What would be your ideal offseason?

[Bertz]

I'd be curious what trade options there are out there at SP.  Is there anyone of major substance available out there aside from the Seattle guys and Garret Crochet?  And even the Seattle guys, are they available for prospects or do they require a bat (Busch?) that can be immediately plugged in?

[spaincubsfan]

24 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I'd be curious what trade options there are out there at SP.  Is there anyone of major substance available out there aside from the Seattle guys and Garret Crochet?  And even the Seattle guys, are they available for prospects or do they require a bat (Busch?) that can be immediately plugged in?

I think either of the top Seattle guys will require a bat like Busch.

[Rob]

I feel like Busch to SEA makes a fair amount of sense, provided that we're able to use our prospects to peel Vlad away from TOR.

[Post Count Padder]

Cubs get: Bryce Miller, Vlad Jr, Varsho (can he go back to catcher?)

Mariners get: Busch, Ballesteros, Addison Barger

Jays get: Triantos, Caissie, Wicks, sweetener from the Mariners

 

[squally1313]

Did Detroit come out and say Skubal isn't going to be available or are we just thinking this recent run of good play is going to turn them into buyers in the offseason?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

2 hours ago, Bertz said:

I'd be curious what trade options there are out there at SP.  Is there anyone of major substance available out there aside from the Seattle guys and Garret Crochet?  And even the Seattle guys, are they available for prospects or do they require a bat (Busch?) that can be immediately plugged in?

Outside of those you mentioned, Framber Valdez, Gausman, and Mitch Keller feel like decent bets to be available in some fashion.

As for the Seattle dynamic, I think because of what Seattle is looking for the best/most likely option is probably Castillo?  They keep their core of pre-FA arms, get to turn Castillo's money into Alonso/Bellinger/Bregman, and the Cubs get to do a Darvish deal from the other side where they get multi-year ceiling from a SP without paying huge years or an insane player package.

[Bertz]

30 minutes ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

Outside of those you mentioned, Framber Valdez, Gausman, and Mitch Keller feel like decent bets to be available in some fashion.

As for the Seattle dynamic, I think because of what Seattle is looking for the best/most likely option is probably Castillo?  They keep their core of pre-FA arms, get to turn Castillo's money into Alonso/Bellinger/Bregman, and the Cubs get to do a Darvish deal from the other side where they get multi-year ceiling from a SP without paying huge years or an insane player package.

Even with him taking a step back this year I *love* this Luis Castillo idea.

[LBiittner]

8 hours ago, TomtheBombadil said:

What are the chances the D’Backs would move Adrian Del Castillo? 24 YO LHH catcher hit .319/.403/.608 in the PCL this year with a 33% GB rate with contact and not so much chase

Gabriel Moreno’s on a rookie deal, one of the better players on their roster, but got hurt to open the door for Del Castillo’s debut. 

Can he catch? Or is he a future DH?

[LBiittner]

7 hours ago, TomtheBombadil said:

Pipeline wrote this:

 

Sounds a little like our guy down in AAA?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

The more I think about this the more I think this is a tricky offseason to get just right unless you can manage to get Soto out of NYC(v unlikely imo).  I think the way I'd think about it is generally like this:
 

• SP is the most important addition to make.  I'd probably look to the trade market on this one since there's a couple options where you can possibly find a goldilocks zone of upside v. cost(both $ and player), plus the FA options aren't very noteworthy
• Bat is the trickiest role to fill.  If Bellinger opts out there's a clear spot in the best 9 for one addition, but if that player has defensive pride/aspirations it may be trickier to convince them.  The FA options are imperfect after Soto for various reasons, and there are less obviously available trade matches than SP.
• Both Leverage RP and C I think you prefer to buy in FA.  There will be good options that don't stretch the budget or Jed's contract length preferences, and that saves trade resources/QO picks for the bigger impact acquisitions without gutting the farm.

