Non-Soto FA thread

[17 Seconds]

@bleachernation.bsky.social on Bluesky

BSKY.APP

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I have no inside info on this, but if you're reading the tea leaves on the trajectory of Cubs rumors and behavior over the offseason so far, it sure seems like they are planning to reduce...

 

[Jason Ross]

A bit of a bummer. But hopefully it means the SP market is moving quick. 

The good news is that while Kikuchi offered some interesting notes, I think that mid-tier has a handful of names I'd find interesting. And I still hope that the Cubs shoot higher in a trade for a true player to sit more towards the top.

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, 17 Seconds said:

@bleachernation.bsky.social on Bluesky

BSKY.APP

---

I have no inside info on this, but if you're reading the tea leaves on the trajectory of Cubs rumors and behavior over the offseason so far, it sure seems like they are planning to reduce...

 

I've tried to remain optimistic here, but I've had a bit of this concern in the back of my head. With Marquee up for renegotiation and the RSN-apocalypse hitting around a few teams...I've had a worry that the team would respond by lowering their spending. 

I don't want that to make it sound like I'm panicking, just that it's been something in the back of my mind for a bit and have been hoping that it wasn't going to be the case.

[Rcal10]

2 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

I've tried to remain optimistic here, but I've had a bit of this concern in the back of my head. With Marquee up for renegotiation and the RSN-apocalypse hitting around a few teams...I've had a worry that the team would respond by lowering their spending. 

I don't want that to make it sound like I'm panicking, just that it's been something in the back of my mind for a bit and have been hoping that it wasn't going to be the case.

I do expect a pitcher to be spotted in ahead of Taillon. And I also still think they will do that. Not sure if it will be via trade or FA. But tbh, after that I am not sure what they will do. Not expecting much. 

[LBiittner]

6 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

I've tried to remain optimistic here, but I've had a bit of this concern in the back of my head. With Marquee up for renegotiation and the RSN-apocalypse hitting around a few teams...I've had a worry that the team would respond by lowering their spending. 

I don't want that to make it sound like I'm panicking, just that it's been something in the back of my mind for a bit and have been hoping that it wasn't going to be the case.

Possibly all the rumors surrounding 2029 as a potential target date for a unified all inclusive mlb channel which will rule out individual teams and their own sweet deals for broadcasting rights? 

[Jason Ross]

Just now, LBiittner said:

Possibly all the rumors surrounding 2029 as a potential target date for a unified all inclusive mlb channel which will rule out individual teams and their own sweet deals for broadcasting rights? 

Yeah I think all of that is going to be really interesting. Teams like the Dodgers have had a massive bonus with their RSN deal they signed and it's going to be interesting to see where we go from here. Are teams really going to be okay going with a unified system like that? 

[CubinNY]

19 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Yeah I think all of that is going to be really interesting. Teams like the Dodgers have had a massive bonus with their RSN deal they signed and it's going to be interesting to see where we go from here. Are teams really going to be okay going with a unified system like that? 

One wonders how much money is enough? I suppose if you divide $30M -$50M in annual profit five ways it doesn't seem like a lot of money per kid. Then again, all they are doing is sitting on their asses and collecting coin. 

[WhyCantWeWin]

40 minutes ago, 17 Seconds said:

@bleachernation.bsky.social on Bluesky

BSKY.APP

---

I have no inside info on this, but if you're reading the tea leaves on the trajectory of Cubs rumors and behavior over the offseason so far, it sure seems like they are planning to reduce...

 

Refusing to even meet with Soto and giving Thaiss a 40 man spot is kind of a dead giveaway on this

[Bertz]

32 minutes ago, 17 Seconds said:

@bleachernation.bsky.social on Bluesky

BSKY.APP

---

I have no inside info on this, but if you're reading the tea leaves on the trajectory of Cubs rumors and behavior over the offseason so far, it sure seems like they are planning to reduce...

 

It's not impossible, like 1908 pointed out the Comcast deal is in flux right now, but this is most likely just Brett being a ninny.

The team has, if payroll is flat, $55M to add a SP or two, completely remake the bench, and fix the bullpen.  You start doing the math and it's tight.  Of course you're going to e.g. avoid giving Corbin Burnes $30M, of course you're  going to explore trades to address certain needs cheaply, etc.

[LBiittner]

10 minutes ago, 1908_Cubs said:

Yeah I think all of that is going to be really interesting. Teams like the Dodgers have had a massive bonus with their RSN deal they signed and it's going to be interesting to see where we go from here. Are teams really going to be okay going with a unified system like that? 

I'm not sure how this will play out. Dodgers have a 25 year $8 billion deal. Yankees have lucrative deals with YES and amazon. The Cubs and Sinclair owning marquee but being squeezed by Comcast. 

I suspect attorneys will be busy.

But on the other end, fans with disposable incomes will be able to watch any team any time. 

[Jason Ross]

8 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

One wonders how much money is enough? I suppose if you divide $30M -$50M in annual profit five ways it doesn't seem like a lot of money per kid. Then again, all they are doing is sitting on their asses and collecting coin. 

I saw an interview with Logan Paul once and he equated his bank account to a scoreboard of sorts, essentially explaining that while he had enough money to do basically anything he wanted, money was now a scoreboard to compare himself with others. 

