The possibility of extensions for several core Cubs players has been a hot topic this spring, but it’s been discussed for the past several years. From Javy Báez to Anthony Rizzo to Kris Bryant, the hot stove has ranged from lukewarm to, well, not even operational in terms of the chances to sign long-term deals with players approaching free agency.
While David Bote and Kyle Hendricks each signed very friendly multi-year extensions early on in the 2019 season, both were very team-friendly and were inked prior to or very early in the 2019 season.