Post Winter Meetings Free Agency thread

[mul21]

2 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Don't he decide on the 15th and then the team he chooses has a week to negotiate a deal or am I thinking of something else with the international players

The window opens on the 15th and he has to decide by the 23rd.  There's not really any negotiating because of the limits on international FA spending.

[chibears55]

Just now, mul21 said:

The window opens on the 15th and he has to decide by the 23rd.  There's not really any negotiating because of the limits on international FA spending.

Yeah, I realized that after I sent and deleted the question. 

Thanks

[CubinNY]

Lorenzen signed with KC for $7M, vesting option for $12M 2nd year. Quality pick up the Cubs rarely do. 

[chibears55]

Reds traded with Dodgers for Lux

 

https://x.com/JeffPassan/status/1876404857613213805?t=ubi0Az5YgiS7CohzO95dUQ&s=19

[Rcal10]

50 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

Lorenzen signed with KC for $7M, vesting option for $12M 2nd year. Quality pick up the Cubs rarely do. 

Kind of a fine line between quality pick up and dumpster dive, if you ask me. A few years ago the Cubs signed Smyly to something similar. With the benefit of hindsight it didn’t work so it goes down as a dumpster dive bad signing. We really don’t know Lorenzen will be a quality signing. I’m just saying a lot of guys in this range waffle between dumpster dive and quality signing, depending on their eventual outcome. Lorenzen might be ok, but hardly something Inam upset the Cubs missed out on. 

[chibears55]

Kinda wish Hoyer would just put his focus right now on trying to sign both Jeff Hoffman and Tanner Scott for the bullpen. 

[Stratos]

4 hours ago, chibears55 said:

Kinda wish Hoyer would just put his focus right now on trying to sign both Jeff Hoffman and Tanner Scott for the bullpen. 

If you look at Hoffman's career, he was terrible in his 20's, even as a reliever.  2 years ago he gained almost 3mph and took off.  His walks significantly decreased too which is crazy, his transformation is pretty incredible.

I think Jed would much rather the Cubs find/create the next Hoffman than pay for the current one, and the Tyler Zombro hire will help them.  Maybe a guy like Pearson comes in with a new pitch like a FB with better movement that stays off barrels.  Buy low, sell high, like Mark Leiter Jr.  I like them grabbing controllable guys in middle relief they can work on for an entire offseason & enjoy the results for multiple years.

I'm definitely not counting on a Tanner Scott or Hoffman signing.  Maybe a Yates or Robinson.

Edited January 7, 2025 by Stratos

[Rcal10]

4 hours ago, Stratos said:

I'm definitely not counting on a Tanner Scott or Hoffman signing.  Maybe a Yates or Robinson.

Agree. And, if they did have interest in Hoffman it would be strictly as a starter. So it could be either Robertson or Yates, and then also add Hoffman(to start). IMO Scott is as much out of the question as Burnes was. I don’t see that ever happening. 

[squally1313]

14 hours ago, CubinNY said:

Lorenzen signed with KC for $7M, vesting option for $12M 2nd year. Quality pick up the Cubs rarely do. 

Matthew Boyd was more valuable than Lorenzen in 90 less innings last year. I'm sure Lorenzen didn't want to pitch out of the bullpen (Fangraphs has him slotted as fourth in the Royals rotation next year), and I'd put him at the very most as our 6th best option right now (Assad outpitched him last year) in a world where everyone expects us to sign a better starter anyways. He's fine for $7m I guess, but we don't need him. 

[Bertz]

I would generally only expect one reliever from here.  No one is making enough money that you can't easily cut bait on them, but there's only one spot that truly feels open.

I'd expect the remaining reliever to be a closer caliber arm though.  Likely more in the Yates/Robertson/Jansen neighborhood than Scott.

[LBiittner]

24 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Matthew Boyd was more valuable than Lorenzen in 90 less innings last year. I'm sure Lorenzen didn't want to pitch out of the bullpen (Fangraphs has him slotted as fourth in the Royals rotation next year), and I'd put him at the very most as our 6th best option right now (Assad outpitched him last year) in a world where everyone expects us to sign a better starter anyways. He's fine for $7m I guess, but we don't need him. 

The Royals are looking at lorenzen qualifying as a 2 way player. Later on in the season this would give a possible advantage by allowing the Royals an extra pitcher over the roster pitcher restriction.

[squally1313]

26 minutes ago, LBiittner said:

The Royals are looking at lorenzen qualifying as a 2 way player. Later on in the season this would give a possible advantage by allowing the Royals an extra pitcher over the roster pitcher restriction.

Even more of a pass? Guy hasn't taken a major league at bad in three years and has a career .282 OBP. Giving him 20+ games with 3+ PAs just to carry a 9th bullpen guy seems to be significantly more creative than it's worth. 

[chibears55]

Verlander and Giants agree on a 1 year deal

[Bertz]

 

Really really good read.  Zombo seems pretty clearly to be viewed as Breslow's successor.  Should also color how you view certain acquisitions this winter.  For example I know Greg Zumach tied one of Zombo's videos talking up certain characteristics to the Cody Poteet acquisition.

