Cubs offseason chit chat...

[Rcal10]

1 minute ago, Bertz said:

As gross as it is, we should all be rooting for the Yankees.  The Mets, and increasingly it sounds like the Dodgers also, are not planning on going big game hunting at SP if they miss on Yamamoto. 

I have no issues with him going to the Yankees. Hope he does. But I don’t see the Cubs going after any of the top 3 lefties once this is done. My sights are on Giolito or a Stroman reunion. And I am not sure Stroman is a possibility. With the FO. But I would take him. 

[Bertz]

2 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

I have no issues with him going to the Yankees. Hope he does. But I don’t see the Cubs going after any of the top 3 lefties once this is done. My sights are on Giolito or a Stroman reunion. And I am not sure Stroman is a possibility. With the FO. But I would take him. 

We know, you mention this every time they're brought up.

[chibears55]

1 hour ago, Bertz said:

I believe Theo confirmed pretty emphatically that they viewed the day games as a disadvantage on a baseball level.  I think keeping the Friday/Saturday day games and otherwise operating as other franchises do (i.e. Sundays and getaway days) is probably the sweet spot.

I wouldn't mind them bringing back the Friday 3:05 starts.

I always got a kick out of Harry and Stone talking about how they needed to get the lead for Lee Smith to come in with the Shadows ..lol

[Irrelevant Dude]

1 hour ago, LBiittner said:

Mlb is shaving 2 seconds off the pitch clock.

How does everyone plan on using their extra minute now?

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, Bertz said:

We know, you mention this every time they're brought up.

Really. We are still going to bash people for speaking. Why don’t you give it a rest. 

[Jason Ross]

1 hour ago, Bertz said:

As gross as it is, we should all be rooting for the Yankees.  The Mets, and increasingly it sounds like the Dodgers also, are not planning on going big game hunting at SP if they miss on Yamamoto. 

Eh, I think we're kind of in a point where the Cubs, Dodgers. Yankees. the Red Sox and Giants will all end up with one of Yamamoto, Imanaga, Snell and Montgomery, with a possibility the Rangers jump in on Montgomery and at least one of those teams is forced/decides to look for their rotational help via trade. Maybe the Dodgers would rather go Giolito if they think they can fix him, or like, Boston goes with Stroman (Breslow connection), but I think those teams are likely playing some form of musical chairs regardless of the Yamamoto choice at this statge. The Mets feel like the one team who's kind of "Yamamoto or bust". The rest probably go into the same market the Cubs are in. So really, as long as it's not "the Mets" or "the Phillies" (who feel like an outside choice) the Cubs are probably in the same boat regardless.

[LBiittner]

Snell is said to prefer seattle if they are in on him

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, LBiittner said:

Snell is said to prefer seattle if they are in on him

They might be. Though they seem to already be pitching heavy and dumping offense, so we'll see. Maybe I'm reading them wrong, but they seem like a team far less likely to spend big on a FA SP than the others, and more likely to spend on bats or trade for bats with their pitching depth.

[Bertz]

16 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Eh, I think we're kind of in a point where the Cubs, Dodgers. Yankees. the Red Sox and Giants will all end up with one of Yamamoto, Imanaga, Snell and Montgomery, with a possibility the Rangers jump in on Montgomery and at least one of those teams is forced/decides to look for their rotational help via trade. Maybe the Dodgers would rather go Giolito if they think they can fix him, or like, Boston goes with Stroman (Breslow connection), but I think those teams are likely playing some form of musical chairs regardless of the Yamamoto choice at this statge. The Mets feel like the one team who's kind of "Yamamoto or bust". The rest probably go into the same market the Cubs are in. So really, as long as it's not "the Mets" or "the Phillies" (who feel like an outside choice) the Cubs are probably in the same boat regardless.

Yeah that's fair.  Dodgers especially might be more "if not Yamamoto then Cease" than "Yamamoto or bust".

It'd be cool if we knew that Jesus Luzardo and/or Framber Valdez are definitely available.  That'd give enough chairs for everybody to end up with one unless the Angels truly plan to pull down Snell.

Edited December 22, 2023 by Bertz

[thawv]

2 hours ago, ToolDRT said:

So, Angels or Mets???🙂

 

[George Hayduke]

3 hours ago, Tryptamine said:

You see what you've done Jed! This is the offseason banter we're left with.

Yeah but let me ask you this: would you consider a hot dog a sandwich?

[JHBulls]

4 minutes ago, George Hayduke said:

Yeah but let me ask you this: would you consider a hot dog a sandwich?

Yes, probably. But then again, I am one weird horsefeathers.

You know the saying “pineapple doesn’t go on pizza”? About 85% of my frozen pizza purchases is pineapple pizza. 

Why did I go on this short rant? I blame Jed. 

[Stratos]

10 hours ago, CubinNY said:

That's a good point. He had a great spring, but he looked very out of shape. Going a few innings in ST while ramping up to the regular season can be deceiving. I expect that he's going to come to camp this year in better shape. I expect that he's going to have a better year than last year. 

Taillon will probably do better next year but he gives up way too many flyballs and it's been a trend each of his last 3 seasons.  That's not good.  There's no path besides pure luck where he doesn't give up a lot of HR if he pitches like that.

