Cubs Sign John Lackey - 2 years $32M per Rosenthal

[Aaron_Kennelly]

*On the first day of Spring Training*

 

"OK, John, here we have Kris, our star young third baseman. Over there are Jon and David, who you already know, of course. Here's Javier, our young, slugging "hacker," as you so eloquently put it. Oh, and here is our All-Star first baseman, Anthony, who is a cancer survivor and spends a large amount of his spare time visiting sick kids in the hospital."

 

his good buddy jon is also a cancer surviver, just saying

 

Yeah, I know, but that doesn't make my hypothetical story seem as awkward.

[Fro]

I like it. Better value than some of the other second-tier starters and actually less risk than handing out a 5-6 year deal to a younger guy. He's consistently been good (was great last year) and eats innings. Veteran pitcher with playoff experience, etc.

 

I don't care about the draft pick since that money can be dumped into IFA signings.

[abuck1220]

I hope he pitches well.

 

interesting

[abuck1220]

hadn't thought of it like that

[davell]

This move looks better now that Greinke is off the market and SF and LA are both looking for FA pitching.

[Guest]

I don't really like this move in a vacuum, but if it allows us to go after Heyward, Gordon or Upton (more so on the latter 2 if Soler is dealt) I don't mind it as much.

 

in a vacuum how could you not love it? it's almost guaranteed neutral value with some potential for solid surplus plus very short term commitment.

 

it's outside said vacuum that you can find reasons to not like it, IMO

 

How does one of the loyal knights of the [expletive] Pitchers table call this almost guaranteed neutral value.

 

oh btw im liking this for being called one of the loyal knights of the [expletive] pitchers table

[Gingerballs Lives]

I think lackey is a douche too but I think the fact that we have Lester and Ross softens it a bit. I think it'll make it easier to connect locker room wise to the young guys. Hopefully he pitches like he did last year (or close to it).

[CubsWin]

His character aside, getting a strong viable #3 with this short of a commitment is much less risky than throwing 5 years at Shark or someone comparable. With a rotation of

 

Arrieta

Lester

Lackey

Hammel

Henderson

 

Our rotation is already one of the better ones in the league. If we can find a #4 via trade, than I think we're a solid defensive CF, we'll be one of, if not the most well rounded teams in the league.

 

Is that Rickey or Dave?

Alvarez.

[Guest]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

 

Chicken and beer are bonding dinners?

[UMFan83]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

 

Chicken and beer are bonding dinners?

 

Sure, when Tito brings the painkillers

[Cubbie Swagger]

My biggest fear is that last year will turn out to be his last decent year. This is gonna look pretty silly if he puts up a 4.40 ERA or ends up on the DL or something.

 

As far as his personality, I would be more worried if he hadn't already played with half of our organization before. If he was that big of a "clubhouse cancer", I'm guessing Theo, Lester, Ross, etc. wouldn't be down with this.

 

On the plus side, he's not a Cardinal anymore. I'm still bummed that Price and Zimmermann turned out to be pipe dreams, though. I spent all year getting my hopes up.

[Guest]

[Derwood]

 

That would be great, but is ZIPS ever right?

[Guest]

 

That would be great, but is ZIPS ever right?

 

this [expletive] guy

[Guest]

wasn't zips one of the most bullish on the cubs going into 2015? (i might be remembering wrong...help me out, kyle)

[Derwood]

 

That would be great, but is ZIPS ever right?

 

this [expletive] guy

 

I'm serious. It gets thrown around every off season, but I never see anyone revisit it at season's end. I'm curious what their hit rate is (not exact numbers, obviously, but within a close variance)

[Guest]

 

That would be great, but is ZIPS ever right?

 

this [expletive] guy

 

I'm serious. It gets thrown around every off season, but I never see anyone revisit it at season's end. I'm curious what their hit rate is (not exact numbers, obviously, but within a close variance)

 

http://tangotiger.com/index.php/boards/viewthread/442/

 

ZiPS was the most accurate projection system last year. Coming in second was Fangraphs' ZiPS/Steamer mix.

[Derwood]

Thanks!

[toonsterwu]

Perfectly fine with this. I'm not that fond of John Lackey, but on a 2 year deal, vs. what the rest of the market might cost? That's great.

[seanimal]

when santa checks his list twice, he's going to see that i've made a revision

 

[Tryptamine]

Not particularly thrilled, but ok with this deal, as there were about half a dozen options I would have preferred including Iwakuma if we were going old man on short term deal route. If this deal allows the Cubs to go after Gordon or Heyward than that's awesome, however; if the Cubs still end up with Austin Jackson then I'm going to be more than a little pissed off.

[XZero771679666304]

From a baseball move perspective, I kinda like it. From a fan perspective, I can't stand the guy.

 

This.

[CubsWin]

Perfectly fine with this. I'm not that fond of John Lackey, but on a 2 year deal, vs. what the rest of the market might cost? That's great.

Yes. The deal by itself is kinda meh. When looking at it from 2014's off season perspective, giving a 37-year-old pitcher 16 million is a little ridiculous. Getting Lackey over one of the guys that were still available is just okay. They each have their drawbacks. (In Lackey's case, it's his age and his face.)

 

But getting him for only 2 years and at 16 million per is really pretty great when put in context with the other deals that have gone down so far this off season. It's a new era in free agency, and for where the Cubs are in their roster make-up and window of contention, I'd take this deal over all the ones signed thus far. Over the next two seasons, will there really be that much difference between Lackey and Zimmerman?

 

Next year, if he isn't traded before then, Hammel will be gone (assuming his option isn't picked up, and if it is it means he will have pitched well). That frees up 10 million, I believe. Lackey's 16 mill comes off the year after that when Arrieta's deal is up. That buys time for players like Soler, Castro and Baez to better establish and possibly improve their value as trade pieces. The Cubs will know more about whether Edwards, Underwood and others are viable major league starters. The value of other prospects like Almora, McKinney, Contreras, Torres, Candelario and Vogelbach will be better established for trade purposes as well. All of these factors support the length and timing of this contract.

[Cubbie Swagger]

This only doesn't make sense is if he is the best or most talented pitcher picked up this offseason.

Uh, that is already true by default. All the pitchers that are better than Lackey have already signed besides Cueto, but we aren't signing Cueto.

 

Unless we trade for someone.

[NOLA]

This signing really puts the Cards in a perilous situation with their SP. Barring any moves, here is what they look like in 2016:

1. Wainwright

2. Martinez

3. Wacha

4. Garcia

5. Lyons