Feinsand: Cubs Showing Interest in Josh Rojas

[Bertz]

8 minutes ago, thawv said:

It sounds like in your situation, Canario is traded or DFA? 

Canario's fungible at this point.  I expect he has a fight ahead of him to make the team, and even if he makes the team there's a decent chance he's out of the org by Memorial Day.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

6 minutes ago, harmony said:

Indeed the Cubs have moved ahead of the Seattle Mariners in FanGraphs' projected position player WAR:

https://www.fangraphs.com/depthcharts.aspx?position=ALL&teamid=3

... while still trailing the Mariners in overall projected 2025 WAR.

Yes that seems relevant to a discussion of the Cubs signing Josh Rojas, good point!  I'll be more direct. I appreciate you've been polite with your posts, but if you're going to continue to exclusively show up to neg people about their opinions of the Mariners or their players, your stay here isn't going to be much longer.  We did not ask for nor want a Mariners Ombudsman to make sure everyone is perfectly aligned with your more optimistic view of your team.

[harmony]

17 minutes ago, Transmogrified Tiger said:

Yes that seems relevant to a discussion of the Cubs signing Josh Rojas, good point!  I'll be more direct. I appreciate you've been polite with your posts, but if you're going to continue to exclusively show up to neg people about their opinions of the Mariners or their players, your stay here isn't going to be much longer.  We did not ask for nor want a Mariners Ombudsman to make sure everyone is perfectly aligned with your more optimistic view of your team.

Feedback is always welcome.

Thank you.

[thawv]

53 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Canario's fungible at this point.  I expect he has a fight ahead of him to make the team, and even if he makes the team there's a decent chance he's out of the org by Memorial Day.

Could very well be the case.  But it's clear by your earlier post, that you think that he's DFA or traded before OD. 

 

[Cuzi]

3 hours ago, thawv said:

Could very well be the case.  But it's clear by your earlier post, that you think that he's DFA or traded before OD.

What's with the repeating of questions with obvious answers that have been answered multiple times. In his earlier post was Canario on the bench? Does Canario have any options left? What is the answer to a player that doesn't make the roster and is out of options? In the end... who cares if hes on the team or not? He's not a going to be a starter that can make a lasting impact on a season. He's not a super utility man that can play all over the field and make a lasting impact on a season. He's a guy that's going to get maybe 150 spot PA's. Trade him, DFA him... who cares?

[thawv]

33 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

What's with the repeating of questions with obvious answers that have been answered multiple times. In his earlier post was Canario on the bench? Does Canario have any options left? What is the answer to a player that doesn't make the roster and is out of options? In the end... who cares if hes on the team or not? He's not a going to be a starter that can make a lasting impact on a season. He's not a super utility man that can play all over the field and make a lasting impact on a season. He's a guy that's going to get maybe 150 spot PA's. Trade him, DFA him... who cares?

Thanks for chiming in!

[Backtobanks]

8 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

I would have been ok with Urshela. But it appears they are aiming higher if they are actually going after Rojas. I just think a right handed bat makes more sense unless they are adding a second bat, which they might do. As a second bat, Urshella would work, but that would mean the two recent adds wouldn’t make the team. And I think at least one of them will, as utility. So if the Cubs signed Rojas I would expect the second bench bat to be able to play 1st and outfield. Regardless, in this case Jed did not pass on Urshella because he didn’t want to spend $2M. He just didn’t want him. 

I don't understand how Rojas is aiming higher.  Urshela career stat line is .273/.316/.413 with 15 HR and 68 RBI with an OPS+ of 99 and he can play 1B.  Rojas is .247/.323/.362 with 10 HR and 54 RBI with OPS+ of 92. Urshela signed for $2 million/ 1 year.  Others are allotting $5 million for Rojas.  If they want to sign Canha too, that's fine.

 

[Rcal10]

33 minutes ago, Backtobanks said:

I don't understand how Rojas is aiming higher.  Urshela career stat line is .273/.316/.413 with 15 HR and 68 RBI with an OPS+ of 99 and he can play 1B.  Rojas is .247/.323/.362 with 10 HR and 54 RBI with OPS+ of 92. Urshela signed for $2 million/ 1 year.  Others are allotting $5 million for Rojas.  If they want to sign Canha too, that's fine.

 

Rojas has been better the last few years than Urshella. Apparently he is a better fielder too. Honestly, I am not the right person to ask because I also didn’t mind Urshella. I like that he hits right handed. Maybe I used the wrong wording by saying aiming higher. Maybe aiming elsewhere is a better choice of words. To not spend a lot on the bench and leave as much as possible for pitching I would have been fine with Urshella and Mastrobouni/Brujan/Workman as back up infielders with Canario and Kelly as the last 2 on the bench. Then have almost $40M for pen and a starting pitcher. But apparently the Cubs didn’t see it that way. 

[Bertz]

1 hour ago, Backtobanks said:

I don't understand how Rojas is aiming higher.  Urshela career stat line is .273/.316/.413 with 15 HR and 68 RBI with an OPS+ of 99 and he can play 1B.  Rojas is .247/.323/.362 with 10 HR and 54 RBI with OPS+ of 92. Urshela signed for $2 million/ 1 year.  Others are allotting $5 million for Rojas.  If they want to sign Canha too, that's fine.

 

Josh Rojas has about 1.5x as much WAR the last three years, is nearly 3 years younger, and as a lefty more naturally compliments our current infielders.

[Rcal10]

4 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Josh Rojas has about 1.5x as much WAR the last three years, is nearly 3 years younger, and as a lefty more naturally compliments our current infielders.

