8/31 - Cubs Off-Day Chatter

[Banedon]

Just now, PackLandVA said:

So are the waived players who weren’t claimed now fee agents? Can they sign with a team for the min.

If they weren't claimed they stay with the team that waived them.

[Dfan25]

Bader is going to be a pain in the ass all weekend . Thanks Cleveland for claiming all the pitchers .

[17 Seconds]

that jordan montgomery for harrison bader trade was awful for the yankees

[Banedon]

7 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

Bader is going to be a pain in the ass all weekend . Thanks Cleveland for claiming all the pitchers .

I bet the Reds don't even play Bader.

[bukie]

9 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

Bader is going to be a pain in the ass all weekend . Thanks Cleveland for claiming all the pitchers .

Is he going to be particularly loud from the dugout or something? He's maybe the 5th best OF on the roster.

[Andy]

24 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

interesting that Clevenger went unclaimed. Guess some team do value morals and character. 

I'm not as optimistic as you, it's more likely teams didn't value the 3 or 4 starts they might get from him over the PR hit they would take for claiming him. But a win's a win, I guess.

[Rcal10]

12 minutes ago, Andy said:

I'm not as optimistic as you, it's more likely teams didn't value the 3 or 4 starts they might get from him over the PR hit they would take for claiming him. But a win's a win, I guess.

More like 5 starts. But you are probably right. He has pitched well, however. Reds could have used him, for sure. 

[UMFan83]

Pretty light night of baseball but there are a couple of interesting games to keep an eye on

Marlins @ Nationals - 6:05pm.  Marlins are technically still alive, the Cubs can increase their lead over them to 5.5 games with a Nats win.  Nats continue to play solid baseball.

Giants @ Padres - 8:40pm.  Giants are currently in WC3, 2 games behind the Cubs, and 0.5 games ahead of Arizona.  A Padres win would give the Cubs a 2.5 game cushion over WC3 (Giants/DBacks tie)

Braves @ Dodgers - 9:10pm.  No real affect on the Cubs but its possibly the 2 best teams in baseball squaring off.  The Dodgers have been insanely hot (24-4 in last 28) and trail the Braves by 4 games for the 1st overall seed, so they would probably need to sweep to put the top seed in play for them.  Braves are "only" 15-4 in their last 19 so not quite as hot as LA

Edited August 31, 2023 by UMFan83

[Dfan25]

25 minutes ago, bukie said:

Is he going to be particularly loud from the dugout or something? He's maybe the 5th best OF on the roster.

Reds have some injuries right now . Votto / Fraley / McClain are down . Steer will play a lot of IF and that is going to open an OF spot . Bader will get a lot of playing time .  I don’t like the Reds picking him up but my biggest worry was them getting a couple of pitchers ..

[Irrelevant Dude]

 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

28 minutes ago, Andy said:

I'm not as optimistic as you, it's more likely teams didn't value the 3 or 4 starts they might get from him over the PR hit they would take for claiming him. But a win's a win, I guess.

Someone else pointed this out when he was first waived, but he has a 4 million buyout of next year's mutual option, so the calculus was a little different with him compared to the others even before getting to his Bauer-esque personal life

[Derwood]

Here's a fun game!

Name the teams (without looking them up):

 

TEAM A: 62-72, RD (-102)

TEAM B: 62-72, RD (+54)

TEAM C : 61-73, RD (-40)

 

Spoiler

Team A: Washington Nationals
Team B: San Diego Padres
Team C : Pittsburgh Pirates

 

[WhyCantWeWin]

55 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

I doubt the Guardians are signing any of those guys. This is a month roll of the dice. Glad they did it. Didn’t want to see any of the teams  right behind the Cubs add any pitching. Reds getting Bader sucks because he is always good against the cubs. But otherwise not too worried about who they got and no one else for anyone. 
interesting that Clevenger went unclaimed. Guess some team do value morals and character. 

Probably has more to do with his 4 mil mutual option for next season. 

