Cubs offseason thread

[David]

If we're in on him as aggressively as reports indicate, I consider it a little bit of reason to be optimistic about his potential to recover. A lot of the other cases of thoracic outlet syndrome that have been mentioned were guys who were pretty old and falling off already (or were crappy to begin with). And not a whole lot of cases to go off of. Guess we'll see.

[Cubswin11]

If we're in on him as aggressively as reports indicate, I consider it a little bit of reason to be optimistic about his potential to recover. A lot of the other cases of thoracic outlet syndrome that have been mentioned were guys who were pretty old and falling off already (or were crappy to begin with). And not a whole lot of cases to go off of. Guess we'll see.

It seems like such a coin toss injury to recover from but like you said if we are this interested and do sign him I'd be encouraged since the FO doesn't tend to go after the injury/reclamation guys.

[jersey cubs fan]

Surprised nobody is talking about the Ross thing at all

the really old one or the one who's missing an arm?

 

the latter (actually more accurately i believe he is missing a rib now)

 

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-hot-stove-rumors-cubs-reportedly-seem-to-be-team-most-interested-in-tyson-ross/

 

http://chicagocubsonline.com/archives/2016/12/tyson-ross-visited-cubs-week.php

 

I believe these came out after the PSD poster claiming to know that he is signing with the Cubs

Missing a rib, eh? Has he also taken up yoga?

[Proven Veteran]

the really old one or the one who's missing an arm?

 

the latter (actually more accurately i believe he is missing a rib now)

 

http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-hot-stove-rumors-cubs-reportedly-seem-to-be-team-most-interested-in-tyson-ross/

 

http://chicagocubsonline.com/archives/2016/12/tyson-ross-visited-cubs-week.php

 

I believe these came out after the PSD poster claiming to know that he is signing with the Cubs

Missing a rib, eh? Has he also taken up yoga?

He's been hanging out with Marilyn Manson a lot.

[davell]

I really want us to get Ross on a 1+ deal. The FO can get as creative as need be for it. He's a perfect upside play right now for us. Won't hurt if we miss on him, makes us that much more better if he's good. For FA, I think its him or nothing, for SP's. And that's fine, he's got more upside than any of them......

 

With or without him though, we'll fill in with some depth, at Iowa. I suspect at least one will be very intriguing, via trade. I think Rob Z goes into the season 8th or 9th on the depth chart, when he's 6th currently.

 

I feel very confident we'll add another pen arm or two, because there's going to be guys looking for jobs, that haven't found them. We'll capitalize on that for sure.

[imb]

Surprised nobody is talking about the Ross thing at all

the really old one or the one who's missing an arm?

 

the latter (actually more accurately i believe he is missing a rib now)

 

nice he did the marilyn manson. living the dream my man

[Post Count Padder]

According to Roster Resource, we have recently signed relievers Jhondaniel Medina, Maikel Cleto, and Daniel Corcino (a former Top 100 prospect) to minor league deals.

[Post Count Padder]

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[Cubswin11]

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I wonder if Uehera was Plan B then? Doubt we would've signed both.

[Post Count Padder]

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I wonder if Uehera was Plan B then? Doubt we would've signed both.

The thing with that is we were connected to Uehara during the Winter Meetings and Ziegler just signed a few days ago. So either we were a "mystery team" a couple weeks ago or Theo and Jed want a super pen.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Joe Smith might not have the GB rate that Ziegler does but the rest of the numbers are pretty damn comparable over the last 4 years. He should be quite cheap in comparison. He wouldn't be a bad addition.

[davell]

I think this might even put Blevins or Logan back on the radar? Unless we were trying to get Ziegler on a one year deal? Either way, I definitely think it means we're trying to build a super pen. With the 10 Day DL I think its possible to carry 10 quality guys and just rotate them.

[jumbo]

Surprised nobody is talking about the Ross thing at all

 

My only #hottake is that I would want teams to know the Cubs called if I was a FA.

 

So they could offer more and still see them sign with the Cubs?

[Hunter]

This off-season has been so ho-hum after winning the World Series. Such a great euphoria of winning followed by a big snooze-fest.

[Some Guy]

The election threw a moldy wet blanket over the fleeting joy of the World Series win.