I can't believe I'm giving him any credit for saying something insightful,. but it helped me understand the process a bit more. There's never enough because the game never stops. You have to run up the score because someone else is doing just that. It's very different from "I work so that I can live" which, most of us do.

[CubinNY]

1 minute ago, 1908_Cubs said:

I saw an interview with Logan Paul once and he equated his bank account to a scoreboard of sorts, essentially explaining that while he had enough money to do basically anything he wanted, money was now a scoreboard to compare himself with others. 

I can't believe I'm giving him any credit for saying something insightful,. but it helped me understand the process a bit more. There's never enough because the game never stops. You have to run up the score because someone else is doing just that.

I guess, but they should be counting World Series rings. 

[Jason Ross]

4 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

I guess, but they should be counting World Series rings. 

In a perfect world? Sure. They'd be baseball fans. 

Ultimately, we live in a world where to them, this is far more a business venture than a baseball endeavor. Sucks. I wish it wasn't that way. But alas, the world would have to be a very different place to get there. 

[Tryptamine]

Assuming the rumors are true that the Cubs won't even be in on Burnes, Snell and Fried, Kikuchi was one of the only arms that offered the upside the Cubs need in the rotation. There's basically Flaherty left and that's it now on the FA market. Of course Jed will inevitably add someone and it will be someone who we're going to question if they're even any better than Assad.

[Cuzi]

11 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Assuming the rumors are true that the Cubs won't even be in on Burnes, Snell and Fried, Kikuchi was one of the only arms that offered the upside the Cubs need in the rotation. There's basically Flaherty left and that's it now on the FA market. Of course Jed will inevitably add someone and it will be someone who we're going to question if they're even any better than Assad.

Trade.

[Tryptamine]

5 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

Trade.

Which is completely reasonable if they're going to actually use the 50M they have to spend elsewhere,  but where? A back up catcher, a relief arm and a platoon bat surely isn't going to soak up 50M.

[Cuzi]

6 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Which is completely reasonable if they're going to actually use the 50M they have to spend elsewhere,  but where? A back up catcher, a relief arm and a platoon bat surely isn't going to soak up 50M.

I'm going to assume some of that money will be used to trade Bellinger and it's going to wait until Soto signs. If the Yankees lose Soto then I would imagine it wont be long before Bellinger is dealt to the Yankees. They've been after him for 2 years, the Cubs seem to be desperate to unload at least some of his salary, and he just fits their roster and stadium like a glove.

Then you spend on pitching, bench, and DH. Say close to $70M with Bellinger partially out.

Edited November 25, 2024 by Cuzi

[Transmogrified Tiger]

3 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Which is completely reasonable if they're going to actually use the 50M they have to spend elsewhere,  but where? A back up catcher, a relief arm and a platoon bat surely isn't going to soak up 50M.

Most of the discussed trade targets are not on pre-arb salaries.  A real catcher, 2 more arms(SP/RP or RP/RP), and a couple bench additions can hit 40 million pretty quickly.

[Backtobanks]

21 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

Trade.

OMG, you mean using prospects!  That's almost as bad as spending money.

[Tryptamine]

12 minutes ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

Most of the discussed trade targets are not on pre-arb salaries.  A real catcher, 2 more arms(SP/RP or RP/RP), and a couple bench additions can hit 40 million pretty quickly.

I don't see them adding 2 SP especially if it's 2 guys slotting behind Steele/Shota. Why use resources on a slot that can filled by a combination of Wicks/Briwn/Assad/etc.

[Cuzi]

2 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

I don't see them adding 2 SP especially if it's 2 guys slotting behind Steele/Shota. Why use resources on a slot that can filled by a combination of Wicks/Briwn/Assad/etc.

Because those guys can also slot into the BP.

Maybe I'm alone in this, but I'm not going to be mad if the Cubs bump Assad out of the rotation because they got 2 better pitchers.

Edited November 25, 2024 by Cuzi

[CubinNY]

2 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

I don't see them adding 2 SP especially if it's 2 guys slotting behind Steele/Shota. Why use resources on a slot that can filled by a combination of Wicks/Briwn/Assad/etc.

I think Brown's days as a starter are over. 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

18 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

I don't see them adding 2 SP especially if it's 2 guys slotting behind Steele/Shota. Why use resources on a slot that can filled by a combination of Wicks/Briwn/Assad/etc.

They may like the available SP at that level more than the RP, they may be trading one or more of the pre-arb depth to get the big SP, and/or they may be more bearish on that group's ability to take 32 starts at a decent level between injuries and potential regression from Assad.

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, Cuzi said:

Trade.

Yep, trade. Or there is also Eovaldi they can sign. 

[Rcal10]

34 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

Because those guys can also slot into the BP.

Maybe I'm alone in this, but I'm not going to be mad if the Cubs bump Assad out of the rotation because they got 2 better pitchers.

I don’t think they will add 2. Maybe 1 solid guy and then take a flier on someone. Doesn’t mean Assad is in the rotation. Wicks could be instead. Or combined Assad and Wicks. I wouldn’t be mad if Assad isn’t part of the rotation. But I also wouldn’t be upset if he was a spot starter, 5/6 ish guy either.