[bukie]

19 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Pretty light night of baseball but there are a couple of interesting games to keep an eye on

Marlins @ Nationals - 6:05pm.  Marlins are technically still alive, the Cubs can increase their lead over them to 5.5 games with a Nats win.  Nats continue to play solid baseball.

Giants @ Padres - 8:40pm.  Giants are currently in WC3, 2 games behind the Cubs, and 0.5 games ahead of Arizona.  A Padres win would give the Cubs a 2.5 game cushion over WC3 (Giants/DBacks tie)

Braves @ Dodgers - 9:10pm.  No real affect on the Cubs but its possibly the 2 best teams in baseball squaring off.  The Dodgers have been insanely hot (24-4 in last 28) and trail the Braves by 4 games for the 1st overall seed, so they would probably need to sweep to put the top seed in play for them.  Braves are "only" 15-4 in their last 19 so not quite as hot as LA

Cubs only trail the Dodgers by 13 games for that second bye...

[Tryptamine]

44 minutes ago, Derwood said:

Here's a fun game!

Name the teams (without looking them up):

 

TEAM A: 62-72, RD (-102)

TEAM B: 62-72, RD (+54)

TEAM C : 61-73, RD (-40)

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Team A: Washington Nationals
Team B: San Diego Padres
Team C : Pittsburgh Pirates

 

B is definitely San Diego, A is probably one of Detroit/Washington/Pirates and I'm not sure on C so I'll guess the Mets based on run differential, but I don't remember them being that far under .500 so I'm probably wrong.

[chibears55]

Saw that the Cubs put in 2 claims..

Lopez and Moore

[itisallpartoftheplan]

Do players have to be added to the 40 to be playoff eligible? Just wondering if we’ll hear about Little or PCA today.

[thawv]

5 minutes ago, itisallpartoftheplan said:

Do players have to be added to the 40 to be playoff eligible? Just wondering if we’ll hear about Little or PCA today.

Whoever is not on the 40 by midnight ET, are not play off roster eligible.  I full expect both of those guys to be added today.  They would be out of their minds to leave two roster spots open before the playoffs.

[Irrelevant Dude]

Let me play Devil's Advocate here regarding PCA.  I get that people are excited about him because he is the team's #1 prospect, but he hasn't exactly been tearing the cover off the ball in Iowa.  He is currently batting .253 with an OPS just a tad over .800.  Why would the Cubs rush him up this season when he might not be quite ready?  Is it really worth him being called up to be primarily a pinch runner or defensive replacement?  There are other options (Canario, Mervis) who may be able to contribute more offensively to this year's team, so I'm in favor of giving them a shot until/unless PCA really pushes the issue with his performance in Iowa.  

[Transmogrified Tiger]

2 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

Let me play Devil's Advocate here regarding PCA.  I get that people are excited about him because he is the team's #1 prospect, but he hasn't exactly been tearing the cover off the ball in Iowa.  He is currently batting .253 with an OPS just a tad over .800.  Why would the Cubs rush him up this season when he might not be quite ready?  Is it really worth him being called up to be primarily a pinch runner or defensive replacement?  There are other options (Canario, Mervis) who may be able to contribute more offensively to this year's team, so I'm in favor of giving them a shot until/unless PCA really pushes the issue with his performance in Iowa.  

Also, there's probably greater opportunity for a RH bat to make a difference/supplant existing options than there is for a LHH.

[WhyCantWeWin]

18 minutes ago, itisallpartoftheplan said:

Do players have to be added to the 40 to be playoff eligible? Just wondering if we’ll hear about Little or PCA today.

Taken from bleachernation:

"But what about prospects who weren’t on the 40-man until they were called up, say, on September 5? Well, that’s still easy enough: you can also include players on the playoff roster as “injury replacements,” taking the place of ANYONE on the 60-day IL, as long as that player has been out his 60+ days. By the time late-September rolls around, literally every team in baseball history has at least a couple guys on the 60-day IL. So if you want some youngsters on the playoff roster, boom, they “replace” the injured guys.

