Last winter, Breslow flew to New York to meet Taillon for what the pitcher expected would be a short meeting laying out the Cubs’ free-agent pitch and their plans for him in their rotation.
“The Cubs were actually the only team that went out of their way to meet me in person,”
Taillon said after the signing. “That meant a lot to me. Just to be able to sit down and have a conversation face-to-face was nice. Me and Breslow sat down and talked for two hours. We were probably planning on a 30-minute meeting but we kind of started nerding out on pitching there and we just kept going and going.”
Not every pitcher cares about these types of intangibles. Money, of course, is what talks loudest. And assuming the top free-agent starters will be more inclined to sign with a team run by an executive who has a deep investment in and knowledge of pitching is probably short-sighted. But it’s not nothing.
Breslow’s willingness to go the extra mile, coupled with his pedigree as a former player and reputation as a brilliant pitching mind who can, in fact, “nerd out” on pitching intricacies may give him an upper hand. If nothing else, the Taillon signing set a foundation for what it takes to operate in a frenetic free-agent market.
“One thing we had done was try to get as familiar as we possibly could with the player and not just the performance, but what matters and what’s important,” Breslow said of connecting with Taillon. “Trying to take a sincerity and authenticity to those conversations because ultimately players make decisions for any number of reasons, and authentic relationships and feeling like you fit is one of the biggest drivers there.”