Chicago had a chance to end its offseason with a star acquisition, but failed to get the deal done. Here's why it was such a troubling outcome for the big-market franchise.

The Cubs have tried to get creative with contract structure in order to compete while also avoiding uber-long deals. They won the Cody Bellinger sweepstakes last year, for example, by front-loading his three-year, $80 million deal and including two opt-outs.