Cubs Sign Zobrist - 4/$56M

[squally1313]

 

I don't see how this spells the end of Baez. Zobrist in his late 30s isn't going to be playing every day as it is. He can spot Schwarber against tough lefties (or if they keep up the catching experiment), Soler in big outfields, Bryant if they want him in the outfield for those reasons. Someone broke down a realistic PA split of the players we had about a month ago that got everyone plenty of ABs, and I don't think anything has changed since then, besides that Zobrist is capable of filling in more spots than Castro was able to.

 

And that's before this Baez to CF thing.

 

Eh. He missed 36 games this year, and was on the DL for a month exactly. Javy is almost in the same boat as he was an hour ago. Fighting for playing time for those same reasons. But the biggest factor in him getting PT was if Castro was one of the worst hitters in baseball again next year. Zobrist isn't going to be bad enough to sit.

 

And I realize this sounds stupid, because I'm basically complaining about a player being too good. But my gripe is more based on the fact the Cubs paid more money to get 10 years older and possibly only marginally better (depending on Castro and Baez's performance), when they have other needs.

 

We've still got an injury prone right fielder, a shortstop that missed some time, and a third baseman that inexplicably got pulled from games once a month or so, plus could be our backup center fielder next year. Zobrist or Baez can fill those spots when they pop up.

 

I get the age thing, but at the end of the day they're betting on Warren + Zobrist being $18m (plus Warren's cheap contract) better over the next four years. Assuming Zobrist can at least even out on the defensive metrics, which I think is fair, I'd take the Cubs side of the bet.

 

If Javy proves he belongs in the starting lineup, they'll find a spot for him.

[UMFan83]

And I realize this sounds stupid, because I'm basically complaining about a player being too good. But my gripe is more based on the fact the Cubs paid more money to get 10 years older and possibly only marginally better (depending on Castro and Baez's performance), when they have other needs.

 

Compare Baez's K rate to Zobrist and Castro's walk rate/OBP to Zobrist

 

Do good contact hitters generally lose that ability as they get older and their bat slows or does it depend on the guy?

[Productive Outs]

How much are we going to attribute Zobrist's 2015 season to his knee injury? I know he performed offensively after getting over the injury, but did he have lingering range, lateral quickness, etc issues the whole year? Defensively, his 2015 was basically awful.

 

Is it simply the fact that he's in his mid 30s? I will say that it's generally a bad idea to place much emphasis on single year defensive metrics, but his age makes me more worried about his defense. He's what, a 4-5 win player with average defense last year?

[PrimeTime]

Adam Rubin ✔ @AdamRubinESPN

"It's disappointing. I'm going to be honest." -- John Ricco on Ben Zobrist decision.

[davell]

Adam Rubin ✔ @AdamRubinESPN

"It's disappointing. I'm going to be honest." -- John Ricco on Ben Zobrist decision.

 

They tried their asses off for him. From appearances, we came in late and fucked them. I love it.

[Guest]

Adam Rubin ✔ @AdamRubinESPN

"It's disappointing. I'm going to be honest." -- John Ricco on Ben Zobrist decision.

 

They tried their asses off for him. From appearances, we came in late and [expletive] them. I love it.

 

apparently was their plan A for the offseason and didn't have a plan B

 

wonder how hard they'll go after murphy

[Guest]

Zobrist after his DL stint this year:

 

.295/.365/.456 in 479 PA

 

.355 wOBA, 127 wRC+ 12% BB 11% K .175 ISO

[Guest]

Zobrist after his DL stint this year:

 

.295/.365/.456 in 479 PA

 

.355 wOBA, 127 wRC+ 12% BB 11% K .175 ISO

 

not bad.

[Derwood]

Zobrist after his DL stint this year:

 

.295/.365/.456 in 479 PA

 

.355 wOBA, 127 wRC+ 12% BB 11% K .175 ISO

 

But he's 34 so really that's just like .100/.100/.100

[Post Count Padder]

Should sell the Mets on Mendy now lol.

[ctcf]

[ctcf]

I love that Theo told Sahadev Sharma to his face he wasn't sure they'd get any deals done at the meetings like an hour before this all happened.

[Gilby]

I love that Theo told Sahadev Sharma to his face he wasn't sure they'd get any deals done at the meetings like an hour before this all happened.

 

Especially since I imagine Sahadev is the only Cubs' writer Theo and Jed don't mock behind closed doors.

[ctcf]

I love that Theo told Sahadev Sharma to his face he wasn't sure they'd get any deals done at the meetings like an hour before this all happened.

 

Especially since I imagine Sahadev is the only Cubs' writer Theo and Jed don't mock behind closed doors.

 

Hahaha. although to be fair I'd be surprised if they didn't like Mooney. He seems like a pretty good guy.

[Guest]

I love that Theo told Sahadev Sharma to his face he wasn't sure they'd get any deals done at the meetings like an hour before this all happened.

 

Especially since I imagine Sahadev is the only Cubs' writer Theo and Jed don't mock behind closed doors.

 

Hahaha. although to be fair I'd be surprised if they didn't like Mooney. He seems like a pretty good guy.

Everyone forgets poor Bruce Miles since they put that stupid paywall up.

[Geech]

I really love this set of deals. I didn't hate Castro at all, but the dude was awful two out of the past three years. This is an excellent set of moves.

[seanimal]

If so, davell only one have happiness here

 

i don't know what it says about me that i thought this was funny but whatever life's too short

[Cubswin11]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

[Bobson Dugnutt]

 

damn

 

Travis Wood?

[Guest]

[Elrhino]

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.

 

It's swapping out Starlin for Zobrist for $15 million more over the next four years + whatever we get back in a Starlin trade. I think it is brilliant.

Just the insurance against having one of the worst position players in baseball when bad Castro appears (for many months at a time) is worth it for a team that can be the best in the NL for the next three years

[Guest]

these are, um, some hot takes

 

http://www.whitesoxinteractive.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=144160

[Guest]

So, I guess the best case scenario is that we just added a 5+ win player to the roster for $10.5M in 2016. It is even a pretty realistic scenario if you buy his defense comes back with a healthy knee.

[Guest]

Expanding upon that thought...

 

The Cubs could have five (5!) five win players in the field in 2016 if they sign Heyward. He, Bryant and Rizzo are all projected there. Zobrist could make it pretty easily with a healthy knee. Schwarber could also reach that plateau. Heck, as good a defender as he is, Russell could reach that level, too.

 

That's pretty much insane.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Expanding upon that thought...

 

The Cubs could have five (5!) five win players in the field in 2016 if they sign Heyward. He, Bryant and Rizzo are all projected there. Zobrist could make it pretty easily with a healthy knee. Schwarber could also reach that plateau. Heck, as good a defender as he is, Russell could reach that level, too.

 

That's pretty much insane.

 

5 is probably Lester's 70th percentile projection.