When the Chicago Cubs signed Jon Lester to a massive deal, it was the turning point in their franchise. They were ready to win. But with that, you have to be prepared to win every year. In the years that followed, they’ve signed Jason Heyward and Yu Darvish to similar deals, but have not gotten the production they’ve hoped for from those two. Now, in 2019, both are starting to show an upward trend and are the key for the Cubs continuing their winning ways in the second half.
It’s hard to quantify when a player ‘earns’ his paycheck.