If recent reports from the world of free agency are accurate, still waters really do run deep. They’re also pretty narrow, at least if we’re talking about depth being average annual value of a contract and width being its term length. The Cubs in particular have been reticent to go more than three or four years for anyone, opting instead to stick with a relatively high AAV in order to protect themselves from paying for diminished performance on the back end.
But they’re not the only ones. Gordon Wittenmyer was told by a source close to Jake Arrieta that the pitcher has six offers in hand for “overpay” AAV over three or four years, with one team perhaps close to making a five-year offer.