Under Jed Hoyer, the Chicago Cubs have never been a player on long-term, high-dollar deals for relievers. The Cubs' president of baseball operations was ready to buck that trend last offseason, though, offering a four-year deal in the $80 million range for All-Star left-hander Tanner Scott who, instead, took a lower offer (four years, $72 million) from the reiging World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
At the time, the news stung - and when the Dodgers then went on to snag a couple other potential Cubs bullpen targets, including Kirby Yates - it just added insult to injury.