Cubs offseason chit chat...

[Jason Ross]

Can't tell if I think the Rays are trying to push the Braves/Dodgers narrative for Glasnow to force an issue with the Cubs, or the Cubs are seemingly losing ground there. Glasnow is one of the few players the Cubs are likely "in" on that represents a true departure from what they're missing: truly impactful talent. Bieber, Imanaga, and Montgomery are all fairly good players but none represent the upside Glasnow does, something I think the team is sorely lacking. 

[Andy]

13 hours ago, The20thK said:

Cubs fans:

If the Cubs don’t spend like crazy we will never win anything!!

 

also Cubs fans:

MLB doesnt need a salary cap because teams like the Brewers and Rays can compete with small budgets. 
 

Can we have some consistency? Are big budgets an advantage or not? 

This isn't that hard.

Under the current MLB system, the only advantage big market teams have is spending lots of money. Everything else is rigged for small market teams - extra picks, MLB pay structure, etc.

So big market teams that don't spend lots of money are forfeiting the only advantage they have.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Is this the first we've seen connecting to the Mariners that wasn't us fans hoping to poach a pitcher?  If you've picked up two external bats via 1B and DH and spent good money on one SP, if they don't want to give Morel serious time at 3B then something like the Morel for Bryan Woo framework becomes pretty viable again.

[Jason Ross]

3 minutes ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

Is this the first we've seen connecting to the Mariners that wasn't us fans hoping to poach a pitcher?  If you've picked up two external bats via 1B and DH and spent good money on one SP, if they don't want to give Morel serious time at 3B then something like the Morel for Bryan Woo framework becomes pretty viable again.

Yeah, I like the Morel for Woo concept. I think the Morel-for-Woo stuff makes a lot of sense in the event the Cubs move a SP, which may be something they'd need to do to either get Glasnow or Bieber/Clase from the Guardians.

[Bertz]

9 minutes ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

Is this the first we've seen connecting to the Mariners that wasn't us fans hoping to poach a pitcher?  If you've picked up two external bats via 1B and DH and spent good money on one SP, if they don't want to give Morel serious time at 3B then something like the Morel for Bryan Woo framework becomes pretty viable again.

During the Winter Meetings the Athletic guys mentioned Jed's been talking to the Mariners and Kelenic was among those discussed before he went to the Braves.

[Jason Ross]

3 minutes ago, Bertz said:

During the Winter Meetings the Athletic guys mentioned Jed's been talking to the Mariners and Kelenic was among those discussed before he went to the Braves.

I'd have been a fan of adding Kelenic. Damn.

[Petrey10]

2 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

Yes. If they are paying him and bidding against other teams for his services in centerfield he needs to be in centerfield. That is too much money for 1st base. 

It’s too much money for a bad back and injuries. Didn’t we just go thru this with Rizzo! 
 

however you want to spin it Belli is going to be a volatile sign. He’s going to need to play CF, 1B and DH. Next year I sure hope he can play like he did this year and play CF most of the time but if he wants 6-8yrs then guess what? He’s not going to last in CF. 

[Rcal10]

If they are talking with the Twins does Kirilloff make sense? Left bat who can play 1st. Not sure his cost. He has a few more years of team control. 

[Bertz]

8 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

If they are talking with the Twins does Kirilloff make sense? Left bat who can play 1st. Not sure his cost. He has a few more years of team control. 

I'd guess not unless they're thinking of moving Kepler or Wallner to the infield.  Polanco's definitely on the block because they have Lewis and Julien ready right now and Brooks Lee not far off.  But with the poor year Jose Miranda had they don't have someone obvious at 1B behind Kirilloff.

That said they're one of the teams pretty up against it because of the TV money bubble bursting.  They might be willing to do some creative roster maneuvering to cut cash.

[Rcal10]

9 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I'd guess not unless they're thinking of moving Kepler or Wallner to the infield.  Polanco's definitely on the block because they have Lewis and Julien ready right now and Brooks Lee not far off.  But with the poor year Jose Miranda had they don't have someone obvious at 1B behind Kirilloff.

That said they're one of the teams pretty up against it because of the TV money bubble bursting.  They might be willing to do some creative roster maneuvering to cut cash.

And we really don’t know what other teams like or want. Maybe Mervis goes back to them if they think he can play. I know Polanco is also an option. Again, just kind of guessing since Jed said they weee focusing on left handed bats during the winter meetings. 

[Rob]

Something I've been noodling is whether it makes sense to try to move Ian Happ to 1B. He played a little bit of 2B and 3B for us way back when. He was pretty bad at each. But despite snagging a GG in LF, the metrics are pretty mixed on him out there. I think he could be a fine 1B with a little practice.

FA is a wasteland right now, but upgrading an OF spot is going to be easier than 1B.

Heck, even if we're thinking of bringing back Bellinger and giving PCA a shot, I think it makes more sense to deploy Bellinger in LF and Happ at 1B rather than putting Bellinger at 1B.

[Derwood]

Bellinger to Toronto would make a lot of sense. Their outfield is pretty thin. 

