2020 began like any other year, and then it wasn’t. And so the early-year deals were just like any other, and then... things changed.
This was Theo Epstein’s final year as Cubs President of Baseball Operations. He resigned November 20 and was replaced by Jed Hoyer.
January 20: Acquired Alfonso Rivas from the Athletics for Tony Kemp
Rivas was a high-OBP, mid-range power guy in the A’s system, but didn’t show much of either of those in 119 games with the Cubs in 2021 and 2022, giving the team 0.5 bWAR on numbers of .247/.331/.322 with four home runs.