The Chicago Cubs were one Seiya Suzuki catch in Atlanta away from making the postseason. Them missing the playoffs not only allowed the Diamondbacks to squeak their way in, but it allowed Arizona to win the NL Pennant.
The ripple effects continued into the offseason as Chicago fired David Ross after shocking the world with their Craig Counsell hire. It's very possible Chicago still does this if they make the playoffs, but you'd have to think pursuing Counsell at least had something to do with how they performed down the stretch after appearing as a postseason lock for much of the second half.
After giving Counsell a record-breaking contract, the Cubs appear all in on winning right now. There's no better way they can show their commitment to doing that than by landing Shohei Ohtani in free agency. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, it appears they're stopping at nothing to ensure they land him, much like they did with Counsell.
Per Nightengale, "the Chicago Cubs and Rangers are serious contenders, with several GMs saying that the Cubs may be the most aggressive team for his services."
Cubs appear to be a very realistic landing spot for Shohei Ohtani
The Dodgers have long been considered the favorites to land Shohei Ohtani, and for good reason. They're a perenial contender, have a ton of money to spend, star talent to surround Ohtani with, and, of course, are in Southern California where Ohtani wants to be. The Dodgers make all the sense in the world, but money talks. If what Nightengale says is true, the most aggressive team could easily be the one that walks away with the prize.
The Cubs have every reason to make a move like this. First, they can. As a big market team they certainly have the funds available to them to pay Ohtani the record-breaking contract he's going to get while also having enough to build a true contender around him.
Second, the team won 83 games without him. Imagine what they can do with him AND Craig Counsell. In that division. Where Milwaukee appears to be on the downswing. The Cubs would easily be the favorites to win the NL Central.
Losing players like Cody Bellinger and Marcus Stroman will hurt, but having Ohtani come in wouldn't be a bad consolation at all. The Cubs should believe they have as good of a chance as anybody. After all, they were the only team that doesn't play in a west division that was considered a finalist for his services the first time around. He clearly has some interest in making Wrigley Field his home.
Cubs fans should be over the moon right now. The organization is showing a commitment to winning they haven't shown since they won it all back in 2016. They did whatever they could to land one of, if not the best manager in the game. They seem very prepared to do that again. It worked once, let's hope it can work again.