As for who that could be, I think something like these names(one per) could work:

SP: Castillo, Keller

Bat: Santander, Teoscar, Pederson (note: you can still pursue Soto as hard as you're able since these guys are all likely waiting out his market)

Catcher: Kelly, Jansen

RP: Holmes, Scott, Estevez

Add in re-upping Lopez and maybe some bench shuffling(Drury? JD Davis?) you can fit this in without a ton of worry(but also not a ton of room to spare) if Bellinger is opting out.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Cody opt out, trade for Rooker (Alcantara probably in play, I assume they would want Brown or Horton), sign Flaherty, Robertson, Scott, Minter 

 

Plumb every inch of the possible upgrades at C (incl Rushing and other young prospects), but I don't think there's a lot that can be done there. 

 

PCA - CF

Happ - LF

Seiya - RF

Rooker - DH

Busch - 1B

Swanson - SS

Paredes - 3B

Nico - 2B

Amaya or addition

 

Steele, Flaherty, Shota, Taillon, Assad and crew

This is a lot of $ to spend on a pen from where I traditionally stand, but I am a huge believer in Robertson and I see LHRP as the staff's biggest weakness, especially if Little doesn't rebound. 

Edited September 16, 2024 by We Got The Whole 9

[BKHoo]

Burnes could happen. I can easily see that occurring. He has ties to the Cubs. 
 

Soto? Why would he want to some to Chicago unless (a) it’s only about $, and (b) the Cubs are the highest bidder? 
 

Does anyone really believe in (b)? 

[Tim]

43 minutes ago, BKHoo said:

Burnes could happen. I can easily see that occurring. He has ties to the Cubs. 
 

Soto? Why would he want to some to Chicago unless (a) it’s only about $, and (b) the Cubs are the highest bidder? 
 

Does anyone really believe in (b)? 

Burnes is going to receive a big contract with a lot of term and has had declining peripherals for a few years. He may pull out of that, but there's a ton of risk there.

Soto? Dollars, deep dish, and more dollars. This is the "ideal" offseason thread, after all.

[Derwood]

Cody's not opting out

[Bertz]

5 minutes ago, Derwood said:

Cody's not opting out

I would tend to disagree but I think the one thing that is certain is that there's not a super strong argument in either direction.

[Derwood]

1 minute ago, Bertz said:

I would tend to disagree but I think the one thing that is certain is that there's not a super strong argument in either direction.

 

[Bertz]

7 minutes ago, Derwood said:

 

Bob Nightengale

[Tryptamine]

If the Cubs decided to chase Vlad Jr, I wonder if the Blue Jays would want to dump Yariel Rodriguez. I'm not super high on him as a starter, but I am high on him as a pen arm. The slider and Split are both very good. He could probably scrap the change up in the pen and the fastball would likely need a bit of a tweak, but I think he could be a really good pen arm. If he lowered the cost on Vlad Jr, all the better. 

[Tim]

22 hours ago, Derwood said:

 

And Rosenthal says otherwise within the past few days. Nobody knows at this point.

[spaincubsfan]

Pretty improbable but....

If you want to try to get a guy that has great D and an average .880 OPS over the past 4 years with definite 30/100 possibilities at Wrigley and MLB wide, there is someone:

Kyle Tucker has 1 year of Arb left, would have to be a package starting w/Busch +. Then you have to resign him longer term at Belli rates minimum (27.M-30M AAV). You left Belli leave in 2026 since he has a 5M buyout but you will need his dropped salary going forward.

Cassie can come up early next season & spot LF, RF, & 1B/DH for a total of 90-100 games.

 

1. Happ LF .800 OPS 135 games

2. PCA CF .750 OPS 130 games

3. Tucker RF .880 OPS 135 games

4. Belli 1B .800 OPS 135 games

5. Suzuki DH .825 OPS 135 games

6. Hoerner 2B .720 OPS 135 games

7. Swanson SS .750 OPS 140 games

8. Paredes 3B .760 OPS 130 games

9. Trade for an MLB ready prospect (Kyle Teel Bos)?

Edited September 18, 2024 by spaincubsfan

[squally1313]

16 minutes ago, spaincubsfan said:

Pretty improbable but....

