Offseason Rumors

[Gilby]

We already have Ventura, his name is Arodys Vizcaino. Given the choice, I'll take the guy with a better chance at being a rotation mainstay with that type of stuff, especially given that so many of our current top pitching prospects are guys with doubts about stature(Vizcaino, Edwards) or stuff(Hendricks, Zastryzny)

 

Zimmer is the one who has had arm problems though.

[Guest]

What's the reasoning for trading Castillo when the team appears to need as much cheap talent as possible?

 

I'm not necessarily advocating for it, but if I had to come up with reasons:

 

- He's a candidate to regress next year so his value will never be higher, especially having established himself with so many years of team control

- His offensive profile(more power than OBP) is one that the front office might not want out of a "core" player with his ceiling.

- It's probably improved some since then, but as of early 2012, Castillo could barely speak in English sentences, which might be a detriment to his ability to manage pitchers(or at least be the purposeful "catcher of the immediate future").

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

We already have Ventura, his name is Arodys Vizcaino. Given the choice, I'll take the guy with a better chance at being a rotation mainstay with that type of stuff, especially given that so many of our current top pitching prospects are guys with doubts about stature(Vizcaino, Edwards) or stuff(Hendricks, Zastryzny)

 

Zimmer is the one who has had arm problems though.

 

He had shoulder stiffness and they were probably just being overly cautious.

[SouthSideRyan]

If the Cubs wanted to ship out Castillo due to his lowish walk rate, what the hell would they want with Arencibia? Edited October 24, 2013 by SouthSideRyan

[dcvalpo]

I couldn't make it work exactly right, but a 3-way deal with Castillo to LA, Kendrick to Detroit, and Porcello/Bourjos to the Cubs would seem to have appeal at some level for all 3 teams.

Paging backtobanks....

[sneakypower]

Castillo had a 2nd half where he hit .288/.388/.475, and graded out as one of the best defensive catchers in the game- i really don't envision him being moved, short of an involvement in a Stanton package

 

also, JP Arencibia walks less than Castro and Alexei Ramirez; none of this is very believable to me

[SouthSideRyan]

While I have no clue what Saltalamacchia gets, I want nothing to do with the contract McCann will wind up with.

[jersey cubs fan]

Castillo had a 2nd half where he hit .288/.388/.475, and graded out as one of the best defensive catchers in the game- i really don't envision him being moved, short of an involvement in a Stanton package

 

also, JP Arencibia walks less than Castro and Alexei Ramirez; none of this is very believable to me

he also can't hit lefties or rights

[sneakypower]

If the Cubs wanted to ship out Castillo due to his lowish walk rate, what the hell would they want with Arencibia?

sad stat: Castillo led the '13 Cubs in OBP (min. 300 PA)

[dcvalpo]

Castillo had a 2nd half where he hit .288/.388/.475, and graded out as one of the best defensive catchers in the game- i really don't envision him being moved, short of an involvement in a Stanton package

 

also, JP Arencibia walks less than Castro and Alexei Ramirez; none of this is very believable to me

he also can't hit lefties or rights

 

He also comes across as aloof when assessed by focus groups.

[SouthSideRyan]

Castillo had a 2nd half where he hit .288/.388/.475, and graded out as one of the best defensive catchers in the game- i really don't envision him being moved, short of an involvement in a Stanton package

 

also, JP Arencibia walks less than Castro and Alexei Ramirez; none of this is very believable to me

he also can't hit lefties or rights

 

And grades out poorly in the defensive ratings linked by TT(caveat, I have no idea where those numbers come from)

[SouthSideRyan]

If the Cubs wanted to ship out Castillo due to his lowish walk rate, what the hell would they want with Arencibia?

sad stat: Castillo led the '13 Cubs in OBP (min. 300 PA)

 

And you can drop it as low as 58 PAs and the only guy better was his backup

[Guest]

If the Cubs wanted to ship out Castillo due to his lowish walk rate, what the hell would they want with Arencibia?

 

The Castillo rumors are more persistent than the Arencibia mention here, but you can reconcile them because they have different goals. Arencibia is simply replacing Navarro with a guy who has hit pretty well for a catcher over the course of his career, plus is still in his prime years. There aren't a ton of backup catchers with great OBP skills. For Castillo, it's more about capitalizing on his value while also being able to give a much greater number of PAs(than Arencibia) to someone(Saltalamacchia/McCann) that have a more palatable offensive profile.

 

Not exactly how I'd do it, but I don't have all the info they do either, especially for hazy stuff like catcher defense/pitcher management.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Honestly, we've done very little to improve OBP organizationally in the last two years. I'm wondering if that's really still a philosophy.

[sneakypower]

probably not, our new philosophy is instead to make outs

[Hairyducked Idiot]

probably not, our new philosophy is instead to make outs

 

It seems to be to load up on power, even when it means accepting lower OBP to get it.

[Guest]

Honestly, we've done very little to improve OBP organizationally in the last two years. I'm wondering if that's really still a philosophy.

 

I'm more going off the media rumblings that it will be a priority, Mooney and I believe Arguello have made mention of it.

[KingCubsFan]

probably not, our new philosophy is instead to make outs

 

It seems to be to load up on power, even when it means accepting lower OBP to get it.

Other than Schierholz, I'm not sure where you're getting that idea.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

probably not, our new philosophy is instead to make outs

 

It seems to be to load up on power, even when it means accepting lower OBP to get it.

Other than Schierholz, I'm not sure where you're getting that idea.

 

Rizzo ranks higher in power than he does in OBP. Navarro has a bit more power than OBP. We were 8th in SLG last year and 14th in OBP. None of our draft picks have been OBP monsters.

[Guest]

I think the organizational philosophy is to get good productive players... OBP just happens to be a byproduct of that very often.

[KingCubsFan]

probably not, our new philosophy is instead to make outs

 

It seems to be to load up on power, even when it means accepting lower OBP to get it.

Other than Schierholz, I'm not sure where you're getting that idea.

 

Rizzo ranks higher in power than he does in OBP. Navarro has a bit more power than OBP. We were 8th in SLG last year and 14th in OBP. None of our draft picks have been OBP monsters.

Both Bryant and Almora were said to have good eyes when they were drafted. Bryant led the NCAA in walks IIRC. I think their philosophy has always been to get well-rounded players and, for the most part, OBP is a natural byproduct of that even if they're not OBP monsters.

[sneakypower]

Rizzo ranks higher in power than he does in OBP. Navarro has a bit more power than OBP. We were 8th in SLG last year and 14th in OBP. None of our draft picks have been OBP monsters.

Rizzo was top-30 in BB rate; with him as with others, the suppression our OBP most of all was caused by a league-worst BABIP, which you can attribute to whatever you wish

 

they've talked ad nauseum about working the count and controlling the strike zone, and their signings and trades so far have almost always reflect their prioritization of these things

 

you can also imagine giving 1650 PA to current iterations of Soriano, Barney and Castro was never the FO's ideal situation, but one they remain active in attempting to address (trades, instruction for changes in approach)

[Ryno12]

I'd take Raul Adalberto Mondesi in a trade with the Royals.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

I'd take Raul Adalberto Mondesi in a trade with the Royals.

 

Him and Zimmer and I'd do the deal yesterday.

[Ryno12]

I'd take Raul Adalberto Mondesi in a trade with the Royals.

 

Him and Zimmer and I'd do the deal yesterday.

 

Yep, me too. Zimmer + Ventura would be alright as well.