[Bertz]

Sharma and Mooney put out a podcast last night.  Not a ton in there, but some notes:

- This week is dead because of the arb deadline.  Don't expect anything of substance for at least a few more days.  It's not just the teams that are preoccupied, but also the agents (I had personally never thought about that)

- The team is certainly going to add a late inning closer type reliever.  With how many options are out there and how late in the winter it is, don't be surprised if Jed does his patented wait out the market play

- The team is going to add another SP.  Feels like this could go a number of directions.  But even if it just ends up being someone boring like Kyle Gibson, seems pretty certain they're adding someone

- They expect something of substance to happen by Cubs convention.  Didn't seem to be informed by any sense of something specific, my guess is just that the team generally just likes to have something shiny to talk about then.  If you'll recall the Michael Busch deal got done a couple days before last year's convention

[Rcal10]

11 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Sharma and Mooney put out a podcast last night.  Not a ton in there, but some notes:

- This week is dead because of the arb deadline.  Don't expect anything of substance for at least a few more days.  It's not just the teams that are preoccupied, but also the agents (I had personally never thought about that)

- The team is certainly going to add a late inning closer type reliever.  With how many options are out there and how late in the winter it is, don't be surprised if Jed does his patented wait out the market play

- The team is going to add another SP.  Feels like this could go a number of directions.  But even if it just ends up being someone boring like Kyle Gibson, seems pretty certain they're adding someone

- They expect something of substance to happen by Cubs convention.  Didn't seem to be informed by any sense of something specific, my guess is just that the team generally just likes to have something shiny to talk about then.  If you'll recall the Michael Busch deal got done a couple days before last year's convention

Sammy being invited back in could be the “exciting thing” that happens at this years convention. Not something I care too much about. But they can play that up at the convention. 

[Brian707]

8 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

Sammy being invited back in could be the “exciting thing” that happens at this years convention. Not something I care too much about. But they can play that up at the convention. 

It doesn't take too much to get the old blue hairs coming in from Iowa excited for a weekend in the big city. 

[Bull]

8 minutes ago, TomtheBombadil said:

Nah. This is fanbase that threw out the 2016 team as soon as they won the ring for even the shot at making money, generally mostly enjoys baseball/sperts by keeping tabs on player salaries. There is no loyalty or love to anything but the entity/organization. Sosa groveling to get back in the org’s good graces has already come and gone, would barely make noise 

You have very different experience with the fanbase than I do. NSBB is the exception rather than the rule. The average conference goer is more blue hair from Iowa (as noted above) than nerd from South Bend (like me)

[We Got The Whole 9]

19 minutes ago, TomtheBombadil said:

Nah. This is fanbase that threw out the 2016 team as soon as they won the ring for even the shot at making money, generally mostly enjoys baseball/sperts by keeping tabs on player salaries. There is no loyalty or love to anything but the entity/organization. Sosa groveling to get back in the org’s good graces has already come and gone, would barely make noise 

What the hell are you talking about? This is a fanbase that knew we had a 25 year old MVP Scott Boras client that wanted to test FA and had rejected Cubs overtures, had a potential franchise SS with a BBK of .10, another SS that disappeared into oblivion after he exposed how disgusting he was, a DH who couldn't be played against LHP, a C who should've been a DH, an Ace that fell of a cliff and another one that aged poorly. 

 

Even setting this aside, the fans supported these guys for another 5 years after they won the title. The team couldn't win a postseason game like the Cubs of old but there were still plenty tears shed when the nucleus was finally torn apart.

 

Why don't you just stop generalizing entire groups of people and then placing yourself above those groups. This horsefeathers is so unbecoming of a person.

[Tryptamine]

Yeah I'm not how it's the fan's fault that everyone from the 2016 team other than Contreras has become pretty much awful.

[Brian707]

3 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Yeah I'm not how it's the fan's fault that everyone from the 2016 team other than Contreras has become pretty much awful.

[Tryptamine]

9 minutes ago, Brian707 said:

Certainly wasn't the fan's fault that they nontendered Schwarber either. I remember people being pretty pissed about that.

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, TomtheBombadil said:

Nah. This is fanbase that threw out the 2016 team as soon as they won the ring for even the shot at making money, generally mostly enjoys baseball/sperts by keeping tabs on player salaries. There is no loyalty or love to anything but the entity/organization. Sosa groveling to get back in the org’s good graces has already come and gone, would barely make noise 

You do say some ridiculous stuff (when I can decipher it and understand it) but this might be your all time best. Cubs fans love their players. They support them their entire career. All of those guys from the 16’ team are still cheered for when they come to town. Most were very upset the organization let them all leave. It did turn out to be the right move, btw, but your post suggest fans turned their back on them. And that’s just not even close to true. 
And when Sammy is announced he will get probably the loudest ovation of the weekend. Another example of a fan base adoring its players. 

Edited January 8, 2025 by Rcal10

[squally1313]

23 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

You do say some ridiculous stuff (when I can decipher it and understand it) but this might be your all time best. Cubs fans love their players. They support them their entire career. All of those guys from the 16’ team are still cheered for when they come to town. Most were very upset the organization let them all leave. It did turn out to be the right move, btw, but your post suggest fans turned their back on them. And that’s just not even close to true. 
And when Sammy is announced he will get probably the loudest ovation of the weekend. Another example of a fan base adoring its players. 

Yeah look how much everyone loved Kyle Hendricks this year!

[Crusader]

7 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Yeah look how much everyone loved Kyle Hendricks this year!

Pretty sure Kyle got a lot of love for someone with a 5.92 ERA who was in the starting rotation... Certainly a lot more love than anyone else would have gotten putting up that performance.