Contracts

[Longhorn20]

With Happ, Bellinger, and Suzuki all signed through '26, what hope does that give to

Pete Crow? Not that he's doing all that great anyway, but still...

On the other hand it wouldn't bother me at all if they traded Happ.

I don't mind if the boys lose, just score some dang runs!!

[LBiittner]

1 hour ago, Longhorn20 said:

With Happ, Bellinger, and Suzuki all signed through '26, what hope does that give to

Pete Crow? Not that he's doing all that great anyway, but still...

On the other hand it wouldn't bother me at all if they traded Happ.

I don't mind if the boys lose, just score some dang runs!!

Are you counting on belli opting in 25,26?

[Bull]

1 hour ago, Longhorn20 said:

With Happ, Bellinger, and Suzuki all signed through '26, what hope does that give to

Pete Crow? Not that he's doing all that great anyway, but still...

On the other hand it wouldn't bother me at all if they traded Happ.

I don't mind if the boys lose, just score some dang runs!!

If Bellinger is bad enough to exercise his options the next two years, he is probably the 4th outfielder/lefty off the bench.

[chibears55]

If Bellinger opts back in, he could be moved to 1B.

They can and probably will look to trade Happ.

It's not just PCA, Caissie could be ready to move up next season too

[Rcal10]

12 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

If Bellinger opts back in, he could be moved to 1B.

They can and probably will look to trade Happ.

It's not just PCA, Caissie could be ready to move up next season too

I hope not. Because that means they are paying a first baseman $30M for 1 year. It also means Busch failed. They may look to move Happ. To me that is a better solution then having to put Bellinger at 1st. 

[BigbadB]

13 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

I hope not. Because that means they are paying a first baseman $30M for 1 year. It also means Busch failed. They may look to move Happ. To me that is a better solution then having to put Bellinger at 1st. 

Doesn't have to be 1b. It could be RF or LF if they trade Happ. Bellinger is a better fielder than Happ or Suzuki. 

[Rcal10]

2 hours ago, BigbadB said:

Doesn't have to be 1b. It could be RF or LF if they trade Happ. Bellinger is a better fielder than Happ or Suzuki. 

I agree. But I was responding to the post that suggested Bellinger moving to first. First of all, if he opts back in for next year that means he doesn’t think he can get a better deal than the Cubs deal of 2/$50M. Which means he might not have been very good this year. Next, if he is moved to first that means Busch failed. It also means he wasn’t very good offensively in 24’ and now he is the Cubs $30M first baseman. All of which is not an ideal situation. Which is why I said I hope he is not moved to first. But you are correct, he could move to right or left and the Cubs could made a trade to open up that spot. That wouldn’t be awful. 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Tauchman is going to get 500 PA this year and we're still wondering if there possibly could be room for PCA with the other 3 OF?

[chibears55]

6 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

I agree. But I was responding to the post that suggested Bellinger moving to first. First of all, if he opts back in for next year that means he doesn’t think he can get a better deal than the Cubs deal of 2/$50M. Which means he might not have been very good this year. Next, if he is moved to first that means Busch failed. It also means he wasn’t very good offensively in 24’ and now he is the Cubs $30M first baseman. All of which is not an ideal situation. Which is why I said I hope he is not moved to first. But you are correct, he could move to right or left and the Cubs could made a trade to open up that spot. That wouldn’t be awful. 

I get what you're saying but a move to 1B doesn't necessarily have to be for negative reasons. 

A move to 1B could be because both PCA and Caissie are ready to move up.

Busch could move to DH 

Belli will get 27.5 and 25 in final 2 years both are option years, it's possible he could opt in next year even after a good season and then look to be a FA after 2025 or maybe the Cubs extend him after this season. 

[Rcal10]

2 hours ago, chibears55 said:

I get what you're saying but a move to 1B doesn't necessarily have to be for negative reasons. 

A move to 1B could be because both PCA and Caissie are ready to move up.

Busch could move to DH 

Belli will get 27.5 and 25 in final 2 years both are option years, it's possible he could opt in next year even after a good season and then look to be a FA after 2025 or maybe the Cubs extend him after this season. 

If he has a good year there is no way he stays here next year. He would be able to get something like 6/$150 at the least. That is a much better sure thing then the Cubs did 1 year. So if he stayed and played first he would be very overpaid. 

[BigbadB]

11 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

If he has a good year there is no way he stays here next year. He would be able to get something like 6/$150 at the least. That is a much better sure thing then the Cubs did 1 year. So if he stayed and played first he would be very overpaid. 

I agree that with a decent season, he opts out and attempts to get that long term deal, as time will be running out with his prime years soon to be behind him.

