Cubs owner: Team didn't have money for FAs this offseason

The Chicago Cubs were big players in free agency after the 2017 season, investing $185 million in Yu Darvish, Tyler Chatwood, and Brandon Morrow.

A year later, their offseason has been a bore.

When team owner Tom Ricketts was asked why the Cubs haven't spent more on star-caliber free agents this offseason, he said the team is out of money.

"Pretty easy. We don’t have any more,'' Ricketts said, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports.

Chicago has kept its spending light this offseason, even after losing in last year's National League wild-card game.

The Cubs' front office exercised its $20-million option on Cole Hamels, and also signed Daniel Descalso, Brad Brach, Tony Barnette, and Xavier Cedeno for a combined $10.95 million.

The money the Cubs invested this offseason pushed their 2019 payroll to $210,800,714, according to Spotrac, which ranks second in the league behind the Boston Red Sox.

MLB's luxury-tax threshold for 2019 is $206 million, and teams that exceed the threshold are taxed.

According to a 2018 report from Forbes, the Cubs are worth $2.9 billion.