For the Cubs, there are already FIVE guys on the 60-day IL, several of whom are simply not going to return this year. So the playoff roster thing is – like every year – a non-issue. Were you in the organization as of August 31? Cool. You can be on the playoff roster, no problem."

 

Tl;Dr : you can designate non 40 man players in the minors as injury replacements and they are thus eligible 

Edited August 31, 2023 by WhyCantWeWin

[UMFan83]

8 minutes ago, thawv said:

Whoever is not on the 40 by midnight ET, are not play off roster eligible.  I full expect both of those guys to be added today.  They would be out of their minds to leave two roster spots open before the playoffs.

That's not including 60 day IL guys right?  Boxberger can still be activated and placed on the 40 man at a later date and be eligible for the playoffs.

With today's moves the Cubs are at 39 on the roster, so adding PCA and Little would mean kicking someone off.  And then another person once Boxberger is back.

[UMFan83]

2 minutes ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

Taken from bleachernation:

"

But what about prospects who weren’t on the 40-man until they were called up, say, on September 5? Well, that’s still easy enough: you can also include players on the playoff roster as “injury replacements,” taking the place of ANYONE on the 60-day IL, as long as that player has been out his 60+ days. By the time late-September rolls around, literally every team in baseball history has at least a couple guys on the 60-day IL. So if you want some youngsters on the playoff roster, boom, they “replace” the injured guys.

For the Cubs, there are already FIVE guys on the 60-day IL, several of whom are simply not going to return this year. So the playoff roster thing is – like every year – a non-issue. Were you in the organization as of August 31? Cool. You can be on the playoff roster, no problem."

 

Tl;Dr : you can designate non 40 man players in the minors as injury replacements and they are thus eligible 

I'm confused about that.  I thought 60 man IL players didnt count towards the 40 man roster.  Not sure how you can throw someone onto the 40 man as an injury replacement for a player who already isnt on the 40 man.  Unless I'm completely misunderstanding the rules.

[WhyCantWeWin]

5 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

I'm confused about that.  I thought 60 man IL players didnt count towards the 40 man roster.  Not sure how you can throw someone onto the 40 man as an injury replacement for a player who already isnt on the 40 man.  Unless I'm completely misunderstanding the rules.

Yeah the injured 60 day IL players don't count against the 40 man, but you can use the loophole if they have been on the IL for 60 plus days. But the prospects have to be added to the 40 man in the first place regardless. This just means the timing doesn't matter

[We Got The Whole 9]

23 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

Let me play Devil's Advocate here regarding PCA.  I get that people are excited about him because he is the team's #1 prospect, but he hasn't exactly been tearing the cover off the ball in Iowa.  He is currently batting .253 with an OPS just a tad over .800.  Why would the Cubs rush him up this season when he might not be quite ready?  Is it really worth him being called up to be primarily a pinch runner or defensive replacement?  There are other options (Canario, Mervis) who may be able to contribute more offensively to this year's team, so I'm in favor of giving them a shot until/unless PCA really pushes the issue with his performance in Iowa.  

Well, the clamor has subsided quite a bit over the last ~10 games when his OPS dropped 200 points. 

 

In that same time, however, Tauchman has been pushing a 35 wRC+ and is nowhere near the CF PCA is. I want PCA to start and to eat on defense. The rest is gravy this year. Using him as a PR and defensive specialist would be stupid. He would be a major defensive improvement to an already very good defense. I understand him getting passed over, but it's pretty insane that it was Canario to leapfrog him. How often is he going to get to that power? He has struck out in 20 straight games and has just 1 walk in his last 11 games, with 15 Ks. I get trying to strike while the iron is hot and maybe you get a Morel type of explosion to close the season, which would obviously be incredible, but that's very unlikely. The Cubs added another boom-bust in the Wisdom and Morel mold and didn't really add a dynamic to their roster beyond power potential. 

Edited August 31, 2023 by We Got The Whole 9