Cubs Sign Zobrist - 4/$56M

[davell]

4/56 strikes me as way too damn much for Zobrist. Maybe I'm overly attached to Castro but given their ages are we really looking at THAT huge a difference between their next 4 years?

 

Thats actually less than I thought he'd get.

[Cubswin11]

You guys think Zobrist hits leadoff? The money seems reasonable and shouldn't be an absolute albatross of a contract, still want to see what we get for Castro and other moves before deciding how I feel overall. Edited December 9, 2015 by Cubswin11

[ctcf]

If Sherman is right and Cubs get Warren for Castro... I'm gonna actually be really happy.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

I mean, outside of the exuberance of signing a player, there aren't any *great* deals to be had on the open free agent market. Four years for a guy his age is tough to swallow.

 

But I do like this a lot in terms of how it fits with our needs. Whether we want him for 2b or RF, that's taking a highly volatile position with lots of downside for us and putting in a pretty reliable veteran who is going to be a useful player barring something very unforeseen.

 

Unless the Dodgers go on a flurry, we're going to enter ST with the best team in the NL on paper.

[Butterscup1679666578]

im very into this being a flurry of moves and tonight getting real weird

[weis21]

4/56 strikes me as way too damn much for Zobrist. Maybe I'm overly attached to Castro but given their ages are we really looking at THAT huge a difference between their next 4 years?

Fangraphs projected his overall value via WAR to eclipse 63 million over the next four years. So, while that is certainly not a sure thing or set in stone, I think 56 MM certainly doesn't seem like an overpay. Especially with no incentives or options as being reported.

[ctcf]

[squally1313]

If we give Zobrist 14MM per over four years and then cry poor on Heyward, I am going to be something a lot less than thrilled. That is unless Heyward signs for something truly outrageous.

 

Still not worth it. Unless someone signs Heyward for 14M more per year than the Cubs should pay (thinking 38-40Mil aav), then I'd still take 1 Heyward over Zobrist and whoever else they get.

 

Zobrist and Lackey right now, plus whatever other minor additions. Short term, yeah, probably Heyward. But I like the fact that the Zobrist/Lackey contracts are off the books by the time the remaining core (Bryant, Schwarbs, Russell) is up for the big money.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

If we give Zobrist 14MM per over four years and then cry poor on Heyward, I am going to be something a lot less than thrilled. That is unless Heyward signs for something truly outrageous.

 

Still not worth it. Unless someone signs Heyward for 14M more per year than the Cubs should pay (thinking 38-40Mil aav), then I'd still take 1 Heyward over Zobrist and whoever else they get.

 

I am stupid, but isn't there a big difference in total commitment? Meaning they might not be willing to shell out a financial commitment of $250 million and are comfortable with smaller deals that help now but don't effect the long-term window when trying to sign our own in a few years.

[Guest]

You guys think Zobrist hits leadoff? The money seems reasonable and shouldn't be an absolute albatross of a contract, still want to see what we get for Castro and other moves before deciding how I feel overall.

 

Heyward hits lead off.

[ctcf]

He's now obligated to have another kid and name it Cub.

[Guest]

i have to give brett some credit

 

this morning he tweeted that he was hearing cubs/zobrist stuff...nobody else was saying this at all as far as i recall (at that time). i was like "um, sure thing, dude."

[jersey cubs fan]

4/56 strikes me as way too damn much for Zobrist. Maybe I'm overly attached to Castro but given their ages are we really looking at THAT huge a difference between their next 4 years?

 

i really like castro, but you're all alone out here.

Doubtful.

[Tracer Bullet]

4/56 strikes me as way too damn much for Zobrist. Maybe I'm overly attached to Castro but given their ages are we really looking at THAT huge a difference between their next 4 years?

 

i really like castro, but you're all alone out here.

Doubtful.

