As the 2014-2015 baseball Winter Meetings came to a close, both the North Siders and the South Siders made some impactful moves to prepare for a potential run in the 2015-2016 season.

Most notably, the Cubs took home the “Lester Sweepstakes” with the signing of Jon Lester to a six-year $155 million deal, with a seventh year option worth $25 million.

“It’s not often you get to win the lottery,” said new Cubs manager Joe Madden to Bob Nightengale of USA Today. “We won the baseball lottery so far this year.”

Lester is coming off a career year with having posted a 2.46 ERA. If the Cubs have any concern in making this move, it is that Lester is soon to be a 31-year old and has about 1,600 innings under his belt.  Still, this looks to be the move the Cubs have been waiting for the last couple seasons: a go-to ace for their rotation.

Other impactful moves the Cubs have made in the last week or so was the signing of Jason Hammel, a former Cub, to a two-year deal worth $18 million with a third-year option worth around $10 million. Hammel looks to be an impactful back-end rotation starter. In addition to these key signings, the Cubs also made a trade with the Arizona Diamondbacks, acquiring Miguel Montero, an All-Star catcher, in exchange for RHP Jerferson Mejia and RHP Zack Godfrey. This move brings a hitter who gets on base and is a top-10 framer at the catcher position, which the pitching staff could use.

On the other side of town, the White Sox were also busy during the meetings. Their standout moves began with the signing of relief pitcher David Robertson to a four-year $46 million deal. This should help plug up some of the holes in the White Sox bullpen, which was horrific last season, coming in last place in almost every category possible. The other move was the acquisition of RHP Jeff Samardzija, who spent most of his career with the Cubs before being dealt to the Oakland A’s last last season. Samardzija, once a stand-out wide receiver at the University of Notre Dame, was drafted by the Cubs back in 2006. Samardzjia is to become part of a possible elite trio of starters, slotting in between ace Chris Sale and Jose Quintana.

The last two additions the Sox made in the meeting were the signings of two players some may say are “washed up” or are “out of their prime” – RHP Zack Duke, and first baseman/DH Adam LaRoche. After the meetings, they upgraded at the left fielder position, which could have a huge effect on the outcome of the season with the signing of Melky Cabrera, who signed a three-year contract worth $42 million. Melky will look to take over the left field position which leaves Dayan Viciedo as the backup.  Don’t be surprised if you see the Cuban outfielder on the move sooner rather than later.

Both teams filled huge gaps that they were missing and added some pieces in the future.  I believe the Cubs made the better moves during the offseason with picking up three of their four needs during the meetings, but do not count the White Sox out.   I expect both teams to make a push throughout the season.

However, don’t expect most south siders to agree with me.  Asked which team he thought had the better offseason, senior Cullen Walsh quickly responded ” The Chicago White Sox – I believe they gain more experience with their players. Experience is a big part of the sport, and it could make a dramatic effect in the outcome of an important game.”

Time will tell, but at least this winter, “wait till next year” isn’t a depressing slogan.