Javier Baez Admitted He Was Close To Re-Signing With Cubs Prior To Tigers Deal

Just how close was Javier Baez to re-signing with the Cubs during free agency?

Well, according to him, he thought it was pretty close to be being a done deal that he was heading back to the North Side of Chicago.

“I thought it was going to happen,” Báez told NBC Sports Chicago. “We were five days from getting it done. And then the pandemic hit.”

Javy Báez on the week that reshaped the Cubs' long-term plans:

"It was really, really close. More than anybody thinks."

(via @GDubCub) https://t.co/4SV3ebPtrz

— Cubs Talk (@NBCSCubs) April 15, 2022

Last season, the Cubs had a franchise-altering Trade Deadline when they shipped away their core of Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant.

Not only did they leave fans wondering what could have been if they reached deals with the group of players who ended their 108-year championship drought in 2016. But they also failed to bring any of them back once free agency took place in the offseason.

But that’s not to say the team didn’t try to work out a long term deal for Baez.

“It was really, really close,” he said. “More than anybody thinks.”

Now, Javier Baez is hitting bombs in Detroit. But looking back, he has no regrets about how anything went down during his time with the Cubs.

“They made my career. They made my name,” he said of the Cubs, who drafted him ninth overall in 2011. “I’m grateful. And I’m thankful, obviously, that we won, [and after] what we came from — from losing teams to a winning organization.”

Even with the clear void left in the Cubs middle infield, Javier Baez remained humble when answering whether or not he felt Chicago would regret letting him through their grasp.

“That’s a tough one. I don’t know,” Báez said. “Everybody’s got their plans. Hopefully, they made the right decision for the team and the future.”

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