Cubs (Imanaga?) vs Brewers (Misiorowski?): 10/11/25, 7:08pm

[Outshined_One]

Shaw is probably the best trade chip this team has in the offseason. The Cubs could conceivably target Suarez or Bregman if the goal would be to trade Shaw for a cost controlled SP.

It's an interesting thought experiment.

[chibears55]

2 minutes ago, Hankchifan said:

Kettridge, Rea, Rogers, Pomeranz, Civale, Brasier. For example.

I mentioned getting an Ace to go with Steele, Horton, Taillon, Imanaga 

There's no journeyman there

[Stratos]

10 minutes ago, UMFan83 said:

Why are people suggesting Happ being traded?  He has repeatedly shown zero desire to leave Chicago and has a NTC.  Sure the Cubs could strong arm him and say 'we want you gone' but I doubt they would do that and there's still a decent chance Happ says 'well too bad' anyways.

Hard to see Happ, Seiya, or Nico getting traded.  Is there even a point if they could?

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

3 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

Shaw is probably the best trade chip this team has in the offseason. The Cubs could conceivably target Suarez or Bregman if the goal would be to trade Shaw for a cost controlled SP.

It's an interesting thought experiment.

Twins are def gonna trade Ryan, right? He's the only one left. Well, besides Buxton but he's already said he won't accept a trade.

[soccer10k]

5 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

Shaw is probably the best trade chip this team has in the offseason. The Cubs could conceivably target Suarez or Bregman if the goal would be to trade Shaw for a cost controlled SP.

It's an interesting thought experiment.

I’d rather keep Shaw and hope he figures it out a bit at the plate than trade him and get Suarez.

[Outshined_One]

1 minute ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

Twins are def gonna trade Ryan, right? He's the only one left. Well, besides Buxton but he's already said he won't accept a trade.

The Twins took a lot of heat for their fire sale and not trading Ryan was definitely a head-scratcher since he was their best piece with a lot of teams looking for SPs. They might hang onto him to keep the fanbase from revolting, but who knows?

[UMFan83]

4 minutes ago, Stratos said:

Hard to see Happ, Seiya, or Nico getting traded.  Is there even a point if they could?

Seemed like Nico was being dangled quite a bit last offseason which I never understood but hopefully his 6 WAR season and reliable bat when everyone else was struggling has cemented him at 2B next year.

[Stratos]

41 minutes ago, SpongeWorthy said:

the biggest issue is tom ricketts doesn’t care enough about winning, 90 wins should be closer to the floor than the ceiling 

What would have happened this series if they had signed Bregman?

[Western Baseball Fan]

2 minutes ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

Twins are def gonna trade Ryan, right? He's the only one left. Well, besides Buxton but he's already said he won't accept a trade.

I think the general feel around the Twins is that they could go either way. There is a lot of uncertainty in Minnesota. Neither the ownership or the front office has really made comments on a possible trade of Joe Ryan or of Pablo Lopez who has also been in trade rumors. If they do trade him they could definitely get a huge haul for him. They fired their manager recently, and are actively looking for a new one so it might be a bit before there is any clarity on the situation in Minnesota. 

[Western Baseball Fan]

5 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

The Twins took a lot of heat for their fire sale and not trading Ryan was definitely a head-scratcher since he was their best piece with a lot of teams looking for SPs. They might hang onto him to keep the fanbase from revolting, but who knows?

 Twins fans are in revolt already. Twins ownership has terrible public relations, and the attendance numbers are dropping quickly. The ownership announced that they were going to sell in October of 2024, and this brought a lot of enthusiasm from Twins fans, but near the end of the season, ownership told Twins fans that they were not going to sell, and basically fans quit going to games. They were drawing under 12,000 fans at most games down the stretch, and the fire sale really didn't help. It's a rough time for Twins fans.

Edited October 12, 2025 by Western Baseball Fan

[chibears55]

4 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

Shaw is probably the best trade chip this team has in the offseason. The Cubs could conceivably target Suarez or Bregman if the goal would be to trade Shaw for a cost controlled SP.

It's an interesting thought experiment.

Hoyer would need to get creative with trades if he going to change up the lineup over going with the same guys and add a stud SP, especially if he needs to stay a certain amount under the Threshold again. 

 

 

 

 

 

[We Got The Whole 9]

NGL tonight went pretty much how I expected it to. They cant handle heat.

 

Expecting Jed to shop Taillon and Seiya.

 

Despite the heartbreak tonight this season was a lot of fun and much needed for this fanbase and I'm pretty confident we will be in the postseason next season. 

 

But the Brewers are only going to be stronger IMO. I hate them so much. They own us and it sucks.

