Winter Meetings Thread

[Jason Ross]

6 minutes ago, Hot Sauce said:

Maybe the Marlins really like Shaw? Maybe I’m just dreaming about Cabrera in blue pinstripes.

I'd imagine Shaw >> Cabrera at this point in terms of trade value. 

[Rcal10]

8 minutes ago, Hot Sauce said:

Maybe the Marlins really like Shaw? Maybe I’m just dreaming about Cabrera in blue pinstripes.

He would be my target.and if Shaw is more valuable, maybe the deal is expanded to add a marlins pen arm. Maybe the Cubs even it up with a spare (Assad) pitcher or a proper minor leaguer to even the deal. 

Edited December 8, 2025 by Rcal10

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I think the reasonable best case scenario for me at this point is if they have the headroom to sign King, Okamoto, and Finnegan(or your similarly priced RP of choice) while still having enough room for the ends of the roster and mid year.  I’d rather trade for an SP than compromise on the bat addition, and I don’t love the idea of trading Shaw this offseason.

[Tryptamine]

using Shaw as a utility and 2B heir apparent has grown on me

[Dfan25]

Have a feeling these meetings will be boring . Starting pitching market is been held up by Imai , so I don’t expect anything from the Cubs until that happens ( meaningful  mean ) .  I could see Stanek this week 😂

[chibears55]

2 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

It is starting to be interesting to see how connected to 3b the Cubs are. Specifically 3b. Bregman, Suarez, and Murakami. There does appear a bit of a trend. I won't speculate why, but it is interesting. 

I think it just a big assumption by these writers that if they do add a big bat the most likely spot would be 3B because RF can be filled by either Suzuki and/or Caissie.

 

[Rcal10]

1 minute ago, chibears55 said:

I think it just a big assumption by these writers that if they do add a big bat the most likely spot would be 3B because RF can be filled by either Suzuki and/or Caissie.

 

Why would they go after a 3rd baseman if they have Shaw but not go after an outfielder because they have Cassie. That doesn’t make any sense. I have reservations about the Cubs actually getting a 3rd baseman, but I doubt it is strictly an assumption by reporters. 

[Jason Ross]

5 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

I think it just a big assumption by these writers that if they do add a big bat the most likely spot would be 3B because RF can be filled by either Suzuki and/or Caissie.

 

It's hard to say it's an assumption when you have people like Bruce Levine talking as if the Cubs are engaged in contract negotiations. And while we can hem and haw over how much we should be in the boat with Levine, it's coming from a bunch of different directions; both team-connected (like Sharma and Mooney) as well as people like Francys Ramirez. At some point it's not just guesswork. That doesn't mean it will happen or likely to happen or anything, but I think if all you're doing is chalking this up as "well, reporters are just making assumptions" then I don't think you're on the right track either. 

[Bull]

1 hour ago, Jason Ross said:

I have a lot of reservations on Murakami as is. However, I would assume that if the Cubs were the team who signed him, there would be some mechanical and biomechanical things they thing they can do to help him lower the whiff. Realistically, he's probably more than capable of being a useful MLB hitter with 30%+ K% due to his elite batted-ball data. So I'd probably defer to the Cubs judgement there. 

They've had some luck with messing with the mechanics of a handful of young hitters and have even seen a reduction in K% (at the Triple-A level) with Owen Caissie to a real significant manner. How much of that is Cubs and how much of that is "Caissie has 1,000 PA's" is up to your measurement. 

Isn’t he the one who can’t hit a fastball of more than 90MPH?

[Bull]

4 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

Why would they go after a 3rd baseman if they have Shaw but not go after an outfielder because they have Cassie. That doesn’t make any sense. I have reservations about the Cubs actually getting a 3rd baseman, but I doubt it is strictly an assumption by reporters. 

Because they also have Ballesteros. If Caissie is sent down you have Moises as DH, Seiya back to RF. And failing that, give Alcantara a shot. 3 top 100ish position players for one spot is a legitimate logjam.

