A Watched Pot Never Boils

Children are inherently impatient creatures and I know that when I was a young lad, I was certainly not an exception to that rule.  I remember vividly driving my mother completely bonkers when were due to leave on a family excursion - "how much longer 'til we leave, mom?" "Twenty minutes, hun."  Of course, I didn't stop there - "now how long, mom?"  "15 minutes..." she replied and I continued asking every couple of minutes, surely driving the poor woman up a wall.  As an added bonus, I couldn't even tell time well enough yet to read the clock.  God bless that woman for being so patient; it's a wonder that my parents didn't leave me behind.  "Remember, son, a watched pot never boils!"

Speaking of impatience - the MLB Hot Stove Season.  This winter has been uncharacteristically quiet when it comes to transactions.  Sure, big dominoes don't usually start to fall until the Winter Meetings in December; however, there's usually a fair amount of trades and free-agent signings during the lead up.  So far in 2017-18, we're getting excited over Yusmeiro Petit and Jim Johnson changing uniforms because we're absolutely desperate for action.

 Boil, water!  I command thee!

There's no doubt that part of this market constipation has been caused by the potential Giancarlo Stanton trade and the posting of Japanese mega-star Shohei Otani.  The financial commitment and attention required to add either of these potentially franchise-altering players has kept the free agent and trade markets in a relative standstill.  Of course, if this all ends with Stanton spurring St. Louis and the Cubs defying the odds to sign the two-way import, I'll be quite giddy; but, in the meantime, I'm getting pretty bored.

"How much longer 'til we make a deal, Theo?"

That said, in the past couple of days the Cubs have actually made a few small moves.  For instance, just a couple of weeks after adding him to the 40-man roster (to avoid the Rule 5 Draft), Matt Carasiti's contract has been sold to the Yakult Swallows of Japan:

That's over-simplifying the deal.  The truth is, the Cubs released Matt so that he would be able to sign with the Swallows; meanwhile, his former franchise will be due a substantial release fee (which could be up to $1M) for allowing him to pursue this option.  Good luck overseas, Matt!

The reliever had been acquired early in the 2017 season, in exchange for Zac Rosscup, and proved to be an intriguing prospect.  Installed as the closer in Iowa, Carasiti earned his way onto the PCL All-Star team.  The parent club apparently expected him to compete for a spot in the wide-open bullpen in 2018, by virtue of their adding him to the 40-man roster.  As it stands, he'll be making his way over to Japan without having ever suited up for the Big League club.

Thus, this 2017 Topps Series I single that I purchased from my LCS last summer, just in case, will not make into my Cubs All-Time Roster Collection.  On the plus side, it does get to be inducted into my "Coulda Been a Cub" binder, made up of players with MLB experience whose rights were once owned by the Northsiders but never made the ultimate ascent with them.  Nevertheless, I'm still sad that it won't get to fulfill it's ultimate destiny. 

In the end, maybe selling the rights of one player to a Japanese club is somehow a good omen for later purchasing the rights of another certain Japanese player?.....  One can only hope!

In other roster-related news, the Cubbies also made their first Major League signing of the off-season:  Dario Alvarez, formerly of the Rangers, was inked to an presumably modest one-year deal (financials, as of yet, undisclosed).  Even though he was considered a minor league free agent, the competition must have been stiff enough that Theo and Co. saw fit to get his signature on an MLB deal, with a 40-man spot and everything.

As I alluded to in the case of Carasiti, there's going to be a few spots up for grabs in the 2018 Cubs bullpen, with the departures of Wade Davis, Koji Uehara, Brian Duensing, etc.  Though he struggles with his command, his strike out potential (61 K's in just 48 career frames) puts Alvarez in contention for one of those spots.  That said, even though he's be inked to an MLB deal, there's no guarantee that he'll break camp with the club; reports differentiate on whether or not he has a minor league option left, but his contract certainly won't be a big enough commitment to deter his being cut should he stink it up in March.

As evidenced by the borrowed scan above, I do not have an Alvarez card in my possession should he make the club and be needed for my CATRC.  Since his position is shaky, I'm hesitant to pull the trigger on a "just in case" card, especially since he's never appeared in a mainstream release and I would need to track down an over-priced, MiLB team set single. 

Do I want to get burned again, like I did with Carasiti?  The Carasiti card only cost me spare change... a minor league single would probably cost me a couple of bucks to pick up and I'm a cheap ass.  Do I risk it?

At any rate, I wouldn't be giving this situation that much thought if we weren't in the midst of such a bone-dry transaction season.  I'm giving Dario Alvarez and Matt Carsiti way too much space in my brain... space that should be taken up by excitement over an Alex Cobb or Brandon Morrow signing.

"Now how much longer, Theo?"

You can't force the market, however, and if anyone knows that, it's the savvy Chicago front office.  I can almost hear Epstein's soothing voice, patiently repeating, "a watched pot never boils, Burbs."

(But, still, please let something happen soon!)