.

Alex Bregman will take over third base on the North Side for five years, while Edward Cabrera should be a key part of the rotation for at least the remaining three years on his contract.

Alex Bregman Signs Five-Year, $175 Million Deal

The Cubs have signed their superstar! After being in the running several times in recent years, Chicago has inked a true top-end free agent this offseason.

Following the move we’ll get to next, it became clear that Chicago was gearing up to add a big bat, and they do so in the form of our second-ranked free agent heading into this winter.

The 31-year-old is a three-time All-Star and former MVP runner-up, coming off a strong season with Boston. He’s one of the top third basemen in the game when at full health and will slot directly into the heart of Chicago’s lineup.

This deal will pay Bregman $35 million per year for the next five seasons, taking him through his age-36 season. This move signals more adjustments to come for the Cubs, as Matt Shaw no longer has a spot at third while the Cubs are nearing the tax threshold that they usually tend to avoid…

Edward Cabrera Acquired From Miami

The precursor to the Bregman deal happened last week as the Cubs acquired starting pitcher Edward Cabrera from the Marlins in exchange for three prospects, including top prospect Owen Caissie.

Chicago was looking to their upgrade rotation and doing so without spending any significant money allowed them to make a splash with Bregman.

Cabrera is a legit upgrade for the rotation in Chicago after pitching to a 3.53 ERA with a strikeout rate near 26% across 137.2 innings for Miami. The risk is health here though as this was the first season the right-hander has thrown over 100 innings in his MLB career.

For Miami, Owen Caissie is the prize return as he was our 41st-ranked prospect in baseball will finally get runway to play everyday at the MLB level for the Marlins. The timing is fascinating as Caissie was likely to get significant playing time in right field upon the departure of Kyle Tucker.

Two additional prospects in Cristian Hernández and Edgardo De Leon are heading to Miami alongside Caissie, but ultimately this trade will likely be around Cabrera and Caissie.

Just Baseball Trivia of the Week

Our newsletter will have a trivia question every week to test and expand the baseball knowledge of our subscribers! The answer to the weekly trivia question will be at the bottom of the newsletter each week.

Who signed the largest contract in Cubs’ franchise history?

A) Dansby Swanson

B) Alex Bregman

C) Jason Heyward

D) Jon Lester

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MLB Rumors

BREAKING NEWS: Nolan Arenado is heading to the Diamondbacks. We’ll have much more to come on this story as the veteran third baseman will head back to the NL West after five seasons with the Cardinals.

Freddy Peralta remains a top trade candidate. Despite Milwaukee being the best team in baseball in the regular season last year, their ace could be on the move. Peralta is in the final year of his contract, set to hit free agency in 10 months. Making just $8 million this season, he could be a cheap and dependable ace for a contender. We created five mock trades!

Kyle Tucker’s market remains confusing…If you have any idea where the top free agent available is heading, you know more than us. His market has been so odd, but the Mets are reportedly him a high AAV deal for three years. There has been minimal buzz surrounding someone that was considered to have a shot to make half a billion dollars just a year ago.

Cody Bellinger and the Yankees are at an impasse. Bellinger’s camp remains focused on a longer term deal it seems, while New York seems set on not going as long.

San Francisco is looking to complete their infield with a second baseman. They are currently engaged in trade talks for Nico Hoerner and Brendan Donovan as they continue to seek another big bat.

Other Headlines

• Tarik Skubal’s arbitration filing is certainly one to remember. Skubal enters his final year of arbitration coming off back-to-back Cy Young Awards, which all but throws precedent out the window. The Tigers filed for $19 million…while Skubal’s camp filed for $32 million. We discussed how crazy this situation is on the Just Baseball Show!

• Our latest team top prospects list features the Detroit Tigers. Read about all of their top prospects here!

Just Baseball Discord

We launched a Just Baseball community on Discord!

Our Discord channel is the ultimate baseball group chat while also providing exclusive access to Peter’s MLB best bets, Aram’s prospect content, giveaways, and direct connection to the entire Just Baseball staff.

Read all the details about our Discord community here.

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Trivia Answer: C) Jason Heyward

The Cubs signed Heyward to an eight-year, $184 million deal back in 2015. While they did win that illustrious ring, Heyward’s deal ultimately aged quite poorly.

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