This may all be smoke and mirrors to convince Miami that the Cubs are about to pull the trigger with Seattle. This is chess season.

 

[Jason Ross]

9 minutes ago, Bull said:

Isn’t he the one who can’t hit a fastball of more than 90MPH?

His numbers against fastballs over 94mph are poor, yes. It's also important to note that he hasn't faced many fastballs over 94mph, either, so the sample size and his practice against them are limited at best. NPB just doesn't have many velocity-throwers. 

It's also not an impossible fix. Michael Busch was someone who struggled against velocity and he had a .314 wOBA on fastballs over 95+mph last year which, while it isn't elite, is more than enough. 

We know lots of the metrics on Murakami, when he hits the ball, are elite. How much of this is mechanically induced versus anything is hard for me to speak on. You'd assume, if the Cubs were the team that spent $90m on him, that they believe it's a fixable thing. While I know that's an "appeal to authority" argument, I think there are teams you can appeal to (and I think the Cubs more or less fit into this territory) and teams you wouldn't (the Angels or the Nationals, as an example).

[chibears55]

8 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

Why would they go after a 3rd baseman if they have Shaw but not go after an outfielder because they have Cassie. That doesn’t make any sense. I have reservations about the Cubs actually getting a 3rd baseman, but I doubt it is strictly an assumption by reporters. 

They have Suzuki and Caissie for RF, so just saying it would be an easier assumption for them to feel they would replace Shaw bat at 3B with an upgrade over adding another RFer.

We haven't heard any rumors from them with the Cubs interest in any OFers, unless i missed them

[Jason Ross]

 

[chibears55]

13 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

It's hard to say it's an assumption when you have people like Bruce Levine talking as if the Cubs are engaged in contract negotiations. And while we can hem and haw over how much we should be in the boat with Levine, it's coming from a bunch of different directions; both team-connected (like Sharma and Mooney) as well as people like Francys Ramirez. At some point it's not just guesswork. That doesn't mean it will happen or likely to happen or anything, but I think if all you're doing is chalking this up as "well, reporters are just making assumptions" then I don't think you're on the right track either. 

Most rumors are assumptions, you just look at a team need or where they can upgrade at and the players available to fill the void and just write that Team A has interest or may have interest in such player and it becomes a rumor..

Bregman, Suarez, and now Murakami are the biggest name available 3BMEN on the market, and 3B is where they can upgrade with a big bat if they choose to, so it easy to just assume the Cubs would have interest in those 3.

[CubinNY]

Just now, chibears55 said:

Most rumors are assumptions, you just look at a team need or where they can upgrade at and the players available to fill the void and just write that Team A has interest or may have interest in such player and it becomes a rumor..

Bregman, Suarez, and now Murakami are the biggest name available 3BMEN on the market, and 3B is where they can upgrade with a big bat if they choose to, so it easy to just assume the Cubs would have interest in those 3.

I don't know if that is true. 

[Jason Ross]

3 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Most rumors are assumptions, you just look at a team need or where they can upgrade at and the players available to fill the void and just write that Team A has interest or may have interest in such player and it becomes a rumor..

Bregman, Suarez, and now Murakami are the biggest name available 3BMEN on the market, and 3B is where they can upgrade with a big bat if they choose to, so it easy to just assume the Cubs would have interest in those 3.

I do not, in anyway, agree with "most rumors are assumptions". That's just not true. Most rumors (from people that are worthwhile) are coming from either a team source, or a player source. Neither are an "assumption". If you know someone in the Cubs org, and they say "hey we had Bregman in the other day, we talked contract" and Heyman reports it, that's not an assumption. 

Might players or teams have a reason to get information out? Sure! But none of this is an "assumption". Reporters do make assumptions, but they don't cite a "team source" when doing so. Romero, Sharma and Mooney and Levine have all used "sources" or "people familiar with..." - these are more than assumptions.

