Offseason Rumors & Transactions Thread

[Cubswin11]

Just read this article and I pray to god our front office is a lot smarter than these sources. Castro is very bad defensively? No, that's definitely not right. He has been a positive defender every year of his career other than 2011.

i don't know where you're seeing this, but it's very unlikely to be accurate

 

per UZR*, he's only been positive once (2012), but to be fair he's never been a huge overall liability at SS, either; in fact, it's probably safe to project him to give back half a win with his glove, which is perfectly fine if he still hits .280

 

all & all, i'd eventually just move him to 2B if i got glowing reviews on Russell's glovework

 

 

*fielding bible & totalzone are even slightly less forgiving

I'm guessing Fangraphs, he's positive in their Def column every year other than 2011.

[SouthSideRyan]

MLBRosterMoves ‏@MLBRosterMoves 2m2 minutes ago

The @Mets sign OF Michael Cuddyer to 2-year deal. #HotStove

 

 

So the Mets give up 15th pick for the right to sign this guy? Is this a sign they plan on signing multiple QO types?

 

I would hope so because otherwise, that's silly.

 

It's like a throwback to the Hendry days if that's their biggest signing of the offseason. How can you value a top 15 pick so lightly?

 

What is it exactly that you think the Hendry days were?

[jersey cubs fan]

MLBRosterMoves ‏@MLBRosterMoves 2m2 minutes ago

The @Mets sign OF Michael Cuddyer to 2-year deal. #HotStove

 

 

So the Mets give up 15th pick for the right to sign this guy? Is this a sign they plan on signing multiple QO types?

 

I would hope so because otherwise, that's silly.

 

It's like a throwback to the Hendry days if that's their biggest signing of the offseason. How can you value a top 15 pick so lightly?

 

What is it exactly that you think the Hendry days were?

I remember the Hawkins signing pissing me off since it was just a reliever that lost them the pick. But I don't remember that being a pattern.

[Guest]

Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 38s38 seconds ago

Cuddyer gor $21M for 2 years from #mets

[SouthSideRyan]

So did the Rockies just want the pick? Or did Cuddyer hate Colorado?

[jersey cubs fan]

Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 38s38 seconds ago

Cuddyer gor $21M for 2 years from #mets

 

Huh?

 

He either really wanted out of Colorado (was he an anti-drug guy?) or is convinced he will suck in 2015.

[Guest]

Could be a playing time thing, Cuddyer would be about the 8th best outfielder in Colorado.

[Cubswin11]

Jon Heyman ‏@JonHeymanCBS 38s38 seconds ago

Cuddyer gor $21M for 2 years from #mets

 

Huh?

 

He either really wanted out of Colorado (was he an anti-drug guy?) or is convinced he will suck in 2015.

I mean an additional $6 million isn't insignificant for a guy who may never get a contract again, seeing as he's in his mid 30's and was hurt a ton last year.

[sneakypower]

Just read this article and I pray to god our front office is a lot smarter than these sources. Castro is very bad defensively? No, that's definitely not right. He has been a positive defender every year of his career other than 2011.

i don't know where you're seeing this, but it's very unlikely to be accurate

 

per UZR*, he's only been positive once (2012), but to be fair he's never been a huge overall liability at SS, either; in fact, it's probably safe to project him to give back half a win with his glove, which is perfectly fine if he still hits .280

 

all & all, i'd eventually just move him to 2B if i got glowing reviews on Russell's glovework

 

 

*fielding bible & totalzone are even slightly less forgiving

I'm guessing Fangraphs, he's positive in their Def column every year other than 2011.

that's because he plays SS; positional adjustment gives you back 7.5 runs per full season

 

about 3/4 of starting SS are rated positively defensively after that is factored in

[MWV]

So did the Rockies just want the pick? Or did Cuddyer hate Colorado?

Rox get the 15th overall pick, and don't have to pay Cuddyer? I think he loves Colorado.

[Cubswin11]

Just read this article and I pray to god our front office is a lot smarter than these sources. Castro is very bad defensively? No, that's definitely not right. He has been a positive defender every year of his career other than 2011.

i don't know where you're seeing this, but it's very unlikely to be accurate

 

per UZR*, he's only been positive once (2012), but to be fair he's never been a huge overall liability at SS, either; in fact, it's probably safe to project him to give back half a win with his glove, which is perfectly fine if he still hits .280

 

all & all, i'd eventually just move him to 2B if i got glowing reviews on Russell's glovework

 

 

*fielding bible & totalzone are even slightly less forgiving

I'm guessing Fangraphs, he's positive in their Def column every year other than 2011.

that's because he plays SS; positional adjustment gives you back 7.5 runs per full season

 

so he's just saying "he's been better than -7.5 as a fielder every year...", which is true of about 3/4 of starting SS

I was just pointing to where I thought he got the number from, not that I agree with what he said.

[SouthSideRyan]

So did the Rockies just want the pick? Or did Cuddyer hate Colorado?

Rox get the 15th overall pick, and don't have to pay Cuddyer? I think he loves Colorado.

 

They get a sandwich pick. The 15th pick just disappears.

[MWV]

So did the Rockies just want the pick? Or did Cuddyer hate Colorado?

Rox get the 15th overall pick, and don't have to pay Cuddyer? I think he loves Colorado.

