Leiter to NYY

[squally1313]

Just now, LBiittner said:

I'm thinking MLJr was picked up off the trash heap 2 years running. Anybody could've signed him for circus peanuts and now cubs actually got 2 live bodies, with one having the opportunity to be a replacement in the bullpen. Worth it to me.

Yeah but we also no longer have MLJr, the guy who's been a reliable bullpen piece for 2.5 years and was controlled for the next 2. 

[Stratos]

6 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

With Leiter and Bigge gone to trade and Smyly to FA, it does mean they'll probably have to go grab someone in FA.

Yeah they seem to really believe in their ability to snipe guys off the scrap heap and turn them into something.  They're pretty good at it but they need to do better in the pen than the last 2 years.

[Rcal10]

4 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

With Leiter and Bigge gone to trade and Smyly to FA, it does mean they'll probably have to go grab someone in FA.

Not necessarily. If they have Merryweather and Neris they can fill in the rest with system arms. Even if Assad and Wicks are starters that leaves Wesneski, Brown, Roberts, Miller, Lopez, Pearson, Little, Palencia, Alzolay, Killian, Thompson, and a few others I am probably missing. And this doesn’t even include Horton. Trading Lieter does little to whatever their plan was. 

[KCCub]

With Leiter gone, Little injury, and Smyly gone after this season, Jed will need to target guys who can get lefties out next season. He's been reluctant to bring in a leverage lefty arm so far, we'll see if he changes that now. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

1 minute ago, LBiittner said:

Neeley is a slider pitcher from what's been said. Do the Cubs still like to teach the sweeper to this kind of prospect?

I think the Yankees are every bit as versed in the sweeper as the Cubs. Both orgs feature them prominently. 

[Tim]

2 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

Neeley is a slider pitcher from what's been said. Do the Cubs still like to teach the sweeper to this kind of prospect?

That depends on his throwing motion. 

[squally1313]

Like, if you want to take a swing at bringing in new players with a wider bell curve of potential success, higher ceiling, etc. Sure, I could probably get behind it. Think the current roster is pretty capped on high end success and taking somewhat known quantities and turning them into a lottery ticket of sorts has some merit. But trading 2+ years of control for, as far as I can tell, the potential to just replace him and then upgrading your 26th man spot? What's the upside here?

[Andy]

10 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

With Leiter and Bigge gone to trade and Smyly to FA, it does mean they'll probably have to go grab someone in FA.

Hector Neris 2.0!

[LBiittner]

1 minute ago, Rcal10 said:

Not necessarily. If they have Merryweather and Neris they can fill in the rest with system arms. Even if Assad and Wicks are starters that leaves Wesneski, Brown, Roberts, Miller, Lopez, Pearson, Little, Palencia, Alzolay, Killian, Thompson, and a few others I am probably missing. And this doesn’t even include Horton. Trading Lieter does little to whatever their plan was. 

Alzolay has had a setback after one rehab appearance. Sounds even more serious than initially thought. I'm not gonna count on him ....ever

[LBiittner]

2 minutes ago, Tim said:

That depends on his throwing motion. 

Did not know this, thanks

[Tryptamine]

9 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Like, if you want to take a swing at bringing in new players with a wider bell curve of potential success, higher ceiling, etc. Sure, I could probably get behind it. Think the current roster is pretty capped on high end success and taking somewhat known quantities and turning them into a lottery ticket of sorts has some merit. But trading 2+ years of control for, as far as I can tell, the potential to just replace him and then upgrading your 26th man spot? What's the upside here?

I'm not sure Cowles upside is 26th man if his K% improvement is legit. You might have a legit starting infielder.

[LBiittner]

5 minutes ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

I think the Yankees are every bit as versed in the sweeper as the Cubs. Both orgs feature them prominently. 

Might explain why they jumped at the chance to pick up effros a couple years back

[Bertz]

I don't love this return out of hand, but Cowles would not surprise me as a guy where a we get an updated scouting report and then immediately go "oh okay yeah I get it now."  He is repeating the level but that's a great slash line from a guy who can cover SS.

[chibears55]

12 minutes ago, Stratos said:

Probably unpopular opinion but I like Bellinger in CF for the Cubs next year.  He did fine offensively for us this year even while his HR stroke was clearly not in a groove yet.  I don't think he's a different player than he was in March so if they keep him i'm fine with it.  He's a little expensive but a CF who can hit and do everything well isn't easy to find.

I don't mine if he stays either, but I think they might look to move him for 1 of 2 reasons.

He might consider to opt out to try and get more years on a new deal and they'll want to get something for him, 

Theyll use his money towards Soto or another big bat

[LBiittner]

4 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

I don't mine if he stays either, but I think they might look to move him for 1 of 2 reasons.

