Rule 5 draft/40 man roster

[Post Count Padder]

Martin looks interesting enough and I'm sure he'll get taken by someone but I also think Dietrich or Spangenberg would be a better use of a roster spot next season, assuming we get someone to replace seal boy.

 

Who do we think we're losing in the draft? I feel like it's almost guaranteed someone will take a shot on Clifton.

[CubsWin]

Oh duh, I’d actually consider Richie Martin in the ML portion of the Rule V draft. A quality glove first backup MIF is on my imaginary list of needs, as cheap as possibly possible and preferably a RHH. Martin’s got a deep reputation defensively for a prospect that should give him a better shot than most Rule V guys to stick.

 

MLB.com made a list with one interesting Rule V guy from each team:

 

https://www.mlb.com/news/top-prospects-eligible-for-the-rule-5-draft/c-301040298?tid=151437456

 

Pretty weak group so might need a little luck

Nah, I'd much rather have a back-up SS with major league experience for a team like this. Now is not the time to try to develop a AA guy in the majors. Martin hasn't even seen time in AAA yet.

[CubsWin]

Nah, I'd much rather have a back-up SS with major league experience for a team like this. Now is not the time to try to develop a AA guy in the majors. Martin hasn't even seen time in AAA yet.

 

I see this job as one a young, unproven player can do as it requires young player skills (defense, more pinch running than pinch hitting probably, yeah mostly defense). The qualifications I’m looking for:

 

- Play really good IF defense including SS

- Be extremely cheap

- Not completely incompetent at the plate (in Martin’s case there’s contact, patience, and some speed)

 

The value just isn’t there spending even a couple million more to get the same light hitting glove heavy profile from someone a half decade+ older over some experience. I also don’t see the value of paying a premium to add nebulous experience to a group of 20somethings with 4 straight playoffs and a WS under their belts.

 

Can’t say I’m really concerned whether the backup SS has demonstrated an ability to hit AAA pitching either as the starters will handle the offense. The job may not even end up with 200 PAs barring some unlucky sequencing or (preferably) a pleasant surprise from the new guy.

 

I’m either for this route - lowest possible price glove first backup so that Baez/Zobrist MIF isn’t a 9+ inning 162 game affair - or a starting SS that can also hit. I’m pretty open minded on the starting SS route - Machado, Andrus, Jose Iglesias are three names mentioned I don’t hate depending on the scenario. I’m a little less open minded on the sub route since it’s easy to overspend unnecessarily there. Far and away my most preferred options are the ones that make Harper most feasible like spending the bare minimum to definitely upgrade the infield defense.

I hear ya on the money considerations, and well thought out. How much money they have to spend definitely impacts how they handle back-up SS.

 

I disagree mainly because of the situation with Addy and the fact that the Cubs are in their championship window. If they keep Addy, there's no need for a player like Martin unless he's in AAA (which obviously means he'd have to fall to the Cubs in the minor league portion of the draft).

 

If they don't keep Addy, there's no way I'm going with a guy who has never played above AA to be the primary back-up SS on a team in their championship window. As it stands now, assuming Addy's not on the roster, the Cubs have no one capable of handling SS if Baez were to get hurt.

 

As we learned last year every win matters in an increasingly competitive division. Theo emphasized as much in his post-season presser saying the Cubs must play with urgency to win early in the season and throughout. Given that mindset, I just can't see the Cubs not having someone with major league experience able to fill in in case Baez goes down for any length of time. And we all know Javy plays with reckless abandon.

 

And it's not just in case Javy gets hurt. We all know how Joe likes to play the match ups and values positional flexibility. If they have someone who can legit play major league SS, then if someone else gets injured (and match ups suggest the best chance for the Cubs to win doesn't include someone else starting), Baez who is also the best defensive 3B and 2B on the team can move to one of those spots. Even if it's an OFer who goes down, Bryant or Zo moves out there and Joe has his pick of who best matches up.

 

If Richie Martin is the primary back-up SS, none of that is possible.

Edited November 25, 2018 by CubsWin

[CubsWin]

I hear ya on that. Well thought out, I just disagree.

 

What do you believe the roster uniquely gains by paying an experienced backup SS? I don’t think that improves defense or anything, so there must be something of significance gained that can only be had through experience that I am missing.

Ha! I was answering that in the edited post above as you wrote this. #wavelength

[CubsWin]

 

What do you believe the roster uniquely gains by paying an experienced backup SS? I don’t think that improves defense or anything, so there must be something of significance gained that can only be had through experience that I am missing.

Ha! I was answering that in the edited post above as you wrote this. #wavelength

 

Ah, I neither value AAA nor MLB experience nearly as much for this spot. The primary role here is a defensive one, and there’s no reason to believe defense will actually get better with an arbitrary amount of AAA experience or even previous ML experience. By all accounts going back to his amateur days Martin is a superlative defender with the skillset to play any IF spot. For the minimum salary v 5-6+ times that, especially if that means even better positioned for Harper...

 

I agree every win matters. I don’t get how just plain old experience (for millions of dollars) adds to the Cubs’ win total right now. Or how Martin negatively impacts the team’s sense of urgency. Or how Martin, likely instantly the team’s best infield defender, actually hurts their on field flexibility just by not being some undefined amount of experienced. If a guy like Mercer or Galvis or whoever is the new Cliff Pennington in baseball wants to take a vet min or better a MiL deal, that would be ideal. It is much easier to value experience for a role that does not require it when all the options are in the same Harper friendly price range

 

I actually think salary is a less talked about part of why not to expect Russell back next year. Beyond him having his own unnecessary issues I just don’t believe this FO is motivated to blow millions on a backup glove while pursuing Harper under this gross luxury tax nonsense.

Got it. We disagree, but all good.