Mesa, Ariz.

Tyler Chatwood thought he knew what to expect when he met with the Chicago Cubs this offseason to discuss the possibility of joining them as a free agent. He assumed he would hear plenty about the Cubs’ recent on-field success, their plan for him in the starting rotation and, of course, the boatload of money they could offer to lure him.

Instead, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer took the conversation in a direction that surprised and disarmed him: They recommended the best physicians and hospitals in the area for his pregnant wife.

“They had never met me or my wife, and they were giving me doctors’ names,” said Chatwood, a 28-year-old right-hander. “They were already going to put us in contact with the OB/GYN over there.”

He signed a three-year, $38 million contract with the Cubs shortly thereafter.