Cubs offseason chit chat...

[s2obed]

3 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

I agree. But the problem is Boras needs to realize this. He and his players need to realize there just are not many options left. When does a player walk into Boras’ office and tell him enough is enough, time to make a deal? 

I am thinking soon. If they wait longer I imagine players will lose some money. Or they could wait it out and see if a team with playoff aspirations has a significant injury..

[Stratos]

1 hour ago, s2obed said:

I am thinking soon. If they wait longer I imagine players will lose some money. Or they could wait it out and see if a team with playoff aspirations has a significant injury..

Kimbrel waited a long time and did well.  Did he even lose any money the partial year he signed?  Maybe we'll still be here in July.

Once the ST games start that's the team in my head, I can't do this much longer.

[Rcal10]

3 hours ago, Stratos said:

Kimbrel waited a long time and did well.  Did he even lose any money the partial year he signed?  Maybe we'll still be here in July.

Once the ST games start that's the team in my head, I can't do this much longer.

They will be signed by the start of the season. Honestly I want to see some signings, but I have become numb to it a bit. It will happen when it happens. Until then I hope Jed is at least looking at other ways to improve the team. Sadly I think the 2 guys that made the most sense for the Cubs to sign were Belt and/or Hoskins. Neither cost as much, both in years and yearly salary, as Boras guys and each played a position of need, until they traded for Busch. Now if they sign Chapman he isn’t exactly an offensive force, and he could block Shaw or Murray in a few years. And if they sign Bellinger he blocks PCA, or they have to do a lot of mixing and matching to get them both in the line up. I am starting to lean into the Chapman idea if they can get him for 4 years. Imagine the defense with him and PCA added. They might not score the most runs, but I think they will prevent a lot of runs. And if Shaw or Murray do develope I am sure they can figure something out. Maybe trade Morel when those guys are ready. 

Edited February 15, 2024 by Rcal10

[Tryptamine]

26 minutes ago, The20thK said:

Maybe players wouldn’t cost so much if we didn’t have Bidenflation? 

I can't even muster the energy to do more than sigh at this point.

[Rcal10]

20 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

I can't even muster the energy to do more than sigh at this point.

I definitely don’t agree with 20thK. But if other people are going to say something from the other side, we are going to see these stupid comments. Maybe we should just leave political views to other discussion sites. 

[Rob]

1 hour ago, Rcal10 said:

I definitely don’t agree with 20thK. But if other people are going to say something from the other side, we are going to see these stupid comments. Maybe we should just leave political views to other discussion sites. 

Better yet, we should all be making these silly bait comments and banning the people that can't resist responding to them with right-wing buffoonery.

But the bait comments should be funnier. B2B's sucked.

Also, I should get a pony.

[Stratos]

8 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

They will be signed by the start of the season. Honestly I want to see some signings, but I have become numb to it a bit. It will happen when it happens. Until then I hope Jed is at least looking at other ways to improve the team. Sadly I think the 2 guys that made the most sense for the Cubs to sign were Belt and/or Hoskins. Neither cost as much, both in years and yearly salary, as Boras guys and each played a position of need, until they traded for Busch. Now if they sign Chapman he isn’t exactly an offensive force, and he could block Shaw or Murray in a few years. And if they sign Bellinger he blocks PCA, or they have to do a lot of mixing and matching to get them both in the line up. I am starting to lean into the Chapman idea if they can get him for 4 years. Imagine the defense with him and PCA added. They might not score the most runs, but I think they will prevent a lot of runs. And if Shaw or Murray do develope I am sure they can figure something out. Maybe trade Morel when those guys are ready. 

I'm probably good with them signing whomever of the 4, though Bellinger probably fills the most needs for 2024.  We really need more LHB.  Someone on the team can always be traded in the next offseason or 2 if we want to make room for someone on the farm so i'm not worried about blocking guys, it's a better problem than lack of talent somewhere.  We're mostly just looking to fill a gap for 1-2 seasons no matter the position.

[CubinNY]

The Athletic (Jim Bowden) had the Cubs ranked 14th and the Reds (12th) as the highest-ranked NL Central team. Bowden said they reminded him of the 1999 team that won 96 games. 

NL Central Rankings 

Reds (12)

Cubs (14)

Brewers (18)

Cardinals (20)

Pirates (24)

--------------------------

In terms of hype based on high level prospects making a mark, I'd say the Reds are in a really good position. I'm also surprised that they haven't traded India for some pitching. Anyway, I don't know about the exact numbers, but the order looks right to me in terms of how I think things may shake out. 

Edited February 16, 2024 by CubinNY

[Tim]

People have been listing the Reds as a break out candidate for each of the last eleventy-one years. There's talent there, but I'll believe it when I see it.

[Bertz]

https://theathletic.com/5270852/2024/02/16/mlb-young-hitters-fantasy-baseball?source=user-shared-article

Christopher Morel gets a little love as a young breakout hitter for 2024.  The tl;dr is that his plate discipline numbers paint the picture of being "selectively aggressive", the power is the goods, and he pulls the ball in the air a lot.  Obviously more swing and miss than you'd like but the overall package is strong.