 

They get a sandwich pick. The 15th pick just disappears.

Ahh yeah. Forgot. Thanks.

[Cubswin11]

I'm guessing they go hard after Hanley now, it makes no sense to give up a pick and only sign Cuddyer and they are pretty set in pitching so I doubt they go after a Shields/Scherzer.

[Guest]

Ken Rosenthal ‏@Ken_Rosenthal 1m1 minute ago

Source: Liriano declines #Pirates’ qualifying offer.

 

yay

[Cubswin11]

According to MLBTR these are all the guys who declined their QO's, once again nobody has ever accepted a QO;

 

Max Scherzer, Victor Martinez, Hanley Ramirez, Pablo Sandoval, James Shields, Russell Martin, Nelson Cruz, David Robertson, Ervin Santana, Francisco Liriano, Melky Cabrera and Michael Cuddyer

[apete6]

MLBRosterMoves ‏@MLBRosterMoves 2m2 minutes ago

The @Mets sign OF Michael Cuddyer to 2-year deal. #HotStove

 

 

So the Mets give up 15th pick for the right to sign this guy? Is this a sign they plan on signing multiple QO types?

 

I would hope so because otherwise, that's silly.

 

It's like a throwback to the Hendry days if that's their biggest signing of the offseason. How can you value a top 15 pick so lightly?

 

What is it exactly that you think the Hendry days were?

I remember the Hawkins signing pissing me off since it was just a reliever that lost them the pick. But I don't remember that being a pattern.

 

That was the main (only?) loss of a first round pick. But, also the general love for veteran guys and complete disregard for spending/investing in the farm system.

[jersey cubs fan]

That was the main (only?) loss of a first round pick. But, also the general love for veteran guys and complete disregard for spending/investing in the farm system.

 

It's not like they didn't try, they just sucked at it.

[apete6]

That was the main (only?) loss of a first round pick. But, also the general love for veteran guys and complete disregard for spending/investing in the farm system.

 

It's not like they didn't try, they just sucked at it.

 

I don't know if you could say they tried very hard. They didn't seem to care about acquiring players just to get draft picks like the Red Sox did and rarely overslotted (Samardzija is the only one I can think of).

 

Or maybe it's just the awful development that's clouding my judgement. Josh Vitters will haunt my dreams forever.

[jersey cubs fan]

That was the main (only?) loss of a first round pick. But, also the general love for veteran guys and complete disregard for spending/investing in the farm system.

 

It's not like they didn't try, they just sucked at it.

 

I don't know if you could say they tried very hard. They didn't seem to care about acquiring players just to get draft picks like the Red Sox did and rarely overslotted (Samardzija is the only one I can think of).

 

Or maybe it's just the awful development that's clouding my judgement. Josh Vitters will haunt my dreams forever.

Hendry got the GM job on the strength of the job he did rebuilding the farm system in the 90's. He actually did a pretty good job at that. He did not take advantage of the Cubs financial strength and he wasn't as smart about how he did it as the smart teams, obviously.

[SouthSideRyan]

That was the main (only?) loss of a first round pick. But, also the general love for veteran guys and complete disregard for spending/investing in the farm system.

 

It's not like they didn't try, they just sucked at it.

 

I don't know if you could say they tried very hard. They didn't seem to care about acquiring players just to get draft picks like the Red Sox did and rarely overslotted (Samardzija is the only one I can think of).

 

Or maybe it's just the awful development that's clouding my judgement. Josh Vitters will haunt my dreams forever.

 

They had at least one draft where they did some overslotting but everyone was terrible. Josh Lansford and Drew Rundle stick out in my memory

[Guest]

That was the main (only?) loss of a first round pick. But, also the general love for veteran guys and complete disregard for spending/investing in the farm system.

 

It's not like they didn't try, they just sucked at it.

 

I don't know if you could say they tried very hard. They didn't seem to care about acquiring players just to get draft picks like the Red Sox did and rarely overslotted (Samardzija is the only one I can think of).

 

Or maybe it's just the awful development that's clouding my judgement. Josh Vitters will haunt my dreams forever.

 

They had at least one draft where they did some overslotting but everyone was terrible. Josh Lansford and Drew Rundle stick out in my memory

 

Lansford wasn't overslotted. It was Rundle and Chris Huseby ($1.1 million bonus for a guy who had like a one sentence writeup in BA!).

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I don't know if you could say they tried very hard. They didn't seem to care about acquiring players just to get draft picks like the Red Sox did and rarely overslotted (Samardzija is the only one I can think of).

.

 

The Cubs were one of the pioneers of overslotting and had several years where they went huge.

 

It only went away for a few years at the end when the Tribune was ready to sell and told Hendry to go into scorched earth mode.

[Cubswin11]

I read a crazy comment on an article about the Cuddyer signing, but I guess it could be plausible. Basically the Mets-Rockies are working on a trade for Tulo or Cargo and they agreed to sign Cuddyer so the pick the Rockies get is part of the trade for 1 of those guys. Again, highly unlikely.

[Post Count Padder]

Didn't we throw around the idea of Edwin Jackson for Ethier as a change-of-scenery trade? Is that something people would still be interested in? I'd imagine it would take more on each side regarding extra players and $$$. Didn't the metrics say Ethier is a passable CFer?