[Tim]

For those that want to feel a little better about filling the rotation after this season: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-strong-free-agent-pitching-class-of-2017-18/

 

Here are the guys slated to be free agents after the 2017 season:

 

SP with opt outs:

 

Johnny Cueto

Masahiro Tanaka

Wei-Yin Chen

Ian Kennedy

 

SP slated to be FA:

 

Name 2016 WAR 2017 Projections 2017 AGE

Yu Darvish 2.7 4.5 30

Jake Arrieta 3.8 4.1 31

Michael Pineda 3.2 3.5 28

Danny Duffy 2.8 3.1 28

John Lackey 3.1 2.8 38

Tyler Chatwood 2.1 2.3 27

Jaime Garcia 1.2 2.3 30

Jeremy Hellickson 3.2 2.2 30

Bartolo Colon 2.9 2.2 44

Francisco Liriano 0.4 2.0 33

CC Sabathia 2.6 1.9 36

Jhoulys Chacin 1.6 1.9 29

Lance Lynn 0.0 1.9 30

Alex Cobb -0.1 1.6 29

Marco Estrada 3.0 1.5 33

Chris Tillman 2.4 1.4 29

Jason Vargas 0.3 1.4 34

 

This list doesn’t even include Tyson Ross, who might increase his value considerably. There’s also another list of guys who could pitch their way to relevancy, including Clay Buchholz, Andrew Cashner, Nathan Eovaldi, Miguel Gonzalez, Derek Holland, and Hector Santiago.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

The election threw a moldy wet blanket over the fleeting joy of the World Series win.

 

I hate Trump yet I still feel joy by the World Series every day, six weeks later. Like literally every day. That might make me a loser, of course, yet I won't apologize.

[The_Achiever]

The election threw a moldy wet blanket over the fleeting joy of the World Series win.

 

I hate Trump yet I still feel joy by the World Series every day, six weeks later. Like literally every day. That might make me a loser, of course, yet I won't apologize.

 

Yeah if anything it's nice to have this pocket of happiness with the world going to horsefeathers around it. I feel whole as a Cubs fan and I can't wait to watch this great team over the next 4-5 years at least (to say nothing of opening day, the ring ceremony, etc.)

[Post Count Padder]

Cubs signed Elliot Soto to a minor league deal. He was previously in the system and traded to the Marlins for Dan Haren. Soto replaces Logan Watkins, who signed with the Tigers, In Iowa.

[CubinNY]

What are they planning to do for CF?

[minnesotacubsfan]

For those that want to feel a little better about filling the rotation after this season: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-strong-free-agent-pitching-class-of-2017-18/

 

Here are the guys slated to be free agents after the 2017 season:

 

SP with opt outs:

 

Johnny Cueto

Masahiro Tanaka

Wei-Yin Chen

Ian Kennedy

 

SP slated to be FA:

 

Name 2016 WAR 2017 Projections 2017 AGE

Yu Darvish 2.7 4.5 30

Jake Arrieta 3.8 4.1 31

Michael Pineda 3.2 3.5 28

Danny Duffy 2.8 3.1 28

John Lackey 3.1 2.8 38

Tyler Chatwood 2.1 2.3 27

Jaime Garcia 1.2 2.3 30

Jeremy Hellickson 3.2 2.2 30

Bartolo Colon 2.9 2.2 44

Francisco Liriano 0.4 2.0 33

CC Sabathia 2.6 1.9 36

Jhoulys Chacin 1.6 1.9 29

Lance Lynn 0.0 1.9 30

Alex Cobb -0.1 1.6 29

Marco Estrada 3.0 1.5 33

Chris Tillman 2.4 1.4 29

Jason Vargas 0.3 1.4 34

 

This list doesn’t even include Tyson Ross, who might increase his value considerably. There’s also another list of guys who could pitch their way to relevancy, including Clay Buchholz, Andrew Cashner, Nathan Eovaldi, Miguel Gonzalez, Derek Holland, and Hector Santiago.

 

 

IAN KENNEDY!!!!'

