Cubs offseason chit chat...

[JD94]

56 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

 

I've always questioned how legitimate Charles is, but he nailed the Darvish thing. At worst, it's another link to throw on the pile.

Don’t think he has any inside info, but I must admit, I still follow him because I love rumors. 

[jersey cubs fan]

3 minutes ago, JD94 said:

Buster Olney reporting that there in a 100% chance Juan Soto is traded this offseason. 

[PeanutPunch33]

I don’t think it’s realistic but Bobby Witt Jr would be amazing to man 3rd base, I’d rather have him than Soto if they are making a splash. i doubt he gets traded though 

[JD94]

5 minutes ago, PeanutPunch33 said:

I don’t think it’s realistic but Bobby Witt Jr would be amazing to man 3rd base, I’d rather have him than Soto if they are making a splash. i doubt he gets traded though 

They definitely wouldn’t trade him. Not yet. They still have plenty of time before he hits free agency to build around him before they have to decide whether to trade him or not. Those same Royals held on to Whit Merrifield for years while he lost all trade value when they had no path to contend. 

[LBiittner]

41 minutes ago, JD94 said:

Don’t think he has any inside info, but I must admit, I still follow him because I love rumors. 

I would check in on him periodically. Interesting he's been silent on twitter for almost a solid year before he dropped this nugget.

[ILMindState]

1 hour ago, 1908_Cubs said:

 

I've always questioned how legitimate Charles is, but he nailed the Darvish thing. At worst, it's another link to throw on the pile.

As legitimate as ABTY

[ToolDRT]

4 minutes ago, ILMindState said:

As legitimate as ABTY

Man, I hated that guy 🤣

[JD94]

17 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

I would check in on him periodically. Interesting he's been silent on twitter for almost a solid year before he dropped this nugget.

If nothing else, he’s a good follow to keep up with the latest rumors you might’ve missed. He’s either sourced or regurgitates someone else’s info, either way, you’re still getting info lol. 

[Stratos]

I guess the Ross firing tells us the Cubs actually wanted Hendricks back @ 16.5m and loyalty wasn't any kind of deciding factor.  Which is good they have faith in him as a pitcher....more than I.  I hope he has a good year and stays healthy.  Prefer 1 year a little overpriced than a 2-year deal.

[Bertz]

1 hour ago, ILMindState said:

As legitimate as ABTY

So....many...ellipses....

[Jason Ross]

1 hour ago, ILMindState said:

As legitimate as ABTY

Always been my take on it. He maintains a seriously good followers list which is what always throws me. He's got 10+ accounts that follow him that break legitimate Cub news. 

[Jason Ross]

15 minutes ago, Bertz said:

So....many...ellipses....

🤣 Ya'll have stumbled down an old Pro Sports Daily rabbit hole with this one. 

[David]

4 hours ago, 1908_Cubs said:

 

I've always questioned how legitimate Charles is, but he nailed the Darvish thing. At worst, it's another link to throw on the pile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annnnd my favorite...

 

 

[Jason Ross]

51 minutes ago, David said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annnnd my favorite...

 

 

Sounds about right.  I've always wondered why so many legitimate people follow the Cat.

[JHBulls]

57 minutes ago, David said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annnnd my favorite...

 

 

When the Cubs have the type of money they have this offseason and are apparently going to spend big, going all in on the best player on the market is so logical that anyone on earth could have made the call that the Cubs will go all in on Ohtani. 
 

[WhyCantWeWin]

5 hours ago, JD94 said:

Buster Olney reporting that there in a 100% chance Juan Soto is traded this offseason. 

I feel like it's the worst kept secret in baseball right now. They are desperately trying ro gain leverage by leaking they have plans to hold on to him but every team knows their seriously bad financial situation.

 

[JD94]

35 minutes ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

I feel like it's the worst kept secret in baseball right now. They are desperately trying ro gain leverage by leaking they have plans to hold on to him but every team knows their seriously bad financial situation.

 

For sure. Too much smoke at this point. Man if we walk away with one of Soto or Ohtani, that would be unreal. Those are 2 of my most favorite players in the game. I’ve dreamed of one of them being a Cub for years. 
 

I wish we could afford both, but I just don’t see them spending $70M on those 2 next year. That leaves them no wiggle room for another SP, relievers, etc. It won’t happen but if it did, you could just move Happ to 1B and play Soto in LF. 

[TarzanJoeWallis]

8 hours ago, JD94 said:

For sure. Too much smoke at this point. Man if we walk away with one of Soto or Ohtani, that would be unreal. Those are 2 of my most favorite players in the game. I’ve dreamed of one of them being a Cub for years. 
 

I wish we could afford both, but I just don’t see them spending $70M on those 2 next year. That leaves them no wiggle room for another SP, relievers, etc. It won’t happen but if it did, you could just move Happ to 1B and play Soto in LF. 

Regarding moving Happ to first, one thing I’ve been wondering is could he play third? Came up as a second baseman, as you all know. Would thin out the outfield and fill third. Would provide the most flexibility when trying to fit in guys like Bellinger, Soto, PCA, Ohtani, Alonso, etc. Not saying we’d be adding all of them. 

[Rcal10]

1 minute ago, TarzanJoeWallis said:

Regarding moving Happ to first, one thing I’ve been wondering is could he play third? Came up as a second baseman, as you all know. Would thin out the outfield and fill third. Would provide the most flexibility when trying to fit in guys like Bellinger, Soto, PCA, Ohtani, Alonso, etc. Not saying we’d be adding all of them. 

Just my opinion, but I think Happ is less likely to be at 3rd than Morel is. Not often does a guy go from an easier position to a harder one. Usually the other way around. Most recent examples are Bryant and Braun. Happ has been in the OF too long and really, even when he did play the infield it wasn’t 3rd. Maybe he can play 1st. 

[Jason Ross]

14 minutes ago, TarzanJoeWallis said:

Regarding moving Happ to first, one thing I’ve been wondering is could he play third? Came up as a second baseman, as you all know. Would thin out the outfield and fill third. Would provide the most flexibility when trying to fit in guys like Bellinger, Soto, PCA, Ohtani, Alonso, etc. Not saying we’d be adding all of them. 

I would say it's a near 0% chance the Cubs would consider moving him there in any way outside of an "oh horsefeathers, we have an injury and it's an emergency in this game" situation. He's played less than 40 innings in the infield since 2020. He's an OF'er now. Maybe he's a 1b if you really need him there, but he's not a 3b.

[Bertz]

 

 

[JD94]

This is kind of fun… which would you choose? 1 or 2 

 

 

[Cuzi]

Package 1 and its not even close really.

In package 1 I have Ohtani til retirement, presumably, Imanaga on a 3-4 year deal who gets just as good if not better reviews on his pitches than Yamamoto, and 1 year of Alonso.

In package 2 the only long term asset is Yamamoto.

[Bertz]

16 minutes ago, JD94 said:

This is kind of fun… which would you choose? 1 or 2 

 

 

I'd take #2 but choose a different bat from that Candelario/Turner tier (Hoskins probably).

Edited November 11, 2023 by Bertz

[Jason Ross]

It's hard to pick between those two. For example, is Ohtani on a 10 year contract or is he on a high-AAV-multiple-opt out deal like was suggested? That third player also seems pretty skewed. Alonso is much better than Candelario or a 39 year old Justin Turner, so it feels like #1 is tilted based on just that. 

Agreed that if you gave me a better option in the 3rd slot from that medium tier, that I'd probably lean group 2 over group 1. Either would be good outcomes or me.