Cubs trading Soler to KC for Wade Davis

[David]

[tweet]

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GROAN

 

(not that a physical was going to magically tell us his UCL is about to blow up)

Edited December 7, 2016 by David

[Bryants Disco Ball]

This package seems cheaper than the one we gave up for three months of Chapman. If healthy, Davis can be pretty damn elite, too. And if he is, we give him the QO next season and get a pick.

 

Pretty good potential value for an always injured DH who might be lucky to ever hit 25 dongs playing at Kaufman.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

[tweet]

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GROAN

 

(not that a physical was going to magically tell us his UCL is about to blow up)

 

Yeah, that seems irresponsible.

[David]

[tweet]

[/tweet]

 

GROAN

 

(not that a physical was going to magically tell us his UCL is about to blow up)

 

Yeah, that seems irresponsible.

 

Well, I don't think KC has any obligation to allow it.

 

I just don't really like it.

[Southpaw19]

This package seems cheaper than the one we gave up for three months of Chapman. If healthy, Davis can be pretty damn elite, too. And if he is, we give him the QO next season and get a pick.

 

Pretty good potential value for an always injured DH who might be lucky to ever hit 25 dongs playing at Kaufman.

 

That rule is going away, beginning next offseason. Will not apply to Davis.

[17 Seconds]

ingrates

[David]

What is Wade's entrance music?

 

It better not be some horsefeathering redneck country BS like Lester and Lackey.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

This package seems cheaper than the one we gave up for three months of Chapman. If healthy, Davis can be pretty damn elite, too. And if he is, we give him the QO next season and get a pick.

 

Pretty good potential value for an always injured DH who might be lucky to ever hit 25 dongs playing at Kaufman.

 

That rule is going away, beginning next offseason. Will not apply to Davis.

 

The QO will still exist, although the details are far less clear. Assuming the Cubs offer and Davis declines, the Cubs would get some type of pick compensation. The exact pick depends on the contract Davis signs and the Cubs standing re: the luxury tax. Maybe their spot in the revenue sharing pecking order too, it's all become a bit arcane. But what is clear is that the 'offer a QO, get a pick if they decline in sign elsewhere' mechanism has not gone away.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

This package seems cheaper than the one we gave up for three months of Chapman. If healthy, Davis can be pretty damn elite, too. And if he is, we give him the QO next season and get a pick.

 

Pretty good potential value for an always injured DH who might be lucky to ever hit 25 dongs playing at Kaufman.

 

That rule is going away, beginning next offseason. Will not apply to Davis.

 

Whoa. Do we still get a pick if he leaves, but we don't have to make him a QO or we don't get a pick either way?

 

Edit: TT answered this already.

Edited December 7, 2016 by Bryant's Disco Ball

[Transmogrified Tiger]

What is Wade's entrance music?

 

It better not be some horsefeathering redneck country BS like Lester and Lackey.

 

More than one google result tells me it's this:

 

[Aaron_Kennelly]

If they are really after Otani or Harper, this is the right move. I have loved Jansen for years but $90-$100 million for a closer just sounds like something you look back on and go "oh yeah that was dumb." Part of the reason we won so many games last year was because our SP was awesome, and this is likely the last year or Arrieta, so it makes sense to me to not to go into the season with a questionable pen.

 

I think there's some logic there, but to get to that point requires some pessimism about their current level of spending.

 

2016: 170 million payroll upped to 180 midseason

2017: By adding Davis and subtracting Soler, they're basically at 160 with a full roster only needing a SP to bump Zastryzny off and Montgomery to the bullpen. They also added 300k fans and won a world series

2018: 63 million in FA departures, including 2 SP, Strop, and a bunch of lesser parts(Jay, Duensing, Montero). Bryant and Russell hit arbitration. Otani maybe available but current news says no.

2019: Only Rondon leaves in FA, Schwarber, Baez, and Montgomery hit arbitration, Harper, Machado, maybe Otani available

2020: New TV Deal, Zobrist and Grimm FAs, Otani definitely available

 

In other words, with the world series win and uptick in attendance, there should be some payroll growth that you can probably set aside to make sure the core's pre-FA increases are taken care of. That might get a little tricky in 2019 but that's also 3 years from now, who knows what the roster will look like. If you make that assumption, then you've got lots of cash and basically only 2 rotation spots to fill(and I guess CF if Almora fails), along with ensuring the bullpen is strong.

 

Yeah, the saving money idea makes perfect sense to me. There are some really good players that will become available soon. And we'll have the money to go after them. It's not necessarily that we are saving money now. It's that we don't want tied down with guys we don't want/need three years from now. For that reason the Jay-for-Fowler swap makes a lot more sense. We've already got the rest of the lineup locked up. We might have an alternative in Almora that can ride his defense to being worth holding onto. If that's the case, we might be looking back a year or two from now and wondering why the hell we signed Fowler. There are some concerns with Fowler, after all. He's into his 30s and has been a bad defender for most of his career before coming here. And if the Jay/Almora thing doesn't work out, we can still fix it by giving up even more of these assets that are there to be used.

 

I don't think I'd ever look back and wonder why we have this stud closer on the roster, though. We certainly can afford it. Now and in the future. And now is the perfect time to strike, since, you know, there's one (several, actually) available.

[David]

What is Wade's entrance music?

 

It better not be some horsefeathering redneck country BS like Lester and Lackey.

 

More than one google result tells me it's this:

 

 

While I'm pleasantly surprised, that seems pretty low key for a closer.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

What is Wade's entrance music?

 

It better not be some horsefeathering redneck country BS like Lester and Lackey.