[17 Seconds]

7 hours ago, The20thK said:

Hello Stalin! Or is it Mao? Or Castro? 
 

 

god this thread sucks ass

[CubinNY]

1 hour ago, Bertz said:

https://theathletic.com/5270852/2024/02/16/mlb-young-hitters-fantasy-baseball?source=user-shared-article

Christopher Morel gets a little love as a young breakout hitter for 2024.  The tl;dr is that his plate discipline numbers paint the picture of being "selectively aggressive", the power is the goods, and he pulls the ball in the air a lot.  Obviously more swing and miss than you'd like but the overall package is strong.

I'm looking forward to seeing his progress this year. Hopefully it will calm all the people who want to trade him for a middle releiver. 

[Brian707]

13 hours ago, The20thK said:

Maybe players wouldn’t cost so much if we didn’t have Bidenflation? 

[Tim]

29 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

Enough. This thread is painful enough without the political commentary.

[17 Seconds]

game threads are going to be wild this season

[Post Count Padder]

This is what #PTR has done to us. Tale as old as time. Rich a-hole makes the commoners fight with each other for his amusement.

[soccer10k]

On 2/11/2024 at 4:32 AM, Tim said:

I don't get this. This team has:

• A legit Cy Young contender from last season looking to build on that performance
• An absolutely joyful dude to loves to play and hit dongs
• Three huge ROY candidates at SP, 1B and CF
• Zero legit bad positions on the entire field or on the mound

There is plenty to watch and be excited about out there.

And most importantly, no more David Ross. F that guy.

 

/GR Cubs

[Post Count Padder]

Whit Merrifield to the Phillies. Dan Vogelbach to the Blue Jays. Some lower tier guys off the board. And those two, along with Soler to the Giants, maybe takes out three of the big teams in on Bellinger. And who knows who's still in on Chapman.

Maybe I'll be wrong but it looks like Boras' waiting game this offseason didn't work out.

 

EDIT: Vogelbach is only a MiL deal but point stands. With adding Turner too, there doesn't appear to be a roster fit for him in Toronto. 

Edited February 17, 2024 by Post Count Padder
add more context

[chibears55]

Jed gonna snatch Chapman and Bellinger on short deals 😅

[Stratos]

14 hours ago, CubinNY said:

The Athletic (Jim Bowden) had the Cubs ranked 14th and the Reds (12th) as the highest-ranked NL Central team. Bowden said they reminded him of the 1999 team that won 96 games. 

NL Central Rankings 

Reds (12)

Cubs (14)

Brewers (18)

Cardinals (20)

Pirates (24)

--------------------------

In terms of hype based on high level prospects making a mark, I'd say the Reds are in a really good position. I'm also surprised that they haven't traded India for some pitching. Anyway, I don't know about the exact numbers, but the order looks right to me in terms of how I think things may shake out. 

There's 12 playoff teams, so 14th sounds about right lol

[Stratos]

Looks like the Blue Jays are out on any big signings left.   Good news especially for Chapman/Bellinger.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/02/atkins-jays-would-need-to-subtract-to-accommodate-significant-acquisition.html

[Irrelevant Dude]

The longer this drags on, what are the chances Bellinger might take another 1 year deal?  Obviously it would take a much larger amount than last season, but that would be ideal for the Cubs and would also allow Bellinger to re-enter free agency next winter without the qualifying offer attached.  I still think that's a huge risk for him to take, but if he's not getting what he wants maybe he is willing to bet on himself one more time.

[Thusly Boned]

2 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

The longer this drags on, what are the chances Bellinger might take another 1 year deal?  Obviously it would take a much larger amount than last season, but that would be ideal for the Cubs and would also allow Bellinger to re-enter free agency next winter without the qualifying offer attached.  I still think that's a huge risk for him to take, but if he's not getting what he wants maybe he is willing to bet on himself one more time.

I can't imagine the chances there are good. He's coming off a nice rebound season after multiple bad ones; if he signed a one year deal and regressed significantly, he probably wouldn't get a good shot at a lucrative multiyear deal again. It would validate all the uncertainty around him.

It'd be a huge roll of the dice to sign a one year deal.

[SOFNR]

2 hours ago, XZero77 said:

I can't imagine the chances there are good. He's coming off a nice rebound season after multiple bad ones; if he signed a one year deal and regressed significantly, he probably wouldn't get a good shot at a lucrative multiyear deal again. It would validate all the uncertainty around him.

It'd be a huge roll of the dice to sign a one year deal.

Yah, as appealing as it is for the Cubs I can't imagine him signing a 1 year deal again. He honestly deserves better. But if nobody is willing to cough up long term maybe you can get away with something structured around 4 years with opt outs. 4/110 with 35 mil the first year and the ability to hit the market again in 2025 if he has another great season? Maybe something similar but 5 years. Something that gives him some security but another chance to hit a long term deal next year.

[Rob]

Pretty much zero chance he takes a one year deal.

There is, however, a very good chance he takes a deal with a lower total guarantee than he'd like, but with early opt-outs. He could take something like 8/$140M and know he'd have an opportunity to cash in for more if he shows last year wasn't a fluke.