The wait is just about over for baseball fans. Baseball in Chicago officially kicks off Thursday with the Cubs and White Sox both playing their first spring training game. While the White Sox made some moves over the winter to improve, it’s clear that the splash the Cubs made has made them the talk of the town when it comes to sports as 2016 continues.

The baseball offseason might seem at first glance like a sad moment in the life of a baseball fan. We’re treated to games every day from March to September, and then we have to wait the winter out. However, the winter can be just as exciting as the regular season. Granted you don’t get to see your favorite team out on the diamond, but it’s interesting to follow trades and free agency that happens during the wintertime. Baseball fans call this the “hot stove.”

For the Cubs, the stove was white hot.

The offseason started slow for the Cubbies, but it picked up in the later months. After failing to sign ace David Price, the offseason seemed lost. He was supposed to be our ace, and we didn’t get him. What the Cubs did after that is pretty remarkable. The Cubs signed pitcher John Lackey from the Cardinals, who if you can remember shut the Cubbies down in Game 1 of the NLDS. A solid veteran to solidify the rotation. Good one, Theo Epstein and his crew of executives, right? Not so fast.

The Cubs have had a “good” problem with the fact that they had too many infielders last year. Starlin Castro was a natural shortstop, but Addison Russell was a much better defensive player at the position, so Castro was benched and eventually made the switch to second base, where we were defensively deficient. So, in a trade-and-sign, the Cubs signed veteran second-basemen Ben Zobrist and traded Castro to the Yankees for another pitcher Adam Warren. So, in a move of baseball genius, Theo Epstein turned his second basemen into a better second basemen and a solid rotation pitcher. Nice job, Theo. But we’re still not finished.

Perhaps, the biggest splash and surprise of free agency was the signing of Jason Heyward. At 26, he’s got amazing potential and is already an incredible player with room to grow. He was expected to re-sign with the Cardinals, but received offers from a few other teams. One of those teams was the Cubs. Because of the money they saved on David Price, they could afford to sign Heyward. They actually offered Heyward less money than the Cardinals, but he signed with us.

Why? The Cubs were already a World Series competitor without him, but he makes them a nearly unstoppable juggernaut of a team. In the Cardinals scheme, he is a core piece. If he fell, so would the whole thing. With the Cubs, he doesn’t have to do it all, because the Cubs are THAT good. In fact, the Cubs are currently favored 4-1 to win the World Series.

Will the title drought in Chicago baseball come to an end this year? I don’t want to play the whole “jinx it” card, but if any team can end it, it’s this one right here. Spring training games start Thursday, and the regular season starts April 4.