There are some cases in which player acquisition is as simple as making the highest contract offer, but most deals have a lot more going on below the surface. The Cubs’ world championship team was comprised of several players who actually took less money — yes, even Jason Heyward — to join a roster they felt was capable of making history. In more topical news, righty Michael King doesn’t even appear to have considered the Cubs due to his preference to be back on the East Coast.
Then there are the various business philosophies between different organizations, like how the Cubs refuse to defer large chunks of salary while the Dodgers are content to punt a billion dollars into the future.