If you want to try to get a guy that has great D and an average .880 OPS over the past 4 years with definite 30/100 possibilities at Wrigley and MLB wide, there is someone:

Kyle Tucker has 1 year of Arb left, would have to be a package starting w/Busch +. Then you have to resign him longer term at Belli rates minimum (27.M-30M AAV). You left Belli leave in 2026 since he has a 5M buyout but you will need his dropped salary going forward.

Cassie can come up early next season & spot LF, RF, & 1B/DH for a total of 90-100 games.

 

1. Happ LF .800 OPS 135 games

2. PCA CF .750 OPS 130 games

3. Tucker RF .880 OPS 135 games

4. Belli 1B .800 OPS 135 games

5. Suzuki DH .825 OPS 135 games

6. Hoerner 2B .720 OPS 135 games

7. Swanson SS .750 OPS 140 games

8. Paredes 3B .760 OPS 130 games

9. Trade for an MLB ready prospect (Kyle Teel Bos)?

Brought it up before but going to repeat my idea of a Paredes centered deal for Tucker. Bregman is a free agent this year, Paredes has 19 home runs this year, would only have 14 expected home runs at Wrigley but would have had 29 if he played every game in Houston. You slot Shaw in at third base and do whatever you can to lock in Tucker long term. 

[JunkyardWalrus]

Ideal offseason is both Soto and Vladdy (with an extension.) 

Yes, two contracts Jed won't ever offer, both accepted and signed in the same off season.

Alright, universe. It's your turn. 

 

 

[Manny Trillos Brother]

A little surprised I haven't seen more/any talk of signing Willy Adames. He's above average both in the field and at the plate, can solidify 3B and push Paredes to super-sub or 2B for the first month if Nico isn't fully healthy. Not to mention reuniting with Counsell and hurting our main competition. 

Assuming they have around $50m to spend, to get them back to this year's total payroll and Adames takes $27-29m. I think you cash in some trade chips for a starter that upgrades from Taillon (Crochet, Jesus Luzardo, Erick Fedde, Mariners guy - push Taillon fourth starter and hope of the young guys pushes him to fifth) and an MLB Catcher (slightly lower tier prospect, maybe the D-Backs).

Take whatever late-inning reliever or two falls to you in February and call it good. Trade for another bat in September. 

[Tryptamine]

1 hour ago, Manny Trillos Brother said:

A little surprised I haven't seen more/any talk of signing Willy Adames. He's above average both in the field and at the plate, can solidify 3B and push Paredes to super-sub or 2B for the first month if Nico isn't fully healthy. Not to mention reuniting with Counsell and hurting our main competition. 

Assuming they have around $50m to spend, to get them back to this year's total payroll and Adames takes $27-29m. I think you cash in some trade chips for a starter that upgrades from Taillon (Crochet, Jesus Luzardo, Erick Fedde, Mariners guy - push Taillon fourth starter and hope of the young guys pushes him to fifth) and an MLB Catcher (slightly lower tier prospect, maybe the D-Backs).

Take whatever late-inning reliever or two falls to you in February and call it good. Trade for another bat in September. 

Why are we spending 30M to push a 3B averaging 3.4 fWAR  over the last 3 years into a utility position?

[Manny Trillos Brother]

I would view it as spending ~$30m to lockdown third base and boost the overall lineup. We give darn near 400PAs to Mastrobuoni, Gomes, Madrigal, Bethancourt, Nido & Garrett Cooper and another 174 to Patrick Wisdom in 2024.  I'd rather give a chunk of those PAs to Paredes. 

Not to mention 1. Nico might not be ready for the first part of the season & 2. Parades hit, what? .220 with 3 HRs in August/September? I think you can capture a large part of that 3.4, but play the matchups a little bit and avoid some exposure to tough RHPs he has problems with. 

Is it 100% ideal? No. But with no Soto and a crowded outfield, it's a way to boost both offense and defense with nothing but money.