Going somewhere, Soto? Yes, to the Yankees

[LBiittner]

On 11/29/2023 at 10:40 AM, JD94 said:

Right. Like they’ve been in discussion for days/weeks but they are just now discussing names? Lol no. Names were thrown out on the first phone call. 

I'd always envisioned it was similar to Redford in Moneyball. I want Yada and I'll give u badabing.

Or even when Veeck got the Sox during winter meetings and he set up a swap meet in the hotel lobby. 

[UMFan83]

At least one person believes the Cubs aren’t in on Soto at all

 

[Jason Ross]

10 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

At least one person believes the Cubs aren’t in on Soto at all

 

I don't like hearing that about Soto.

[Bertz]

Rogers is easily the most well connected beat guy here in the Jed era, so that is really not great to see

[Jason Ross]

4 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Rogers is easily the most well connected beat guy here in the Jed era, so that is really not great to see

Yeah, exactly how I feel about that. It'd be one thing if it was like Matt Spiegel or Dave Kaplan reporting this. It's another to hear from Rogers. Even more disappointing that it doesn't appear to be because of their pursuit of Ohtani, which makes me a *bit* worried about their chances of landing those big time bats they really need. If they eggs are in the Ohtani basket, that's still an uphill battle. There aren't many other big hitters out there. I'd be pretty bummed, ultimately, with like a Matt Chapman / Ryhs Hoskins toe-the-line offseason, for example.

Edited December 1, 2023 by 1908_Cubs

[Tryptamine]

13 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

At least one person believes the Cubs aren’t in on Soto at all

 

[UMFan83]

12 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Yeah, exactly how I feel about that. It'd be one thing if it was like Matt Spiegel or Dave Kaplan reporting this. It's another to hear from Rogers. Even more disappointing that it doesn't appear to be because of their pursuit of Ohtani, which makes me a *bit* worried about their chances of landing those big time bats they really need. If they eggs are in the Ohtani basket, that's still an uphill battle. There aren't many other big hitters out there. I'd be pretty bummed, ultimately, with like a Matt Chapman / Ryhs Hoskins toe-the-line offseason, for example.

This is going to lead to the Cubs shelling out a ridiculous AAV for Bellinger isnt it?

[Jason Ross]

2 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

This is going to lead to the Cubs shelling out a ridiculous AAV for Bellinger isnt it?

I would really hope not. Lots of offseason to go, so I'm going to do my best not to panic after this. Hell, we might get Ohtani and everything will be awesome! Right?! Right...

[WhyCantWeWin]

It's probably due to the Padres asking price, didn't a report come out a few days ago that they were asking for a ton from the Yankees 

 

[Tryptamine]

I can't think of about anything worse this offseason than signing Chapman to a 100M+ contract. That's going to be a disaster from year 1.

[JHBulls]

5 minutes ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

It's probably due to the Padres asking price, didn't a report come out a few days ago that they were asking for a ton from the Yankees 

 

It would take a “ton” from the Yankees as their farm system is pretty trash. A ton from the Yankees might equal to 2 or 3 decently ranked prospects from a top system like the Cubs.

Edited December 1, 2023 by JHBulls

[Bertz]

5 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

This is going to lead to the Cubs shelling out a ridiculous AAV for Bellinger isnt it?

Rogers was also one of the first to pump the breaks on a Bellinger reunion IIRC so I don't think that's it.

Like 1908 says I'm just curious what the backup plan is behind Ohtani if it's not Soto.  Maybe there's more to the Bregman stuff than is out there publicly?

[gocubs218]

I would be fine with Chapman as the backup plan but he’s basically the same player as Dansby. Definitely don’t need anymore glove first infielders. 

[Tryptamine]

4 minutes ago, gocubs218 said:

I would be fine with Chapman as the backup plan but he’s basically the same player as Dansby. Definitely don’t need anymore glove first infielders. 

I'm not even sure he can hit as well as Dansby anymore. He was awful the last 2/3 of 2023.

[Jason Ross]

8 hours ago, TomtheBombadil said:

Makes sense to not make this offseason about trading for a 2025 FA on a WS hopeful, right? Particularly when an even better player with a more Cubs specific set of skills just on offense is available for just cap space plus Bellinger's QO gives them some FA flexibility. The rumors felt like a red herring from the start, "there's always next year" (which became ~5 years twice in the past decade) in a new a dress

I'd prefer the Cubs to be kicking the tires here regardless of his free agency status, personally. Juan Soto is a great baseball player and the Cubs need great baseball players. It's true, he's only controlled for a year, but that also should be reflected in acquisition cost. There's certainly a line where I wouldn't cross on Soto, but if the Cubs miss out on Ohtani, they should probably be checking out this one. At least from my point of view There just isn't any one else in free agency who is so good (outside of the unicorn, of course) that I'd pass on a chance at the impact Soto can have. 

