Cubs offseason chit chat...

[JHBulls]

Doom boner? I must use that one. 

[Tryptamine]

I wonder how many years it has been since the Cubs have gone this far into the offseason without making a major league contract deal? 

[SOFNR]

27 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

I wonder how many years it has been since the Cubs have gone this far into the offseason without making a major league contract deal? 

Not that long. I don't believe the Cubs handed out any major league contracts in the 2019 or 2020 offseasons. 

[Jason Ross]

Passan just name dropped Michael Wacha as a Cub target.

[Rcal10]

3 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Passan just name dropped Michael Wacha as a Cub target.

YUCK! 

[Jason Ross]

9 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

YUCK! 

Yeah. I'm trying to find it in me to remain positive and having a good outlook, but I just don't understand what the Cubs would do with Wacha. He doesn't get ground balls. He doesn't have velocity. He doesn't really strike people out. He feels like someone who had his HR/FB% numbers suppressed by San Diego's ballfield. It feels like we have 2 or 3 middling arms who can slide into the rotation already. I don't even know if he makes sense if we trade someone like Wicks. Would I really rather have Michael Wacha in the rotation over, like Asad? He's going to get a rotation spot somewhere, and I bet he gets two years. I guess I don't see it. 

Maybe there's some kind of big trade brewing where the Cubs need a one year arm and Wacha would take one? Maybe it's just agents leaking things and trying to drum up interest? Just due diligence? Or speculation? I don't know. But if the Cubs do Michael Wacha it feels like Trey Mancini v2.0 where the Cubs will sign a player with some real underlying issues past his ERA to a two year contract and hate themselves for it later.

Edited December 14, 2023 by 1908_Cubs

[UMFan83]

15 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Passan just name dropped Michael Wacha as a Cub target.

Are we being punished for some reason?

[Rcal10]

5 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Yeah. I'm trying to find it in me to remain positive and having a good outlook, but I just don't understand what the Cubs would do with Wacha. He doesn't get ground balls. He doesn't have velocity. He doesn't really strike people out. He feels like someone who had his HR/FB% numbers suppressed by San Diego's ballfield. It feels like we have 2 or 3 middling arms who can slide into the rotation already. I don't even know if he makes sense if we trade someone like Wicks. Would I really rather have Michael Wacha in the rotation over, like Asad? He's going to get a rotation spot somewhere, and I bet he gets two years. I guess I don't see it. 

Maybe there's some kind of big trade brewing where the Cubs need a one year arm and Wacha would take one? Maybe it's just agents leaking things and trying to drum up interest? Just due diligence? Or speculation? I don't know. But if the Cubs do Michael Wacha it feels like Trey Mancini v2.0 where the Cubs will sign a player with some real underlying issues past his ERA to a two year contract and hate themselves for it later.

Way more detailed and thought out response than me. But the result is the same. YUCK!!!! Hope it is bs. 

[ILMindState]

23 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Passan just name dropped Michael Wacha as a Cub target.

Holy horsefeathers what are we doing here. Are we the Reds now but with the Brewers old manager?

[We Got The Whole 9]

At this point in their careers hes not much different from Bieber

[ILMindState]

Instead of going after players the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Giants, and Phillies are after we are swimming in the shallow end with teams like the horsefeathers Reds.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

[LBiittner]

30 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Passan just name dropped Michael Wacha as a Cub target.

I'm going to laugh my horsefeathers ass off till tears flow like a raging river. 

[ILMindState]

It would be hilarious if Wacha and Alfaro are the only signings before Cubs con

[ILMindState]

 

 

[Tryptamine]

1 minute ago, ILMindState said:

It would be hilarious if Wacha and Alfaro are the only signings before Cubs con

Wont matter, Cub fans are stupid. Do you not recall them chanting Trey Mancini's name last year? 

[Bertz]

I think I've seen some stuff from some of the pitch design guys on Twitter that Wacha's last two years are not as smoke and mirrors as they look at first blush.

That said I don't understand what the point is unless he's backfilling for a chunk of pitching depth going out the door in trade.  With Soto and Glasnow spoken for and Cleveland/Seattle looking more at bats I'm curious what that trade would be?  Because if we have all of Assad/Wicks/Wesneski/Brown in hand still adding a mediocre veteran to block them seems needlessly conservative.  And if Wacha's the #1 SP added this winter...woof.

[We Got The Whole 9]

The Cubs have only made 3 major splashes in FA in my (and presumably, your) lifetime. This should be inevitable to all. 

[gocubs218]

53 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Passan just name dropped Michael Wacha as a Cub target.

No he did not. I listened to the whole interview. He used Wacha as an example of something they could do. Passan doesn’t know anything about the Cubs like every other media person. Jed is so tight lipped with everything. 

[ILMindState]

7 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

The Cubs have only made 3 major splashes in FA in my (and presumably, your) lifetime. This should be inevitable to all. 

I thought most of us here were older than 8

[CubinNY]

6 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

The Cubs have only made 3 major splashes in FA in my (and presumably, your) lifetime. This should be inevitable to all. 

Dawson, Heyward, Big Jon?

in the 1980’s before Dawson they made a huge investment in a pitcher from Houston and two other guys and it was a dismal failure. I think his name was Mike Scott. I remember they were on the cover of SI during spring training. 

[Layoutman]

Lack of any movement is surprising. I thought once Ohtani and Soto got sorted out there would be some action. Does Jed still have a pulse? Or is he on another 3 day binge drinking bender like last year (When he signed Mancini)?

[17 Seconds]

Just now, Layoutman said:

Lack of any movement is surprising. I thought once Ohtani and Soto got sorted out there would be some action. Does Jed still have a pulse? Or is he on another 3 day binge drinking bender like last year (When he signed Mancini)?

it's not just jed. there's barely anything going in

[17 Seconds]

22 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Wont matter, Cub fans are stupid. Do you not recall them chanting Trey Mancini's name last year? 

I think that was because he almost died

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Just now, Layoutman said:

Lack of any movement is surprising. I thought once Ohtani and Soto got sorted out there would be some action. Does Jed still have a pulse? Or is he on another 3 day binge drinking bender like last year (When he signed Mancini)?

Something I looked up the other day that I think informs this.  Outside the two Japanese pitchers, most of the best remaining FA are Boras clients.  Montgomery, Bellinger, Chapman, Hoskins.  He's very unafraid to wait out the market, and especially given the questions marks and QO considerations that surround them, I wouldn't be surprised if the FA market slows until January.

It's because of that dynamic that makes me curious what Hoskins wants.  If he wanted to sign a Bellinger-style pillow contract, presumably that would be done by now.  Maybe he's a bit more interested in a multi-year deal given his age and comparative lack of ceiling?