The late-night/early-morning spot for Cubs fans asks if the Cubs should bring back free agent reliever Jorge López
Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the hottest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Come on in and join us. We’re so glad to see you. Let us check your coat. There are still a few tables available. There’s a two-drink minimum, but it’s bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
The Yankees held serve and jumped out to a two-games-to-none lead in the American League Championship Series with a 6-3 win over the Guardians. Aaron Judge homered for the Yankees. José Ramírez homered for Cleveland. But the big story is that the Guardians went 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position.
Last night, I asked you about your interest in free agent outfielder Teoscar Hernández. Despite the Cubs’ need for power, most of you were cool to the idea as 61 percent of you said “Nay!” Only nine percent voted “Yay!” and the other thirty percent were “Meh.”
On Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, I don’t normally do a film essay. But I always have time for jazz, so those of you who skip that can do so now. You won’t hurt my feelings.
Tonight we have some melancholy music from trumpeter Chet Baker and saxophonist Stan Getz. This is from a performance in Stockholm in February of 1983. George Mraz is on bass, Jim McNeely plays piano and Victor Lewis in on the drums.
This is “Dear Old Stockholm” and for an encore, “Line for Lyons.”
Welcome back to everyone who skips all that jazz.
The Cubs picked up reliever Jorge López after the Mets released him after an all-around ugly incident, where López lost control of his temper and the New York media spun it into something a lot bigger than it was. At the time, the Mets were 11 games under .500 and it was looking like a lost season for the Amazins. Of course, they turned things around after releasing López and are currently playing in the NLCS.
López certainly turned his season around too after joining the Cubs. López pitched in relief in 24 games for the Cubs and posted a 2.03 ERA. The underlying numbers say that López probably wasn’t that good, but he was still plenty good with a FIP of 3.20. López pitched 26 2⁄3 innings for the Cubs, struck out 31 batters and only walked eight. His record was 1-1 with two saves.
López is a free agent this winter, so the question is “Should the Cubs re-sign López?” I would think that after his strong second half and the good memories in Chicago (as opposed to the bad ones in Queens) he would want to come back.
Now López only made $2 million last year and after his strong second half, he should be looking at an upgrade over that. But not that much of an upgrade. I don’t think López will command more than $2.75 to $3 million in 2024.
Now it would be too easy to ask you if you’d give López a one-year, $2.75 million deal for 2025. I mean, why not? If he stinks, the Cubs could just release him and not really miss the money. Someone would probably sign him for the major league minimum, so even that would probably take about a third off of what the Cubs owe him.
Nope. For tonight’s purposes of debate, I’m going to say that López needs a two-year deal to stick with the Cubs. The money is the same, but now we are looking at a two-year deal in the $5.5 to $6 million range. Do you still want López back at that price?
To be clear, I don’t know that López would command a two-year deal from the Cubs or anyone else. He might. He might not. But I just want to make the vote you have to make a little harder.
López turns 32 years old in February and he has a nine-year major league career. Over most of those seasons, he was pretty bad, although he was a part-time starter for most of those seasons. The Orioles turned López into a full-time reliever in 2021 and he thrived as the team’s closer. López saved 19 games in 23 attempts and posted a 1.68 ERA. He was named to the All-Star Game that year, although some of that was that Baltimore needed a representative. He got traded to the Twins at the deadline that year and he turned back into a pumpkin in Minnesota. His 2023 season was just as bad. He didn’t pitch all that well with the Mets in 2024 before they released him either. If he had been good, the Mets would have overlooked the circus that led to López being designated for assignment.
On the other hand, it’s entirely possible that the Cubs have figured out something that has unlocked the next level on López. His velocity went up about two miles-per-hour in Chicago over what it was in New York. He also has nothing but praise for manager Craig Counsell, who was his first manager when he was a rookie with the Brewers in 2015. The Cubs have also had no complaints about his behavior, on or off the field.
But López did hit the injured list twice with the Cubs with a groin strain. He missed most of the first half of September, pitched in two games after coming off the IL, and then went right back on it with the same injury, missing the rest of the year. Once players get past 30, it’s probably right to start worrying about the physical health of the players.
So, would you re-sign Jorge López if it required a two-year deal? I’m not going to give you a “meh” option. This seems like a yes or no question.
And if you want to talk in the comments about whether you want López back at all, feel free.
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