Cubs offseason chit chat...

[ToolDRT]

7 minutes ago, I owned a Suzuki said:

Or he could be a very good MLB player for years and Bellinger's hard hit rate is a real thing and he becomes Erik Hosmer at 1b in 2 years making 28 mill a season.  I think this is every bit as possible, especially since PCA at minimum is an extremely valuable defensive CF. 

Yeah. Let’s not also forget if Belli doesn’t work out, it’ll just reinforce Tom and Jed’s stupid idea of not acting like a big market team. He’ll be used as their “you can’t buy a championship” scapegoat for the length of his contract. 

[Bertz]

Between this and all the deals he signed last winter I'm more and more convinced Preller does not expect to be running the Padres for more than another 2-3 years

 

[LBiittner]

Preller will probably be sniffing Theos job after Theo becomes the next commissioner

[LBiittner]

I wish the cubs could afford a potential closer for 5 million a year

Fuckit that's less than mancini money

Edited December 20, 2023 by LBiittner

[We Got The Whole 9]

Wow that's all it took 

[ToolDRT]

My guess is Jed bowed out after his 3/12 offer wasn’t accepted. Not enough value in this deal. 

[JHBulls]

That is a big win for the Padres. 

[WhyCantWeWin]

41 minutes ago, ToolDRT said:

My guess is Jed bowed out after his 3/12 offer wasn’t accepted. Not enough value in this deal. 

Probably unwilling to go over 2 years

[ToolDRT]

8 minutes ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

Probably unwilling to go over 2 years

He saves the second year for the Tucker Barnharts of the world. 

[Rcal10]

4 hours ago, Backtobanks said:

The key is trading them for a significant player before they lose their trade value.  The Cubs seem to be good at waiting too long and then the prospect is worthless.  I think PCA could be a perfect example of that.  If he struggles his value goes from the highest on the team to a throw in on a minor deal.  Sign Bellinger and trade PCA for a young, controlled SP.. 

I get that. And don’t disagree. But you don’t trade PCA, Brown, Triantos, Canario and Alcántara for Valdez.
I would be fine dealing PCA if they got Bellinger. Maybe him, Triantos and Wesneski for Bieber, Clase and Naylor. If you have to add another prospect, it isn’t  top 10 guy. That is taking advantage of his value. 

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

Wow that's all it took 

Do we know if he is any good. Not like other teams wanted him either. Everyone who signs with another team other than the Cubs, doesn’t mean the Cubs were wrong not getting him. If he went for just over $5M a year for 4 years, maybe there are real questions about him. 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Rcal10

[Rcal10]

25 minutes ago, JHBulls said:

That is a big win for the Padres. 

There truly is not enough data to make this statement confidently. No one else offered that. So maybe he isn’t anything special. If he was he would have gotten a lot more.

[Backtobanks]

1 hour ago, I owned a Suzuki said:

Or he could be a very good MLB player for years and Bellinger's hard hit rate is a real thing and he becomes Erik Hosmer at 1b in 2 years making 28 mill a season.  I think this is every bit as possible, especially since PCA at minimum is a extremely valuable defensive CF. 

I would rather take my chances on a 28-year-old with a proven track record of gold gloves, all-star appearances, multiple top-ten MVP finishes, that had a slash line of .307/.356/.525 last year.  If he was 32 or 33 years old or a bad CF, I might understand taking a chance on picking PCA over him, but he's not.  Also, we need to take into account what kind of return we could get for a deal involving PCA.  If PCA turns into a very good MLB player, that's the chance you take by playing with real contenders in the ML.

[Rcal10]

19 minutes ago, TomtheBombadil said:

Emmanuel Clase is signed for 3/$14.2 with a $4 luxury cap hit and two team options after that! 

Is there a point to this comment? 

[JHBulls]

34 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

There truly is not enough data to make this statement confidently. No one else offered that. So maybe he isn’t anything special. If he was he would have gotten a lot more.

That’s all very true. He’s a 5 x NPB All-Star and 3 x Leagues saves champion, so he has history of pitching well in Japan. It might not mean much when he hits MLB but I feel $5 million a year is a free hit these days. 

[CubinNY]

Pearl Jam are doing two shows at Wrigley next year. That’s Hader’s money if the want him. 

[LBiittner]

Hader? Jed just spent the  money for Joe Hudson

[LBiittner]

Damn we need some cubs action

[UMFan83]

1 hour ago, Rcal10 said:

Is there a point to this comment? 

People were trying to fit him into possible Cubs-Guardians trade. Thus saying we can get a better reliever for less money

[squally1313]

An Asian pitcher coming over to the MLB and picking a west coast team is just another Jed/Ricketts failure to like, half the board here. Cool cool cool, fun stuff. 

[ToolDRT]

6 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

An Asian pitcher coming over to the MLB and picking a west coast team is just another Jed/Ricketts failure to like, half the board here. Cool cool cool, fun stuff. 

It’s just that if they want to stay with the third tier to fill out this team they may want to actually sign some of those guys before they’re gone too. 

[squally1313]

5 minutes ago, ToolDRT said:

It’s just that if they want to stay with the third tier to fill out this team they may want to actually sign some of those guys before they’re gone too. 

Fangraphs has Matsui as the 92nd rated free agent out there by projected WAR. There are 62 better free agents still available by that metric. But yes, Ricketts sent a text asking if he could get paid in hot dogs and got turned down, lol.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Also the Cubs have their share of relievers with below average velocity already, if they're making guaranteed deals to one I don't have the guy with uncertain MLB production who tops out at 94 particularly high on my list.

[ToolDRT]

24 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Fangraphs has Matsui as the 92nd rated free agent out there by projected WAR. There are 62 better free agents still available by that metric. But yes, Ricketts sent a text asking if he could get paid in hot dogs and got turned down, lol.

No one said any of that.  If we’re going cheap they need to go get the cheap players. You can’t sit on your hands all offseason hoping that the perfect deal is going to come around. Not even saying I’m super psyched about him as a pitcher. But I think it’s clear we’re out of the first tier of free agents. Unless the second tiers individual markets fall apart, I suspect we’ll sit that group out as well. Might at least try for some potential upside guys at this stage. 
 

oh what am I saying? These guys are crap. But if that’s what we want, then go get the crap. 

Edited December 21, 2023 by ToolDRT

[squally1313]

22 minutes ago, ToolDRT said:

No one said any of that.  If we’re going cheap they need to go get the cheap players. You can’t sit on your hands all offseason hoping that the perfect deal is going to come around. Not even saying I’m super psyched about him as a pitcher. But I think it’s clear we’re out of the first tier of free agents. Unless the second tiers individual markets fall apart, I suspect we’ll sit that group out as well. Might at least try for some potential upside guys at this stage. 
 

oh what am I saying? These guys are crap. But if that’s what we want, then go get the crap. 

Creating a hypothetical world where the Cubs only target/are willing to pay for sub 1 fWAR guys, and then getting upset when those guys are signed by other teams, is certainly a way to do things around here.