Except he doesn’t cover 1st when a lefty pitches. Getting him means they have to get someone else too, which means Canario is let go. I would rather not give Canario away. 

[Bertz]

33 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

Except he doesn’t cover 1st when a lefty pitches. Getting him means they have to get someone else too, which means Canario is let go. I would rather not give Canario away. 

Gio Urshela should not be a meaningful part of any team's 1B plans

[Rcal10]

11 minutes ago, Bertz said:

Gio Urshela should not be a meaningful part of any team's 1B plans

That’s not really the point. The point is I would rather just buy one bench and that  at cover 1st and 3rd. I am not upset if they do add two bats, one being a lefty infielder and another being a guy who can cover 1st and the outfield. It is just a personal preference that whoever they added for Shaw insurance can also cover 1st to give Busch a day off. Not a big deal either way. I just like the idea of more money going to pitching. But now that they have Thielbar for $2.75, maybe 2 bats is fine with Rojas being one of them. Maybe Canario can be traded as a 3rd piece in  deal for a staring pitcher. 

[Derwood]

You seem hung up on having a righty 1B on the bench.

[Backtobanks]

I think most of us think Shaw is the real deal, but we seem to be spending a lot of time and energy on who can be his insurance/back up. 

[Bertz]

Scratch this one off the list

 

[Cuzi]

2 hours ago, Backtobanks said:

I think most of us think Shaw is the real deal, but we seem to be spending a lot of time and energy on who can be his insurance/back up. 

When history shows that no matter how good the prospect is there's a 80% failure rate, it's wise to have a plan B.

[mul21]

 

[Backtobanks]

56 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

When history shows that no matter how good the prospect is there's a 80% failure rate, it's wise to have a plan B.

Time to go to plan C.

[LBiittner]

Yep, probably ty france 

[Bertz]

These are the other FA 3B of note.  I don't think Rojas is substantially better than most of these guys holistically, but he did feel like a better fit.  I wonder if he went to the White Sox to ensure everyday at bats.

Luis Urias

Pros: Still young (entering his age 28 season) has been an above average hitter 3 of the last 4 years

Cons: 3 straight years losing significant time to injury.  SSS but Statcast says his defense slipped in a big way last year.  Right handed hitter.

Jorge Polanco

Pros: By far the most likely guy to give you impact offense.  Switch hitter excels against righties so compliments our current IF

Cons: Coming off knee surgery.  Not a ton of experience at 3B.  Might be too good to not get a starting job somewhere

Yoan Moncada

Pros: Big time power and patience.  Getting away from the White Sox feels like a potentially meaningful change of scenery

Cons: Has not been an impact guy since '21, largely due to injury.  Is much more effective as a RHH so his switch hitting isn't as useful as we'd like

Paul Dejong

Pros: Was a pretty great comeback story last year, played at about a 2.5 WAR pace with a strong power+defense combo

Cons: He was mostly a disaster from 2020-2023

Donovan Solano

Pros: Consistently above average bat

Cons: Old, RHH, very much a 1B/3B tweener

Amed Rosario

Pros: Plays everywhere.  Good contact and SB numbers. Surprising raw power

Cons: RHH.  SSS defensive numbers all over the dirt are ugly.  Swings at everything

[Rcal10]

I don’t see RHH as a con. They need one anyway. Might as well be one that can play a little first base too. Then they only need one bench bats. Let Workman or Mastrobuoni be the lefty infield bat off the bench. 

[Post Count Padder]

He's been brought up but I don't hate Connor Joe as a cheap 1B/OF bench bat. I'm getting the feeling we might just see Brujan and Workman battle Shaw in Spring Training. Still early but a lot of the 3B options are gone and there aren't many I'd rather have.

[Rcal10]

5 minutes ago, Post Count Padder said:

He's been brought up but I don't hate Connor Joe as a cheap 1B/OF bench bat. I'm getting the feeling we might just see Brujan and Workman battle Shaw in Spring Training. Still early but a lot of the 3B options are gone and there aren't many I'd rather have.

There are still many options. None are great, but obviously if they were we wouldn’t be talking about them being a bench bat. Dejong, Moncada, Solano and Urias are all still available. I think SF has a guy that might fit as well. Forgot his name but he is a second year player. Maybe they will do as you suggested, but there are still options. 

[Post Count Padder]

1 hour ago, Rcal10 said:

There are still many options. None are great, but obviously if they were we wouldn’t be talking about them being a bench bat. Dejong, Moncada, Solano and Urias are all still available. I think SF has a guy that might fit as well. Forgot his name but he is a second year player. Maybe they will do as you suggested, but there are still options. 

Yeah still a lot of question marks there. I was just now wondering though if we couldn't entice the Tigers in some kinda trade for Matt Vierling. Not a star but he can play all three OF spots as well as 3B and 2B and probably could play 1B (only has a few innings there). Maybe for Canario? They don't have a lot of OF depth and we have loads.

[Rcal10]

8 minutes ago, Post Count Padder said:

Yeah still a lot of question marks there. I was just now wondering though if we couldn't entice the Tigers in some kinda trade for Matt Vierling. Not a star but he can play all three OF spots as well as 3B and 2B and probably could play 1B (only has a few innings there). Maybe for Canario? They don't have a lot of OF depth and we have loads.

I don’t know about that exact trade, but you have a good point that the Cubs could trade for a bench bat who can cover 1st and 3rd. Casey Schmitt is another example. I am sure there are many more.