00:00And I just wonder what your opinion was about what is ahead for Ian Happ,
00:05how he is approaching the second half of this season,
00:08and do you think that he and the Cubs might come to some common ground
00:14as he approaches or whenever he faces free agency?
00:18Well, free agency, now you just said it right, David,
00:21whenever he approaches free agency because free agency,
00:25for all we know right now, is going to be stalled this offseason.
00:30As of December 1st, there's no contract.
00:34There's no negotiations between either side.
00:38You can't sign players if there's not a contract.
00:41So with that in mind, is he a guy that falls through
00:46and then they have a March the 20th, they sign a new deal
00:53and you have three weeks of spring training.
00:55Is he a guy that the Cubs look at and go, you know what?
00:58We don't have any offensive outfielders to really pick up.
01:04Let's sign Ian to a one-year extension.
01:06Now, is that something that they would be doing as you project this going forward?
01:11Because Ian Happ's been a really good player for the Cubs for 10 years now.
01:17Is he a superstar?
01:19No.
01:19Does he go out there and do a really good job in left field every day,
01:23as good as any left fielder in baseball?
01:26Does he go through maddening slumps where he doesn't hit anything?
01:31Yes.
01:32But Ian Happ's a really good baseball player.
01:35So I wouldn't doubt that down the line there may be conversations about him coming back.
01:41I'm not looking at a four- or five-year term,
01:45but something like a one- or two-year extension I think is possible.
01:49I'm not looking at a four-year extension I think is possible.
01:49And I'm looking at a four-year extension I think this year if I am withех in practice.
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