 

More than one google result tells me it's this:

 

 

While I'm pleasantly surprised, that seems pretty low key for a closer.

 

His nickname is the cyborg, maybe you can relate to him that way.

[JennieGarthAlgar]

Its so hard to see a guy like Georgie go. I invested a lot of time into following his development and career, and I hope he reaches his potential in KC. It sucks knowing that he won't become the monster Cub we all hoped he would become, but its nice reminding myself that I was in person for Game 2 of the World Series and saw this lineup, the kind that I dreamed about for 4 years:

 

Fowler

Bryant

Rizzo

Zobrist

Schwarber

Baez

Contreras

Soler

Russell

 

Mission: Accomplished, Georgie. Thank you and good luck.

[Irrelevant Dude]

If they are really after Otani or Harper, this is the right move. I have loved Jansen for years but $90-$100 million for a closer just sounds like something you look back on and go "oh yeah that was dumb." Part of the reason we won so many games last year was because our SP was awesome, and this is likely the last year or Arrieta, so it makes sense to me to not to go into the season with a questionable pen.

 

I think there's some logic there, but to get to that point requires some pessimism about their current level of spending.

 

2016: 170 million payroll upped to 180 midseason

2017: By adding Davis and subtracting Soler, they're basically at 160 with a full roster only needing a SP to bump Zastryzny off and Montgomery to the bullpen. They also added 300k fans and won a world series

2018: 63 million in FA departures, including 2 SP, Strop, and a bunch of lesser parts(Jay, Duensing, Montero). Bryant and Russell hit arbitration. Otani maybe available but current news says no.

2019: Only Rondon leaves in FA, Schwarber, Baez, and Montgomery hit arbitration, Harper, Machado, maybe Otani available

2020: New TV Deal, Zobrist and Grimm FAs, Otani definitely available

 

In other words, with the world series win and uptick in attendance, there should be some payroll growth that you can probably set aside to make sure the core's pre-FA increases are taken care of. That might get a little tricky in 2019 but that's also 3 years from now, who knows what the roster will look like. If you make that assumption, then you've got lots of cash and basically only 2 rotation spots to fill(and I guess CF if Almora fails), along with ensuring the bullpen is strong.

It would be nice to use the current payroll flexibility to extend a few of the young hitters before they hit arbitration, but with Bryant and Russell being Boras clients, and Schwarber coming off an injury, those options may be limited.

 

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

[ConstableRabbit]

What is Wade's entrance music?

 

It better not be some horsefeathering redneck country BS like Lester and Lackey.

I'm hoping he steals N Together Now from Cahill.

[JudasIscariotTheBird]

Done pending physicals?

 

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/12/07/cubs-acquire-wade-davis-from-royals-in-exchange-for-jorge-soler/

 

What was all this "no physicals" talk?

[jersey cubs fan]

Done pending physicals?

 

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/12/07/cubs-acquire-wade-davis-from-royals-in-exchange-for-jorge-soler/

 

What was all this "no physicals" talk?

 

I think the physical examination talk may actually be doctor's reviewing each other's reports on the player, rather than putting the player through an actual hands on physical.

[KingCubsFan]

What is Wade's entrance music?

 

It better not be some horsefeathering redneck country BS like Lester and Lackey.

 

More than one google result tells me it's this:

 

My enthusiasm for this trade just went up ten-fold.

[squally1313]

This feels like a weird deal to make in December. Davis has been great, though his general trend line and health aren't exactly promising. I guess I was just hoping we'd be putting all our eggs into the young cost controlled starter basket, although maybe I'm just overrating soler's actual value.

 

Like others have said though, it does look like we aren't going to be quiet when the big names become available, which is exciting.

[TMan92]

I'm excited about this. Soler is the guy who will absolutely tantalize and tease you with his talent. He's immensely talented, but way too injury prone and completely blocked in the corners for the foreseeable future. I understand that giving him up means an opportunity may go away for a young, cost controlled starter, but don't you think Theo and Jed would have done it by now if the deal presented itself to them and it made sense?

 

Exactly. Not sure where the hell he plays with the people we have in the outfield at this point.

[David]

I'm excited about this. Soler is the guy who will absolutely tantalize and tease you with his talent. He's immensely talented, but way too injury prone and completely blocked in the corners for the foreseeable future. I understand that giving him up means an opportunity may go away for a young, cost controlled starter, but don't you think Theo and Jed would have done it by now if the deal presented itself to them and it made sense?

 

Exactly. Not sure where the hell he plays with the people we have in the outfield at this point.

 

I was fine with trading Soler, I just don't like it being for one year of an injured (again, very good) closer.

 

That said, keeping our roster mix and the flexibility and injury protection that the depth allows (not that Soler himself is all that flexible - he's just another option in the mix) is pretty great in itself and I think the "where will everyone play?!" question is really overstated. Last year is a perfect example.

[TMan92]

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Not as hard to find when there are at least a couple of them available as free agents currently though.

 

And this is why you are not an MLB GM.

[UK]

Didn't read the thread but I'm pleased with the move. Soler doesn't have a role as a platoon player, poor defense, and oft injured.

 

If you can get a legit closer without spending 5/75 (which is unlikely with this organization) by giving up this generation's Glenallen Hill, so be it.

[BigbadB]

Exactly. Not sure where the hell he plays with the people we have in the outfield at this point.

 

I'm not really sure I want to see the Cubs use Schwarber as a straight platoon. I'd like to see him become an everyday player. Given that he will likely sit a lot versus lefties, I'd probably still rather see Contreras or Zobrist out there ahead of Soler. The Cubs can time their behind the plate rest days for Contreras for an upcoming lefty matchup where he can play LF.