He might consider to opt out to try and get more years on a new deal and they'll want to get something for him, 

Theyll use his money towards Soto or another big bat

I found it interesting they activated him yesterday without playing him. Possibly getting him off the IL to show he's worthy

[Jason Ross]

32 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I don't love this return out of hand, but Cowles would not surprise me as a guy where a we get an updated scouting report and then immediately go "oh okay yeah I get it now."  He is repeating the level but that's a great slash line from a guy who can cover SS.

It sounds like he's been hitting the ball really hard. I can't see his EV on my own, but there are multiple videos of him hitting balls around 100+ mph off the bat. The K% dropped 10%, the ISO rose .40 points. I really like what I'm seeing on Cowles. There's a reasonable upside of "guy you really like on the bench for 350 PA's" and an upper-end-bell-curve of "this guy could probably start", IMO. 

He feels really underrated and I suspect he's a large part of why the Cubs made this trade. Neely is a near replacement for Bigge, but Cowles feels like a guy you can find a lot to like. We know they love modeling, so wit the anecdotal EV's I'm seeing doing video scouting, I'm guessing they're getting good model data on him.

EDIT: Per BA, he realized when he went to Triple-A his swing was a problem and took it upon himself to change it. 

Also interesting to note: he's NOT repeating. He skipped Double-A at the end of last year. This is his first rodeo. I just caught it  myself.

[Rcal10]

23 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

I don't mine if he stays either, but I think they might look to move him for 1 of 2 reasons.

He might consider to opt out to try and get more years on a new deal and they'll want to get something for him, 

Theyll use his money towards Soto or another big bat

I don’t hate Bellinger either. He is a fine player. But in order to open up a spot for an elite bat and to open up more payroll for that elite bat, they need to move Bellinger. 

[chibears55]

19 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

I found it interesting they activated him yesterday without playing him. Possibly getting him off the IL to show he's worthy

That what I was thinking , they usually start these guys right away when activated.

[Bertz]

10 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

It sounds like he's been hitting the ball really hard. I can't see his EV on my own, but there are multiple videos of him hitting balls around 100+ mph off the bat. The K% dropped 10%, the ISO rose .40 points. I really like what I'm seeing on Cowles. There's a reasonable upside of "guy you really like on the bench for 350 PA's" and an upper-end-bell-curve of "this guy could probably start", IMO. 

He feels really underrated and I suspect he's a large part of why the Cubs made this trade. Neely is a near replacement for Bigge, but Cowles feels like a guy you can find a lot to like. We know they love modeling, so wit the anecdotal EV's I'm seeing doing video scouting, I'm guessing they're getting good model data on him

Yeah Cowles probably goes straight to Iowa, and some glowing Statcast data would make this look like a no brainer really fast.  But as of right now he's approximately infield Christian Franklin? 

Edited July 30, 2024 by Bertz

[NorthsideAvenger]

Between Neely and Little the Cubs have their front court of the future.

[Jason Ross]

Just now, Bertz said:

Yeah Cowles probably goes straight to Iowa, and some glowing Statcast data would make this look like a no brainer really fast.  But as of right now he's approximately Christian Franklin? 

Had a little edit. Interesting note: he's not a repeater! Caught me off guard too. This is his first try at Double-A. He skipped Double-A last year and went to Triple-A. So I think that makes me feel even better about the data. He's had a circuitous path!

Maybe it's shiny new toy syndrome, but I think I'd like him a bit more than Franklin if the statcast data is good because he's a capable SS. Without the statcast stuff, I think they're on par with each other with what I can see on quick glances.

[Bertz]

8 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Had a little edit. Interesting note: he's not a repeater! Caught me off guard too. This is his first try at Double-A. He skipped Double-A last year and went to Triple-A. So I think that makes me feel even better about the data. He's had a circuitous path!

Maybe it's shiny new toy syndrome, but I think I'd like him a bit more than Franklin if the statcast data is good because he's a capable SS. Without the statcast stuff, I think they're on par with each other with what I can see on quick glances.

Oh interesting I didn't catch that either.  He must have had a Luis Vasquez type "we need a healthy body for a weekend" type deal with hid AAA stint?  Yeah his AA numbers are a lot better in that light.

[Irrelevant Dude]

I don't absolutely love the return, but the combination of Leiter's age and his history of forearm injuries leads me to think this was probably the right time to get rid of him.

[Tim]

51 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I don't love this return out of hand, but Cowles would not surprise me as a guy where a we get an updated scouting report and then immediately go "oh okay yeah I get it now."  He is repeating the level but that's a great slash line from a guy who can cover SS.

??? - he played in A+ last year.

[Jason Ross]

3 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Oh interesting I didn't catch that either.  He must have had a Luis Vasquez type "we need a healthy body for a weekend" type deal with hid AAA stint?  Yeah his AA numbers are a lot better in that light.

Me either! When you see AAA in front of AA you just immediately assume "oh, this dude repeated!" I had to go back and look myself. 

And yeah, exactly what I think happened. He took 9 PA's in three games at the end of the year in Triple-A straight from A+.