[Dmac]

Is Happ even tradable? He isn't very good right now, and he 2/40 left.  I think the Cubs would have to eat quite a bit. 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Welcome!

[WhyCantWeWin]

5 hours ago, Dmac said:

Is Happ even tradable? He isn't very good right now, and he 2/40 left.  I think the Cubs would have to eat quite a bit. 

I’d say not tradeable, hasn’t been good in a while and he’s paid elite OF money. 

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, WhyCantWeWin said:

I’d say not tradeable, hasn’t been good in a while and he’s paid elite OF money. 

Hasn’t been good in a while? In 22 his WAR was 4.2 and in 23 it was 3. He has struggled this year. But still plenty of time to turn it around. He is absolutely worth his salary. I am not saying they shouldn’t trade him. But if they do there is no reason they need to eat salary to do so, unless doing so gets them a better prospect or something like that. 

[Dmac]

1 hour ago, Rcal10 said:

Hasn’t been good in a while? In 22 his WAR was 4.2 and in 23 it was 3. He has struggled this year. But still plenty of time to turn it around. He is absolutely worth his salary. I am not saying they shouldn’t trade him. But if they do there is no reason they need to eat salary to do so, unless doing so gets them a better prospect or something like that. 

The only teams that would trade for him are contending teams.  The Cubs are a contending team and we want him gone.  Do you really think a good team will pay him 20 million a year for the next two years?  I don't.  There are better options available for cheaper. 

[Rcal10]

15 minutes ago, Dmac said:

The only teams that would trade for him are contending teams.  The Cubs are a contending team and we want him gone.  Do you really think a good team will pay him 20 million a year for the next two years?  I don't.  There are better options available for cheaper. 

By “we” you mean the fan base of the Cubs, right? Do the fans that talk here have any knowledge that the Cubs want him traded? Again, the last 2 years his WAR total is over 7. That is a good player, no matter how much he is disrespected by people talking here. In his time as a Cub he has to be the least respected player on the team with people who post here. 

[squally1313]

47 minutes ago, Dmac said:

The only teams that would trade for him are contending teams.  The Cubs are a contending team and we want him gone.  Do you really think a good team will pay him 20 million a year for the next two years?  I don't.  There are better options available for cheaper. 

Where 

[Eeyore]

It isn't everything but didn't I read that PCA has 0.9 WAR and leads the team?

I understand that it's mainly defense but I'm pretty sure that Happ's OPS is around.650 and his WAR is around 0.2. 

PCA should not be the odd man out.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Me imagining a world where we don't freak out about Ian Happ's performance and/or contract twice a week

[thawv]

On 5/15/2024 at 7:15 PM, Rcal10 said:

I hope not. Because that means they are paying a first baseman $30M for 1 year. It also means Busch failed. They may look to move Happ. To me that is a better solution then having to put Bellinger at 1st. 

Belli in LF, PCA in CF, and Suzuki in RF would be the best situation right now.  I was disappointed that they sent PCA down, which confirms that they are still committed to Happ/Tauchman for now. 

[Rcal10]

2 minutes ago, thawv said:

Belli in LF, PCA in CF, and Suzuki in RF would be the best situation right now.  I was disappointed that they sent PCA down, which confirms that they are still committed to Happ/Tauchman for now. 

And for now, that is the correct call. I find the Happ conversation especially interesting. It is like people haven’t watched the Cubs ever. This is a yearly thing with him. He struggles and everyone suggest he sucks. Then he turns it around and people act like he has it figured out and is great. He is what he is. A streaky player who at the end of the day is probably a 3 WAR player. So they need to keep playing him and get to the good Happ soon enough. I am fine if they want to move him next year. But I also know he is one of the better left fielders in baseball. I just hate the highs and lows he goes through every year. 
Tauchman, on the other hand, does not have a long history of success. If/when he falters maybe PCA comes back. Maybe then you get the outfield you want with Happ DH. 

[The_Achiever]

Happ has a no-trade clause.  He's not going anywhere.  

[Rcal10]

55 minutes ago, The_Achiever said:

Happ has a no-trade clause.  He's not going anywhere.  

That’s fine with me. Not really the point I was making anyway. The point is for those who constantly complain about the guy and suggesting the guy is not with his contract, I feel as if they have never watched the Cubs play since he came up. He is who he is. A streaky hitter. He will get in a streak and play well. Most likely at seasons end he will be right around a 115 offensive player who plays solid, not great, defense in left. Probably end around a 3WAR. I understand why some don’t like that sort of player. Too many lows. But as you said, he is here until he doesn’t want to be. So we need to live with him. And he isn’t going to sit so PCA can play everyday.