Theo Epstein Reveals Why the Cubs Have Spending Limitations This Offseason

The Chicago Cubs haven't done much to inspire confidence into their fanbase after a disappointing campaign, which was capped off by an abysmal display down the stretch that saw them miss out on the playoffs.

They've pinched their pennies to the fullest of extremes, especially in bypassing contract extension talks with some of their top in-house talent.

Well, in an interview with the Daily Herald, Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein revealed why the organization is so limited in terms of their financial well-being this offseason, referencing the Collective Bargaining Agreement that was set in 2017.

“We knew once this CBA came out there would be some real challenges toward the end of it for big market teams that had developed a lot of good players getting more expensive through arbitration, had added free agents on top and had won," said the 46-year-old executive. "The moment this CBA came out, we knew ’20 and ’21 were going to be times people would be scratching their heads because we wouldn’t be able to squeeze any other talent onto this roster.”

It's quite bizarre that Epstein was so revealing in this particular sit-down after he was previously adamant about not anatomizing the Cubs' payroll predicament. It was always expected that the CBA was the source of Chicago's woes -- simply because pundits had ran out of rationalizations for the club's lack of offseason spending -- so Epstein's candor might not even serve as closure for fans.

Does this news mean Epstein wasn't deserving of as much criticism that he's faced this winter? Perhaps, but it's impossible to deny that things have gone impossibly bad for a headache that was, as Epstein noted, foreseen a few years ago.