I like his curveball but his fastballs all suck.  Hitters hammer them.

[KCCub]

 

 

Hmm...

[Rcal10]

Ok, now that Yamamoto is signed the the market start to take shape? I can see something like a Cubs trade to the Guardians for Naylor and Beiber. Maybe sign Giolitto or Stroman and then either Chapman or Hoskins. Add a pen arm or two and that is the off season. I think the signing will be Chapman because if it is Hoskins, Morel would have to play 3rd. Porbably not what most want but they would have a great infield defense if Chapman was at 3rd and Naylor at 1st. Plus great outfield defense if/when PCA comes up. Maybe there will be enough money to even get Hader as the pen arm. Not my choice to spend that on a closer, but I can see that happening if the money is there. I think if they did this they would have a decent chance of winning the division. They don’t lose many prospects either. 

[CubinNY]

1 minute ago, Rcal10 said:

Ok, now that Yamamoto is signed the the market start to take shape? I can see something like a Cubs trade to the Guardians for Naylor and Beiber. Maybe sign Giolitto or Stroman and then either Chapman or Hoskins. Add a pen arm or two and that is the off season. I think the signing will be Chapman because if it is Hoskins, Morel would have to play 3rd. Porbably not what most want but they would have a great infield defense if Chapman was at 3rd and Naylor at 1st. Plus great outfield defense if/when PCA comes up. Maybe there will be enough money to even get Hader as the pen arm. Not my choice to spend that on a closer, but I can see that happening if the money is there. I think if they did this they would have a decent chance of winning the division. They don’t lose many prospects either. 

Madrigal and Wisdom are still on the team.

[Rob]

6 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

Madrigal and Wisdom are still on the team.

They're both bench quality players. Incidentally, I really like having them both on the bench. Madrigal for the times you just have to put a ball in play, Wisdom for when you absolutely need a HR.

[Petrey10]

Welp… anothe 75-85 win season barely in or out of playoffs at best. 
 

 

seriously the only way this changes is getting rid of this FO. So over it. 

[Petrey10]

I honestly hope the dodgers win it all. 

[Bertz]

I think we've talked about the pitching musical chairs, but let's actually lay it out.

Teams that definitely want another SP of substance and have money/prospects to throw around:

Giants, Cubs, Red Sox, Yankees

Teams that want SP help, but TBD what kind of resources they are willing to throw around:

Rangers, Blue Jays (definitely going to make a big move, seem to prefer that be a bat), Angels, Mariners (after a SP for bat trade?), Reds, Orioles

So then what's available?

The lefty FA #2 starters:

Imanaga, Montgomery, Snell

The "it wasn't that long ago he was an impact guy" guys:

Stroman, Giolito

The "definitely going to be traded" crew:

Bieber, Cease

The "there have been some rumblings" crew:

Framber Valdez, Jesus Luzardo, Corbin Burnes, several Mariners

So overall things are a bit tight, but it shouldn't be that hard for Jed to pull down at least one potentially two of the above.  There are four teams that are very in on the SP market, and between Cease and the three lefties four impact guys definitely available.

I think where things get dicey is if none of that last group of pitchers is reasonably available or if more than one or two of those second tier teams do in fact go big game hunting. 

[Bertz]

34 minutes ago, Rob said:

They're both bench quality players. Incidentally, I really like having them both on the bench. Madrigal for the times you just have to put a ball in play, Wisdom for when you absolutely need a HR.

I really wish Wisdom’s ability to competently play 3B hadn't evaporated overnight because like you say offensively they complement each other extremely well.  That'd be a fun little platoon to run out there while we wait for Shaw/Murray/etc. to develop

[JBears79]

10 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I really wish Wisdom’s ability to competently play 3B hadn't evaporated overnight because like you say offensively they complement each other extremely well.  That'd be a fun little platoon to run out there while we wait for Shaw/Murray/etc. to develop

Wasnt Wisdom pretty above average defensively his first year here? He kinda just fell off a cliff that way. Just never ever play him in the OF ever again. 

 

I still think Wisdom is a good bench bat to have. The power is still ridiculous even if he is strictly a 3 outcome hitter.

 

[CubinNY]

43 minutes ago, Petrey10 said:

Welp… anothe 75-85 win season barely in or out of playoffs at best. 
 

 

seriously the only way this changes is getting rid of this FO. So over it. 

the front office is implementing the owners' plan. They ain't goin' nowhere. 

[Michael Busch Light]

27 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

the front office is implementing the owners' plan. They ain't goin' nowhere. 

It's also not in Jed's DNA to go long on these years.  Until that changes we are going to have to play in the kiddie pool.   

[CubinNY]

Just now, Javy Bystro said:

It's also not in Jed's DNA to go long on these years.  Until that changes we are going to have to play in the kiddie pool.   

we don't know what's in Jed's DNA, other than A, C, G, and T. But one would assume that he either agrees with the Ricketts or at least wants to keep his job. I assume that he shares their vision, but they set the agenda. I don't believe for a second all the press that the Ricketts are hands-off owners. I think Jed knows what the expectations are and largely agrees with how they are team building.