Minor League Musings

[Rcal10]

19 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

I would be shocked if the league isn't in full swing by May 1st. 

I would agree with this. But that is still lost time. I absolutely do not think they lose an entire season. But I could see a month. A month where Ayers can be working instead of sitting. And there is also another consideration about adding Ayers to the 40 man now. Don’t they have Brown and even Steele on the 60 day IL. Same with Shelby Miller. If any of those guys can come back isn’t that another 40 man spot they have to find. If any of them is really back and healthy, IMO, any of them would be more valuable to the ‘26 team in the regular season than Ayers. I realize they can just dfa Thornton, Theilbar, or Civale to make room. But that is also something to consider.
Theone caveat I have to my POV is if the Cubs think Ayers can help them in the playoffs as a 3rd catcher (so they can pinch run for Kelly or Amaya even if one has been used already), then I can see them putting him on the 40 man. I just don’t see it if the plan doesn’t include him on the playoff roster. 

[Jason Ross]

9 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

I would agree with this. But that is still lost time. I absolutely do not think they lose an entire season. But I could see a month. A month where Ayers can be working instead of sitting. And there is also another consideration about adding Ayers to the 40 man now. Don’t they have Brown and even Steele on the 60 day IL. Same with Shelby Miller. If any of those guys can come back isn’t that another 40 man spot they have to find. If any of them is really back and healthy, IMO, any of them would be more valuable to the ‘26 team in the regular season than Ayers. I realize they can just dfa Thornton, Theilbar, or Civale to make room. But that is also something to consider.
Theone caveat I have to my POV is if the Cubs think Ayers can help them in the playoffs as a 3rd catcher (so they can pinch run for Kelly or Amaya even if one has been used already), then I can see them putting him on the 40 man. I just don’t see it if the plan doesn’t include him on the playoff roster. 

It's a month. And I think it will be in swing before then. It also means Spring Training. When I say it'll be in full swing by May 1st, it means they will be playing MLB games before then. They'll still need weeks of ST. So when he could have been in Iowa, he'll be in camp with the Cubs. It also means if the Cubs are bringing him up in September that it's with an eye on him winning a job on the MLB roster to begin 2027 with. 

It's not enough time to even care about. I think we can surmise that if the Cubs call him up in September, they certainly won't care about that time. And if the Cubs were showing again and again they can't promote young players, or that they don't have an aptitude with working with catchers, maybe we worry about it. But that the Cubs have a pretty strong recent track record with those things, it's probably just not worth fretting about that time from our standpoint.