With the way Brett explained Rogers' report, it sounds less like Soto is plan 1b and more like it's not on the cards. Which, I'm just not sure if I'm all that excited about. Maybe it reflects their confidence in Ohtani and this is all moot.

Edited December 1, 2023 by 1908_Cubs

[JD94]

26 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

I'd prefer the Cubs to be kicking the tires here regardless of his free agency status, personally. Juan Soto is a great baseball player and the Cubs need great baseball players. It's true, he's only controlled for a year, but that also should be reflected in acquisition cost. There's certainly a line where I wouldn't cross on Soto, but if the Cubs miss out on Ohtani, they should probably be checking out this one. At least from my point of view There just isn't any one else in free agency who is so good (outside of the unicorn, of course) that I'd pass on a chance at the impact Soto can have. 

With the way Brett explained Rogers' report, it sounds less like Soto is plan 1b and more like it's not on the cards. Which, I'm just not sure if I'm all that excited about. Maybe it reflects their confidence in Ohtani and this is all moot.

Agreed totally. There’s nothing wrong with kicking the tires and just seeing what the framework of a deal would look like. Maybe Jed is thinking “no way. Soto absolutely won’t extend and if I want him that bad, I’ll just get him in free agency next year for only money.” I still think for a team that needs stat power bats, that you’re doing a disservice for not at the very least checking in on one of the best young bats in the game. & maybe he has checked in and isn’t comfortable with the asking price for a 1 year rental, but I’m not sure I totally believe he’s done his due diligence here. 

[mul21]

I tend to agree that Soto doesn't make a ton of sense unless he's almost free from a prospect standpoint.  I'm not in love with the Glasnow thing, but that move does make a lot of sense in conjunction with Ohtani as a bridge to him pitching in year 2 of his contract.

[David]

I gotta think, despite what Rogers may think (and, lets all remember, that despite having sources, Jesse is an idiot, so we can trust his sourced reporting while questioning his analysis/interpretation lol), that that just may be the case for right now.  I mean, it's possible that he's heard that they just don't have interest, but I'm sure all of the focus is on Shohei right now and if/when he signs elsewhere, whatever Plan B is will become the focus.

[Jason Ross]

Just now, David said:

I gotta think, despite what Rogers may think (and, lets all remember, that despite having sources, Jesse is an idiot, so we can trust his sourced reporting while questioning his analysis/interpretation lol), that that just may be the case for right now.  I mean, it's possible that he's heard that they just don't have interest, but I'm sure all of the focus is on Shohei right now and if/when he signs elsewhere, whatever Plan B is will become the focus.

I'd normally agree with this, and while I didn't hear the interview, Taylor certainly made it seem like it wasn't a "Well we'll just cycle back to Soto" thing. It very well may end up that way, Taylor could be interpreting things wrong...who knows. But still, I'd rather not be hearing it's like that, than hearing the Cubs are on all fronts looking to add truly impactful talents.

[17 Seconds]

13 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

This is going to lead to the Cubs shelling out a ridiculous AAV for Bellinger isnt it?

my prediction: bellinger/hader/glasnow/another SP

would that even put us at 90 wins?

Edited December 1, 2023 by 17 Seconds

[ToolDRT]

2 minutes ago, 17 Seconds said:

my prediction: bellinger/hader/glasnow/another SP

would that even put us at 90 wins?

Swap out Bellinger with Soto and Glasnow with Cease while adding Hoskins and Imanaga and im interested 🤣

[Bertz]

5 minutes ago, 17 Seconds said:

my prediction: bellinger/hader/glasnow/another SP

would that even put us at 90 wins?

Not quite, it's a bat short so back of the napkin I think it'd be closer to 88.  That said Bellinger being able to play either 1B/CF and going for two SPs really limits downside risk on that team.

[Jfoley89]

Soto not being an option right now could be as simple as Jed called and they said the deal starts with Horton or PCA. It's hard to take much from this without way more information

[Rcal10]

23 minutes ago, 17 Seconds said:

my prediction: bellinger/hader/glasnow/another SP

would that even put us at 90 wins?

If the other starting pitcher came via a trade and he is a low cost controlled pitcher and they added Hoskins too, then I see that as a 90 win team. Trade PCA for the young pitcher and maybe get a solid pen arm as well and/or a third baseman. PCA for Cabrera, Puk, Burger or Ryan, Jax, Polanco? Something like that? Maybe add someone if need be. These are just examples of possible deals. Morel is the DH. IMO that is a 90 win team. And I am not sure they need Hader at his cost. 

[JBears79]

I'd imagine we would be in on Soto next year when he's an FA anyway. Id guess the asking price was too high for Jed.