[jersey cubs fan]

4 minutes ago, Derwood said:

Bellinger to Toronto would make a lot of sense. Their outfield is pretty thin. 

Midwest thin, maybe. 

[LBiittner]

Hi, my name is Jed, I just love swimming in shallow waters. There are no waves and no strong current to disrupt the flow of a peaceful tranquility. An existence Where I bow down to the mighty Sharks in New York and L.A. 

My hopes, after the Sharks are done feeding,  they leave enough chum to satisfy the remora attached to their underbelly. 

[17 Seconds]

this won't happen, but i'm intrigued at the idea of signing bellinger for long-term cf and trading pca

[LBiittner]

27 minutes ago, Rob said:

Something I've been noodling is whether it makes sense to try to move Ian Happ to 1B. He played a little bit of 2B and 3B for us way back when. He was pretty bad at each. But despite snagging a GG in LF, the metrics are pretty mixed on him out there. I think he could be a fine 1B with a little practice.

FA is a wasteland right now, but upgrading an OF spot is going to be easier than 1B.

Heck, even if we're thinking of bringing back Bellinger and giving PCA a shot, I think it makes more sense to deploy Bellinger in LF and Happ at 1B rather than putting Bellinger at 1B.

Happ at first? 

In which beer league?

[LBiittner]

6 minutes ago, 17 Seconds said:

this won't happen, but i'm intrigued at the idea of signing bellinger for long-term cf and trading pca

Javy is available. 

[Derwood]

7 minutes ago, jersey cubs fan said:

Midwest thin, maybe. 

 

Why did you post a photo of a player who has never played the OF?

[Rob]

7 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

Happ at first? 

In which beer league?

Okay, consider me interested.

Is your argument that 1B is actually harder than LF? Or are you arguing that Happ is so bad in LF that he needs to be skipped over 1B entirely and moved straight to DH? Or something else entirely?

[17 Seconds]

they would have been better off just not re-signing him than moving him to 1b

[LBiittner]

1 minute ago, Rob said:

Okay, consider me interested.

Is your argument that 1B is actually harder than LF? Or are you arguing that Happ is so bad in LF that he needs to be skipped over 1B entirely and moved straight to DH? Or something else entirely?

haven't you noticed ballplayers have egos as well as multimillion dollar contracts. Those gold gloves will look good on his resume 

If Happ moves to 1B, he no longer lines up well with another huge payday. 

The days are long gone where players take one for the team.

[Rob]

1 minute ago, LBiittner said:

haven't you noticed ballplayers have egos as well as multimillion dollar contracts. Those gold gloves will look good on his resume 

If Happ moves to 1B, he no longer lines up well with another huge payday. 

The days are long gone where players take one for the team.

This isn't 1996. Teams don't give a horsefeathers if you get a gold glove for your defense. They've got their whole analytics department whispering in the GMs ear not just about general defensive value, but metrics that granularly break down precisely what a player can and cannot do effectively. How fast is his jump? How efficient are his routes? What's the release time on his throws? Etc... Every single front office in baseball is going to come to their own conclusions of his defense, and I'm sure a bunch of them already think he's a 1B.

The gold gloves look good on a mantle or a press release, and that's just about it. Maybe if you're lucky and get one during your pre-arb years you can parlay it into a bit of extra cash from a clueless arbitrator. But that's not his situation.

Acting like people out there give a crap about GGs in LF. C'mon...

[Rcal10]

17 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

haven't you noticed ballplayers have egos as well as multimillion dollar contracts. Those gold gloves will look good on his resume 

If Happ moves to 1B, he no longer lines up well with another huge payday. 

The days are long gone where players take one for the team.

I don’t agree with this. If Happ were asked to move over to 1st base he would move over. I would imagine it would be easier for him to pick up than it was Harper. And Harper did fine. So why wouldn’t Happ? At least he did play the infield. But unless they signed a big bat for the outfield or traded for one, I don’t see the purpose. 

[CubinNY]

It's a stretch, but Happ came up as a 2nd baseman. Anyway, it's not going to happen. The die is cast as they say. I think Jed made a mistake in extending both Happ and Nico, but that's me.

If they sign Belli to a mega contract they will trade PCA. 

[LBiittner]

4 minutes ago, Rob said:

This isn't 1996. Teams don't give a horsefeathers if you get a gold glove for your defense. They've got their whole analytics department whispering in the GMs ear not just about general defensive value, but metrics that granularly break down precisely what a player can and cannot do effectively. How fast is his jump? How efficient are his routes? What's the release time on his throws? Etc... Every single front office in baseball is going to come to their own conclusions of his defense, and I'm sure a bunch of them already think he's a 1B.

The gold gloves look good on a mantle or a press release, and that's just about it. Maybe if you're lucky and get one during your pre-arb years you can parlay it into a bit of extra cash from a clueless arbitrator. But that's not his situation.

Acting like people out there give a crap about GGs in LF. C'mon...

People? No.

I did mention ballplayer egos.

Happ at first. Might as well put lefthanded fielding tauchman at third