Mancini to Cubs per Jesse Rogers

[UMFan83]

 

[Derwood]

I like it

[ChiCubsFan]

First base production will be improved this year.

[Tim]

I like it as long as they're willing to let Mervis push Hosmer to the bench or off the roster if he keeps mashing.

[UMFan83]

I like it as long as they're willing to let Mervis push Hosmer to the bench or off the roster if he keeps mashing.

 

Couldn’t he DH too? Who is the current DH, Madrigal?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I like it as long as they're willing to let Mervis push Hosmer to the bench or off the roster if he keeps mashing.

 

Couldn’t he DH too? Who is the current DH, Madrigal?

 

The current norm is a 13 man pitching staff, which means a 4 man bench including backup C. If your 1B and DH are basically locked to the bottom of the defensive spectrum, you probably aren't too likely to put another guy like that on the bench. Mancini has played corner OF, but the metrics are not kind to his performance(one silver lining, it's basically limited range instead of a bunch of errors).

[ChiCubsFan]

I like it as long as they're willing to let Mervis push Hosmer to the bench or off the roster if he keeps mashing.

 

Couldn’t he DH too? Who is the current DH, Madrigal?

 

Sounds like it’ll be a rotation of guys. Also have Wisdom and Morel that’ll share time at 3B/DH/OF.

[Irrelevant Dude]

I like it as long as they're willing to let Mervis push Hosmer to the bench or off the roster if he keeps mashing.

It basically guarantees Mervis will start the season in AAA. If Hosmer is terrible, which is fairly likely, hopefully the Cubs won't hesitate to send him packing. I guess this could buy Mervis an extra year of team control, but I don't think that should be a priority for a guy who is already going to be 25 in April.

[Tim]

I like it as long as they're willing to let Mervis push Hosmer to the bench or off the roster if he keeps mashing.

 

Couldn’t he DH too? Who is the current DH, Madrigal?

I just seriously doubt they'll keep three 1B/DH guys on the active roster.

[Irrelevant Dude]

I like it as long as they're willing to let Mervis push Hosmer to the bench or off the roster if he keeps mashing.

 

Couldn’t he DH too? Who is the current DH, Madrigal?

 

The current norm is a 13 man pitching staff, which means a 4 man bench including backup C. If your 1B and DH are basically locked to the bottom of the defensive spectrum, you probably aren't too likely to put another guy like that on the bench. Mancini has played corner OF, but the metrics are not kind to his performance(one silver lining, it's basically limited range instead of a bunch of errors).

 

I still don't see a fit for Madrigal on this roster. He is too limited on defense to be a bench player, and there is no other place for him in the starting lineup except DH. Someone has to DH, but I would prefer it not to be 2-strike punchy ground ball hitter guy.

[Post Count Padder]

Yeah I like Mancini a lot and he was a preferred target but the Hosmer signing complicated things. Definitely means Mervis starts the year in Iowa. Hopefully Hosmer is on a tight leash.

 

Also the more I look at the lineup the more obvious it is that Madrigal has no spot. I wanted it to work but I doubt at this point it will. He's gotta be traded soon right? Or would they be content to start him in Iowa and see what happens?

[Bertz]

Yeah I'm very good with this as long as they're timely with swapping out Hosmer for Mervis once it's clear the trigger needs to be pulled there.

 

For the lineup, something like this?

 

LF - Happ

RF - Suzuki

DH - Mancini

CF - Bellinger

SS - Swanson

1B - Hosmer

3B - Wisdom

2B - Hoerner

C - Gomes

 

If Bellinger can get back to hitting, that lineup starts to get really fun.

[Bertz]

[Bertz]

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Mancini also had a 116 wRC+ as late in the year as September 17th(in 538 PA so a starter's workload), and then I believe had an injury that impacted him through the playoffs(he was like 10th on the Astros in PA and went 1 for 21).

[Tryptamine]

I don't mind this signing on its own, but it makes the Hosmer signing even more terrible.

[Tim]

I don't mind this signing on its own, but it makes the Hosmer signing even more terrible.

The Hosmer signing itself is almost impossible to be that bad, let alone terrible. It's a league minimum signing. Now, it sets up terrible downstream roster and playing time decisions. But the signing itself is pretty much risk-free.

[Irrelevant Dude]

I don't mind this signing on its own, but it makes the Hosmer signing even more terrible.

I have a hard time calling the Hosmer signing terrible, because he costs nothing. I don't like that he is blocking Mervis, but I can't get too upset about it. With such a minor financial commitment, either Hosmer is ok/good and ends up being a good value, maybe even a trade chip, or he's bad and gets released if Mervis continues to destroy AAA pitching.

 

For all we know, Hosmer could look awful in Spring Training and not even make it to Opening Day. With a minimum deal, he isn't guaranteed anything.

[Tryptamine]

I don't mind this signing on its own, but it makes the Hosmer signing even more terrible.

The Hosmer signing itself is almost impossible to be that bad, let alone terrible. It's a league minimum signing. Now, it sets up terrible downstream roster and playing time decisions. But the signing itself is pretty much risk-free.

 

The playtime decisions are kind of the point. If this middling Cub team wants to sneak into the playoffs they need some people to outperform projections. Mervis provides that upside. Hosmer's upside is mediocrity. This team isn't talented enough to waste 250 to 300 pa on Hosmer.

[Cubswin11]

The 40-man is full, wonder who’s the next guy to go/is there a trade brewing?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

The fact that the Cubs have a prospect named "mervis" is everything wrong with this organization

[Tim]

The fact that the Cubs have a prospect named "mervis" is everything wrong with this organization

Counterpoint: His actual nickname is "Mash"

[JeffH]

The fact that the Cubs have a prospect named "mervis" is everything wrong with this organization

Counterpoint: His actual nickname is "Mash"

 

We need to make the "Mash" moniker go away.

 

"Never Nervous" Matt Mervis

 

The guy you want up in the biggest of big moments.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

The fact that the Cubs have a prospect named "mervis" is everything wrong with this organization

Counterpoint: His actual nickname is "Mash"

 

I'll accept that only if he's good

[Bull]

I don't mind this signing on its own, but it makes the Hosmer signing even more terrible.

The Hosmer signing itself is almost impossible to be that bad, let alone terrible. It's a league minimum signing. Now, it sets up terrible downstream roster and playing time decisions. But the signing itself is pretty much risk-free.

 

The playtime decisions are kind of the point. If this middling Cub team wants to sneak into the playoffs they need some people to outperform projections. Mervis provides that upside. Hosmer's upside is mediocrity. This team isn't talented enough to waste 250 to 300 pa on Hosmer.

I don’t get this take at all. I see Mancini, Morel, Wisdom and Hosmer sharing time at three positions. In May, hopefully Mervis has continued to mash and pushes one of them out. Hosmer is insurance against ANY one of Morel, Wisdom and Mervis sucking, which I’D say is fairly likely. His 108 ops+ is not bad at league minimum, and if he’s more like his 77 with Boston, he’s the one pushed out and you’ve lost not league minimum, but a pro-rated portion of league minimum. Really zero risk.