[Dfan25]

I think they will try to trade for a SP , instead of giving big money on a long deal towards a FA .   Pretty good chance Ryan is available this winter and wouldn’t be surprised if the Tigers make a Tucker type trade with Skubal . 
 

He has pretty much said he is testing FA already and the Tigers don’t have much of a chance to keep him IMO.

[I owned a Suzuki]

5 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

I think they will try to trade for a SP , instead of giving big money on a long deal towards a FA .   Pretty good chance Ryan is available this winter and wouldn’t be surprised if the Tigers make a Tucker type trade with Skubal . 
 

He has pretty much said he is testing FA already and the Tigers don’t have much of a chance to keep him IMO.

Why not? 

Edit, I think they would be just as likely to resign him as the Cubs would if they traded for him

Edited October 12, 2025 by I owned a Suzuki

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Just now, I owned a Suzuki said:

Why not? 

They didn't keep Verlander or Scherzer. Probably can't afford it.

[Randall Simon]

1 hour ago, SpongeWorthy said:

the biggest issue is tom ricketts doesn’t care enough about winning, 90 wins should be closer to the floor than the ceiling 

I think 90 wins is his target. TR wants his team to be competitive enough to sell tickets, jerseys, commercials, etc. He just doesn't want to pay top payroll prices that would provide a potentially higher ceiling. Screw you, Tom. 

[mk49]

3 hours ago, UMFan83 said:

Seemed like Nico was being dangled quite a bit last offseason which I never understood but hopefully his 6 WAR season and reliable bat when everyone else was struggling has cemented him at 2B next year.

I didn't get why there were trade rumors about Nico and Seiya in the off season last year.  I really hoped both of them would stay.  Nico had a surgery, so I guess that was one of the reasons.  Seiya was probably the best hitter we had last year, and he shouldn't be the best.  He's really good as a #2 or 3 hitter.  

I really don't think the team needs Tucker in 2026.  I don't know his actual average with RISP, but I think he wasn't very good.  Let Seiya play the RF and Mo (or, somebody better) as a DH.  If both Busch and Mo hit like the end of the season, they would be better than Seiya.  That's the perfect spot for Seiya.  

Most likely, Nico will be a golden glover this year.  He seems always hit .280 to .290 with really good/great defense, so he's all good.  Don't trade him, just give him an extension.

Honestly, I don't worry much about Shota.  He should be fine next year, although not as good as the last year.  With Shota, Boyd, Steele, Jamo, Horton, Assad...   We have plenty of good/decent SP's.  We just need to pick a better batter who can play decent defense.  Only spot available would be the 3B, Matt Shaw, unless somehow, the Cubs trade somebody like Happ or Seiya.  Shaw was a great defensively, especially after he came back from Iowa.  But, he just doesn't hit well, although he was the best for a while towards the end of the season.  He will/should improve, though.  

I'm feeling much better now than a year ago.  That's for sure.

 

 

Edited October 12, 2025 by mk49

[Thusly Boned]

I'm disappointed, but largely fine with this outcome, given the circumstances.

In early September I was expecting the team to roll over and immediately die in the playoffs. Boyd looked gassed, Shota looked gassed, Palencia was hurt, Tucker was essentially dead, and PCA and Seiya were zombies.

Seiya and PCA woke up a bit and hopes went up, but Horton got hurt and hopes went back down.

And some days I almost forget our presumptive ace/co-ace missed essentially the entire season. I think we did pretty well in the postseason, all things considered. I'm bummed, but not as exponentially less than a Brewers fan would be if the roles were reversed right now, I think.

As for the offseason, my irrational meatball brain isn't sure about Tucker at this point. I can see him going the route of Bryant - gets hurt, can't play hurt. He's great when he's healthy, but...yeah. But I do think we saw the value of a Tucker-level hitter anchoring the lineup when he was going well. He was a catalyst for sure, and there's not another player of his (potential) caliber on the market, and I don't think he's gonna get the $500M it looked like he might a few months ago.

Not that it matters because PTR won't pay him anyway.

I don't want to see Seiya go, but mostly because I just like him. I know room should be made for on of the OF prospects, but I'd honestly rather it be Happ. I think the bottom might fall out there any minute now.

I think Busch is a legit dude, but Shaw is not, even completely setting aside that he's an 80 grade pos chud. He just looked like a child among men for like 90% of the season/postseason. Hi peripherals offer little hope and his exit velos are tragic. His Savant page is a tale of woe and misery. I might deal him while he has a whiff top prospect cache remaining.

That said, not much on the 3B market but Bregman, but maybe a run at Murakami/Okamoto (though I know there are defensive concerns there)?

But I have a bad feeling we're just going to see them largely run the offense back with one of Caissie/Alacantara in place of Tucker.