 

ok, so you and andy can be swinging in the "zobrist at $14m/year is too much" tree together

[hawkeyecub]

i have to give brett some credit

 

this morning he tweeted that he was hearing cubs/zobrist stuff...nobody else was saying this at all as far as i recall (at that time). i was like "um, sure thing, dude."

 

Same here.

[jersey cubs fan]

Who cares about 7 year averaged for 35 year olds. He was very good in his prime. He's not in his prime anymore.

[RammyFanny]

[tweet]

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[minnesotacubsfan]

He's around 3 now

[rawaction]

It would be extremely odd (and honestly, somewhat of a letdown from a personal standpoint) to go from Castro, Soler and/or Baez to Zobrist, Heyward and/or random CF. I understand, still have Rizzo, Bryant, Russell and Schwarber....but jettisoning young, cheap, under long-term control talent to pay older guys for a potential shorter term (if Heyward has an opt out, this is possible), doesn't seem like something a great front office should do. And I kinda feel that they won't do that (trade Castro, then trade Soler and sign Heyward) so I'm not a fan of this potential move for if nothing else but that reason.

 

Well, the fact that we would still have Rizzo, Bryant, Russell and Schwarber is kinda big in this scenario. If we trade Castro and Soler, then they are simply trading the two worst guys of our "core," depending on if you consider Javy a part of the core. They aren't trading away the cheap, young stars. In fact, Starlin isn't really any of those things. His salary isn't really cheap anymore. It's not prohibitive or expensive really. But, he isn't pre-arb, like those other guys. And he is what he is now. He's just a guy that happens to be kinda young and under contract for awhile.

 

Trading a guy like Soler might bite us. But, he's like our fourth or fifth best pre-arb guy, anyway. And he hasn't done anything to prove that he is anywhere near the level of the guys we are actually keeping.

 

That's not how it works though. Zobrist isn't that much better than good Castro. He's not that much better than bad Castro and Baez (who would presumably take over for bad Castro at 2B), that you pay him 19Mil more over the next 4 years with 10 years of age on his side. And there's no law that you can only have 4 good pre-arb players. And if I'm trading a good pre-arb player, I want a similarly good pre-arb player at a bigger position of need.

[XZero771679666304]

If we give Zobrist 14MM per over four years and then cry poor on Heyward, I am going to be something a lot less than thrilled. That is unless Heyward signs for something truly outrageous.

 

Still not worth it. Unless someone signs Heyward for 14M more per year than the Cubs should pay (thinking 38-40Mil aav), then I'd still take 1 Heyward over Zobrist and whoever else they get.

 

I am stupid, but isn't there a big difference in total commitment? Meaning they might not be willing to shell out a financial commitment of $250 million and are comfortable with smaller deals that help now but don't effect the long-term window when trying to sign our own in a few years.

 

Well, the expectation seems to be that the payroll will really jump when the Cubs get their TV deal in 4 years or so. If that comes to pass, having the resources to re-sign some of our own players won't be as much of a concern.

[imb]

this is awesome, another versatile dude that can walk and has some pop. Can't wait for next season.

[ctcf]

[davell]

Who cares about 7 year averaged for 35 year olds. He was very good in his prime. He's not in his prime anymore.

 

You don't think he's better than Castro for the next 2 years by a considerable margin?(1-2 WAR per year)

[Guest]

sooo if we are, in fact, still in on heyward, this pretty much completely confirms TT's hunch that we have more to spend than the local beat brigade thinks, right?

 

otherwise, if trying to be as efficient as possible with every dollar so they can play in the heyward pool, this would make absolutely NO sense.

 

zobrist is an upgrade but he's an upgrade of luxury IMO. unless it's just waving the white flag on heyward and saying "well let's do what we can in FA with the money we have left."

[jersey cubs fan]

Who cares about 7 year averaged for 35 year olds. He was very good in his prime. He's not in his prime anymore.

 

You don't think he's better than Castro for the next 2 years by a considerable margin?(1-2 WAR per year)

wtf does that have to do with the statements you quoted?