2022 Trade Deadline

[ChiCubsFan]

Not a failure if we extend Willson. Which..it doesn't seem like the organization has any serious good-faith interest in doing.

 

Why? Because they haven’t done so yet?

[sneakypower]

they reportedly haven't even made him an offer to this point

[Post Count Padder]

Now please extend willy and happ. Both want to be here.

[texascub]

[Outshined_One]

Givens was also traded.

 

I'm...plussed by the deadline? The Padres were likely the primary suitor for Willy, but the Soto deal took precedence and ended up involving a heck of a lot of moving parts. I'm guessing no one would meet the Cubs' asking price elsewhere, which is fine.

 

They can make a QO for Contreras and either get him on a reasonable 1 year deal or get a draft pick for him. I don't see him getting extended. With Happ, he can be dealt in the offseason as part of a bigger deal or the Cubs can work out an extension for him.

 

Overall, not bad, not great.

[17 Seconds]

if they don't extend him, it's terrible

[Rob]

if they don't extend him, it's terrible

 

If they extend him, it's worse.

 

I love Willson, and he's been so fun to watch. I do not anticipate him aging well. Any deal longer than 3 years or so shouldn't be seriously entertained.

[Bertz]

if they don't extend him, it's terrible

 

Yeah it's really as simple as this. I'm sure Brett or somebody will try to bring up the Qualifying Offer but that's horsefeathers. It'll be like the 75th pick, more than that that was certainly on the table this deadline. An absolute debacle if there's no extension.

 

That said, assuming they do extend, you go into the winter with a mostly complete lineup already.

 

C - Contreras

1B - Wisdom

2B - Madrigal

SS - Hoerner

3B - Morel

LF - Happ

CF - Ortega/Nelly platoon

RF - Seiya

 

Bench - Mckinstry, Gomes, Higgins, Bote

Iowa - Davis, Mervis, Amaya, Canario

 

That's... actually a really solid group. Payroll's ~$165M, so you can add one more big bat and further push out some of the chaff from the bottom of the roster.

[Rex Buckingham]

if they don't extend him, it's terrible

 

Yeah it's really as simple as this. I'm sure Brett or somebody will try to bring up the Qualifying Offer but that's horsefeathers. It'll be like the 75th pick, more than that that was certainly on the table this deadline. An absolute debacle if there's no extension.

 

That said, assuming they do extend, you go into the winter with a mostly complete lineup already.

 

C - Contreras

1B - Wisdom

2B - Madrigal

SS - Hoerner

3B - Morel

LF - Happ

CF - Ortega/Nelly platoon

RF - Seiya

 

Bench - Mckinstry, Gomes, Higgins, Bote

Iowa - Davis, Mervis, Amaya, Canario

 

That's... actually a really solid group. Payroll's ~$165M, so you can add one more big bat and further push out some of the chaff from the bottom of the roster.

 

Madrigal sucks. Wisdom is fine, but very replaceable. Ortega/Nelly is probably around replacement level.

 

Need Bogaerts/Correa/Turner and maybe a CF, unless they think Davis will bounce back from injury and be ready early next year.

 

And obviously, need SP, because a rotation of Stroman/Hendricks/Steele/Thompson/whoever just isn't good enough because Kyle is a 5th man in a good rotation and Steele/Thompson probably aren't better than 4th for a WS hopeful.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I’m at the game so this isn’t a fully formed thought, but I wonder if the lukewarm interest is reflective of Willson not having a robust FA market, further diluted now that he’d be saddled with a QO. That works as a FO strategy only if they really like Willson’s profile going forward, which seems uncertain to say the least.

 

The other thought is if they have some internal limits re: QO free agents for talent pipeline purposes, and not dealing Willson for a 45 FV prospect is not better than either keeping him or being unrestrained in FA since they have the pick to keep the talent/draft pools high (this is basically how the dodgers approach QO)

[mias_tisg]

So the Cubs have managed to piss off everyone that hated the tear-down last year and now have pissed off the people fine with a tear-down by not going all the way. Impressive stuff.

[CubinNY]

Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make.

[Backtobanks]

I know the "baseball is just a business" rhetoric, but unless they extend Contreras, they aren't helping the morale of the other players. Big market team with a small market mentality.

[squally1313]

Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make.

But not here.

[minnesotacubsfan]

I'd love to see them resign Contreras but how often does that sort of thing happen after a players been dangled at the trade deadline?

[Andy]

I'd love to see them resign Contreras but how often does that sort of thing happen after a players been dangled at the trade deadline?

Wilmer Flores comes to mind, but I can't remember it ever happening with a player as accomplished as Contreras, and certainly not with a team with no incentive to keep him like the Cubs this year.

[CubinNY]

Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make.

But not here.

They will extend him. I’m confident.

[CubinNY]

The Cubs have certainly added a lot of pitching between the draft and now. I love the Efross and Robertson returns. Edited August 3, 2022 by CubinNY

[muntjack]

Well things ended up almost exactly the way I wanted them to, but I'm in agreement that without an extension, keeping Willson is a mistake. The qo pick can't possibly be better than anything the Cubs were offered.

 

If you're Jed, now you are almost certainly better off trying to make a push next year with the expanded playoffs. The lineup is almost set and they should be able to add a real starter in the offseason. Some of the top guys on the farm will likely be pushing hard + they'll have plenty of bullets to make additions at the deadline.

[jersey cubs fan]

The QO pick and a top 5 selection will allow for a lot of draft dollars to spread around to high schoolers next year when they go under slot

[stitchface]

 

 

the Cubs will be ready to brawl, that's for sure. To be fair, Castro has been dead for several years.

[UMFan83]

Gotta be the worst case scenario for Willy. No international draft means the QO stays, lessening his FA value. Spends 2 weeks mentally preparing for a trade that never comes. Now has to play out the string on a bad team instead of a playoff contender and go into the FA market with a depressed value compared to how it seemed going into the season.

[Irrelevant Dude]

Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don’t make.

But not here.

They will extend him. I’m confident.

Hoyer's response to an adjacent question certainly didn't inspire my confidence that the Cubs have any interest in an extension..

[17 Seconds]

sounds like they botched it

[Irrelevant Dude]

sounds like they botched it

I think so too. I like the immediate result, but only if the Cubs are serious about trying to resign Contreras, which I don't think they are. This feels more like a misplay by Hoyer. Combined with some of his other recent contract decisions, I have no confidence that he is capable of building a contending team.