I also like the idea of a trade for Joe Ryan. The FA market for pitching is pretty uninspiring. Not sure about deal Jamo away, but he has value and I would like to see a starter with some legit velo brought in to contrast with the rest of our largely soft tossing rotation.

 

 

[Geographyhater8888]

9 hours ago, Randall Simon said:

Cardinal pixie dust traveled from St. Louis to Milwaukee the moment Molina retired. 

Yes and no. Having players like Albert Pujols, Rolen, Edmonds, Holliday, Wainwright, Carpenter etc At least makes it easier to shrug off a David Feeese and Ryan Ludwick to an extent. Brewers don’t have that. Their star bats have consisted of a roided Braun and Yelich who became human when the league cracked down on electronic sign stealing, whether or not that’s coincidental. Their sole existence is to make us miserable. 
 

4X pennant winners and 2X champs this century vs these piss ants who’ve won their fourth playoff round in their entire history.

Edited October 12, 2025 by Geographyhater8888

[CubinNY]

8 hours ago, We Got The Whole 9 said:

But the Brewers are only going to be stronger IMO. I hate them so much. They own us and it sucks.

They are going to get better. I don’t hate the Brewers like I do the Cardinals. And I admire them more. 
 

Unfortunately the lesson PTR and the kids will learn isn’t the correct one. 
 

I don’t see them signing a big ticket SP or Bergman. I see them having a quiet off season finding bargain and reclamation projects. 
 

 

[Geographyhater8888]

3 hours ago, Thusly Boned said:

I'm disappointed, but largely fine with this outcome, given the circumstances.

In early September I was expecting the team to roll over and immediately die in the playoffs. Boyd looked gassed, Shota looked gassed, Palencia was hurt, Tucker was essentially dead, and PCA and Seiya were zombies.

Seiya and PCA woke up a bit and hopes went up, but Horton got hurt and hopes went back down.

And some days I almost forget our presumptive ace/co-ace missed essentially the entire season. I think we did pretty well in the postseason, all things considered. I'm bummed, but not as exponentially less than a Brewers fan would be if the roles were reversed right now, I think.

As for the offseason, my irrational meatball brain isn't sure about Tucker at this point. I can see him going the route of Bryant - gets hurt, can't play hurt. He's great when he's healthy, but...yeah. But I do think we saw the value of a Tucker-level hitter anchoring the lineup when he was going well. He was a catalyst for sure, and there's not another player of his (potential) caliber on the market, and I don't think he's gonna get the $500M it looked like he might a few months ago.

Not that it matters because PTR won't pay him anyway.

I don't want to see Seiya go, but mostly because I just like him. I know room should be made for on of the OF prospects, but I'd honestly rather it be Happ. I think the bottom might fall out there any minute now.

I think Busch is a legit dude, but Shaw is not, even completely setting aside that he's an 80 grade pos chud. He just looked like a child among men for like 90% of the season/postseason. Hi peripherals offer little hope and his exit velos are tragic. His Savant page is a tale of woe and misery. I might deal him while he has a whiff top prospect cache remaining.

That said, not much on the 3B market but Bregman, but maybe a run at Murakami/Okamoto (though I know there are defensive concerns there)?

But I have a bad feeling we're just going to see them largely run the offense back with one of Caissie/Alacantara in place of Tucker.

I also like the idea of a trade for Joe Ryan. The FA market for pitching is pretty uninspiring. Not sure about deal Jamo away, but he has value and I would like to see a starter with some legit velo brought in to contrast with the rest of our largely soft tossing rotation.

 

 

Assuming PCAs 30/30/30 season was an aberration you’re hoping he’s an average bat too, which is already a downgrade from his over performance in the first half. Kelly/McGuire/Amaya won’t combine for 30 homers and a mid 120’s wRC+, Tucker will walk and we know this entails slotting Bellesteros/Cassie in at DH…… That’s more regression too. Best case scenario is they sign a couple legitimate arms like a Valdez or Cease and maybe a lockdown pen arm. A major shake up from this complacent front office would shock me.

[Backtobanks]

8 hours ago, chibears55 said:

Hoyer would need to get creative with trades if he going to change up the lineup over going with the same guys and add a stud SP, especially if he needs to stay a certain amount under the Threshold again. 

 

 

 

 

 

Hoyer can't get creative when he doesn't want to spend money or trade prospects.

[Derwood]

Tommy Pham can co-sponsor a Turning Points USA chapter with Shaw and Busch in Wrigleyville

[17 Seconds]

i highly doubt the brewers are improving on 97 wins and a +172 run differential next year. i expect the cubs and brewers to both be worse

[cl smooth]

36 minutes ago, Derwood said:

Tommy Pham can co-sponsor a Turning Points USA chapter with Shaw and Busch in Wrigleyville

Which consists of Pham just slapping all of their podcast guests over and over again.