 

 

(Tree knows)

[Cubswin11]

For those that want to feel a little better about filling the rotation after this season: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-strong-free-agent-pitching-class-of-2017-18/

 

Here are the guys slated to be free agents after the 2017 season:

 

SP with opt outs:

 

Johnny Cueto

Masahiro Tanaka

Wei-Yin Chen

Ian Kennedy

 

SP slated to be FA:

 

Name 2016 WAR 2017 Projections 2017 AGE

Yu Darvish 2.7 4.5 30

Jake Arrieta 3.8 4.1 31

Michael Pineda 3.2 3.5 28

Danny Duffy 2.8 3.1 28

John Lackey 3.1 2.8 38

Tyler Chatwood 2.1 2.3 27

Jaime Garcia 1.2 2.3 30

Jeremy Hellickson 3.2 2.2 30

Bartolo Colon 2.9 2.2 44

Francisco Liriano 0.4 2.0 33

CC Sabathia 2.6 1.9 36

Jhoulys Chacin 1.6 1.9 29

Lance Lynn 0.0 1.9 30

Alex Cobb -0.1 1.6 29

Marco Estrada 3.0 1.5 33

Chris Tillman 2.4 1.4 29

Jason Vargas 0.3 1.4 34

 

This list doesn’t even include Tyson Ross, who might increase his value considerably. There’s also another list of guys who could pitch their way to relevancy, including Clay Buchholz, Andrew Cashner, Nathan Eovaldi, Miguel Gonzalez, Derek Holland, and Hector Santiago.

Seeing those names makes me feel a lot of things, feeling good about 1 or a combination of those names filling the rotation for more than 1 year is not one of them.

[davell]

Sign Ross, get a 2 year option and he recovers to his prior form. Trade Candelario for a post hype guy that turns into a legit 2/3, as soon as we get him.

 

Sorry Theo, but this is the bar you created for yourself.

[toonsterwu]

Only way Wei-Yin Chen opts out is if he has a monster year. The bulk of the contract was backloaded, so I just don't see him bailing out after a mediocre (or bad) first year with the Marlins.

 

____

 

With the money Ross wants, I'd be surprised if he was amenable to a 2nd year option, unless it's a player option, giving him the leverage. Dunno, if his asking price is around 10 mil (I thought I read that somewhere) ... doesn't seem likely he'll take a team option on Year 2, unless it's a really big team option. Maybe I'm reading it wrong. Seems like he's hoping for a one year rebound and re-establish his market.

 

____

 

As for trading Candelario, it's a shame the Angels don't have anyone that really works, as Jeimer could definitely fit there.

 

With all their contracts and impending rising costs, one would think the Royals might be a fit for Jeimer, although not sure if there's any return that I particularly love that seems realistic.

[Tim]

For those that want to feel a little better about filling the rotation after this season: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-strong-free-agent-pitching-class-of-2017-18/

 

Here are the guys slated to be free agents after the 2017 season:

 

SP with opt outs:

 

Johnny Cueto

Masahiro Tanaka

Wei-Yin Chen

Ian Kennedy

 

SP slated to be FA:

 

Name 2016 WAR 2017 Projections 2017 AGE

Yu Darvish 2.7 4.5 30

Jake Arrieta 3.8 4.1 31

Michael Pineda 3.2 3.5 28

Danny Duffy 2.8 3.1 28

John Lackey 3.1 2.8 38

Tyler Chatwood 2.1 2.3 27

Jaime Garcia 1.2 2.3 30

Jeremy Hellickson 3.2 2.2 30

Bartolo Colon 2.9 2.2 44

Francisco Liriano 0.4 2.0 33

CC Sabathia 2.6 1.9 36

Jhoulys Chacin 1.6 1.9 29

Lance Lynn 0.0 1.9 30

Alex Cobb -0.1 1.6 29

Marco Estrada 3.0 1.5 33

Chris Tillman 2.4 1.4 29

Jason Vargas 0.3 1.4 34

 

This list doesn’t even include Tyson Ross, who might increase his value considerably. There’s also another list of guys who could pitch their way to relevancy, including Clay Buchholz, Andrew Cashner, Nathan Eovaldi, Miguel Gonzalez, Derek Holland, and Hector Santiago.

Seeing those names makes me feel a lot of things, feeling good about 1 or a combination of those names filling the rotation for more than 1 year is not one of them.

I'd feel pretty good with any of Darvish, Tanaka or Arrieta in Arrieta's role. I'd feel pretty good about a number of those starters taking Lackey's role.