Cubs off day 9/25

[cecilJ_]

11 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

I hope for neither..

Stroman will likely opt in, so hopefully they'll look to trade him then.

Kyle,  buy him out and say thank you

They need to try and trade for an under 30 Ace to go with Steele, Wicks, Assad, and Taillon.

Their depth would be in no particular order.

Horton,  Brown, Herz, Franklin, Palencia, Killian, Neidert, Wesneski , Powell , and whomever else they add.

 

Herz was dealt for Candelario.

[Irrelevant Dude]

1 hour ago, Dfan25 said:

So now we have 2 different reporters ( Mooney and Nightendale ) saying it’s highly likely that Stroman will opt in for next year . I have that feeling as well . If this happens I think they will pickup Hendricks option and leave Wicks as the main depth in Iowa with Brown

I'm not so sure they will pick up Hendricks' option if Stroman opts in.  That's a lot of money to spend on 3 guys (Stroman-Hendricks-Taillon) who are all closer to back of rotation starters than top guys.  If they have any intention of trying to sign or trade for a legitimate 1/2, then I think they likely sacrifice Hendricks and use their depth to fill the back of the rotation instead.  I want Hendricks back though, largely for sentimental reasons but also because he is still a productive pitcher.  I would be all for trying to negotiate a 2 year deal to knock his AAV down a bit and hopefully allow him to finish out his career and retire as a lifetime Cub.

[UMFan83]

1 hour ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

I'm not so sure they will pick up Hendricks' option if Stroman opts in.  That's a lot of money to spend on 3 guys (Stroman-Hendricks-Taillon) who are all closer to back of rotation starters than top guys.  If they have any intention of trying to sign or trade for a legitimate 1/2, then I think they likely sacrifice Hendricks and use their depth to fill the back of the rotation instead.  I want Hendricks back though, largely for sentimental reasons but also because he is still a productive pitcher.  I would be all for trying to negotiate a 2 year deal to knock his AAV down a bit and hopefully allow him to finish out his career and retire as a lifetime Cub.

Doesn’t help that we are paying about $18m to Mancini, Barnhard, Heyward and at least Hendricks’ buyout

Speaking of Heyward, $5m of his salary is deferred until 2024, does that count against the tax?

[UMFan83]

Small update of relevance:  the Astros and Rangers both won tonight.  This means that the Astros have opened up a 1.5 game cushion over the Mariners for WC3, while the Rangers have a 2.5 game lead in the division (which comes with a ALDS bye)

Ideally the Astros can straddle the line where they are close enough to the playoff cut line, but not too far from the division to make their final 3 games vs ARI very meaningful. 

Best case scenario: they have 2 more against Seattle (the first team out)  If Seattle somehow wins the next 2, Houston will be 0.5 games out of the playoffs heading into the final series and they will be in desperation mode  ideally Texas also loses the next 2 so the division is still in play

Worst case scenario:  Houston wins the next 2 games and virtually clinches a playoff spot while the Rangers also win their next 2, making it difficult for the Astros to be in the division race. They will absolutely still try because the difference between WC 2/3 and a bye to the ALCS is that important but they could be eliminated from the division race by Saturday and decide to rest everyone heading into the WC round which will give the DBacks a MUCH easier series. 
 

TL;DR:  need to root for Seattle and LAA the next 2 days to ensure maximum motivation for the Astros series in Arizona

[soccer10k]

15 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

Small update of relevance:  the Astros and Rangers both won tonight.  This means that the Astros have opened up a 1.5 game cushion over the Mariners for WC3, while the Rangers have a 2.5 game lead in the division (which comes with a ALDS bye)

Ideally the Astros can straddle the line where they are close enough to the playoff cut line, but not too far from the division to make their final 3 games vs ARI very meaningful. 

Best case scenario: they have 2 more against Seattle (the first team out)  If Seattle somehow wins the next 2, Houston will be 0.5 games out of the playoffs heading into the final series and they will be in desperation mode  ideally Texas also loses the next 2 so the division is still in play

Worst case scenario:  Houston wins the next 2 games and virtually clinches a playoff spot while the Rangers also win their next 2, making it difficult for the Astros to be in the division race. They will absolutely still try because the difference between WC 2/3 and a bye to the ALCS is that important but they could be eliminated from the division race by Saturday and decide to rest everyone heading into the WC round which will give the DBacks a MUCH easier series. 
 

TL;DR:  need to root for Seattle and LAA the next 2 days to ensure maximum motivation for the Astros series in Arizona

Seattle winning two of their next three is ideal. That would leave Houston either 1 game up (Hou/Sea split and Sea wins Thu) or them tied (Sea beats Hou twice but loses Thu). That would mean Houston has to try at least Fri and Sat against Arizona since Seattle holds the tiebreaker over Houston.

[squally1313]

On 9/25/2023 at 7:06 PM, chibears55 said:

I hope for neither..

Stroman will likely opt in, so hopefully they'll look to trade him then.

Kyle,  buy him out and say thank you

They need to try and trade for an under 30 Ace to go with Steele, Wicks, Assad, and Taillon.

Their depth would be in no particular order.

Horton,  Brown, Herz, Franklin, Palencia, Killian, Neidert, Wesneski , Powell , and whomever else they add.

 

Who's on that list of 'under 30', 'ace', and 'available'? Hopefully someone really good if you're running with Wicks and Assad.