[Rcal10]

6 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Most rumors are assumptions, you just look at a team need or where they can upgrade at and the players available to fill the void and just write that Team A has interest or may have interest in such player and it becomes a rumor..

Bregman, Suarez, and now Murakami are the biggest name available 3BMEN on the market, and 3B is where they can upgrade with a big bat if they choose to, so it easy to just assume the Cubs would have interest in those 3.

 

4 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

I don't know if that is true. 

It’s not. Reporters aren’t  assuming what the Cubs are looking for. They might not end up with anyone they are being said to be interested in. But this isn’t just guessing at what the Cubs might do. 

Edited December 8, 2025 by Rcal10

[chibears55]

1 minute ago, Jason Ross said:

I do not, in anyway, agree with "most rumors are assumptions". That's just not true. Most rumors (from people that are worthwhile) are coming from either a team source, or a player source. Neither are an "assumption". If you know someone in the Cubs org, and they say "hey we had Bregman in the other day, we talked contract" and Heyman reports it, that's not an assumption. 

Might players or teams have a reason to get information out? Sure! But none of this is an "assumption". 

We have heard many of times about how Cubs have had interest in someone and then find out later they never spoke.

Im not saying it happens all the time or even now with these 3Bmen, I mean I can see them renewing interest in Bregman again, but i was just responding to your post with that it could just be an assumption with these rumors now that they could be interested in them.

[Rcal10]

16 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

They have Suzuki and Caissie for RF, so just saying it would be an easier assumption for them to feel they would replace Shaw bat at 3B with an upgrade over adding another RFer.

We haven't heard any rumors from them with the Cubs interest in any OFers, unless i missed them

If the Cubs added a big bat at 3rd he would be taking Shaw’s spot in the line up. If they added a big bat in the outfield he would be replacing Cassie. Again, why would reporters assume the Cubs want to replace Shaw but not Cassie? 

[chibears55]

2 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

If the Cubs added a big bat at 3rd he would be taking Shaw’s spot in the line up. If they added a big bat in the outfield he would be replacing Cassie. Again, why would reporters assume the Cubs want to replace Shaw but not Cassie? 

Have you heard any rumors about them adding an outfielder ? No just 3B

Edited December 8, 2025 by chibears55

[Jason Ross]

6 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

We have heard many of times about how Cubs have had interest in someone and then find out later they never spoke.

Im not saying it happens all the time or even now with these 3Bmen, I mean I can see them renewing interest in Bregman again, but i was just responding to your post with that it could just be an assumption with these rumors now that they could be interested in them.

Name one example of when three different people connected the Cubs to something and then it came out they never spoke once. In fact, I cannot remember a single time when that happened. 

Again, these rumors are not assumptions. Do you think Sharma and Mooney were  just assuming when they wrote this: 

Quote

After a failed bid to sign Bregman last spring training, the Cubs have shown renewed interest in the All-Star third baseman, according to sources briefed on the club’s offseason planning.

A reminder, an assumption is something "accepted to be true without proof". Yet, Sharma and Mooney are directly pointing to proof. They can't tell you who that is (that's how a source works!) but they run on reputation and that matters.

Here is Bruce Levine. Is this an assumption?

Quote

 and league sources say Cubs brass has connected with agent Scott Boras on the viability of his client coming to Chicago.

This is not an assumption. This is reporting. It might not happen! But this isn't fantasy land made up stuff. Bruce Levine, Pat Mooney, Sahdev Sharma are reporting from their sources. Some people have better sources than others. Some are more reputable, That doesn't make these assumptions.

[Rcal10]

Just now, chibears55 said:

Have you heard any rumors about them adding an outfielder ?

That isn’t the point. The point is reporters aren’t just spouting out names because they assume the Cubs want to add a 3rd baseman. Names are out because the Cubs are looking at 3rd baseman. We haven’t heard about outfielders because the Cubs aren’t talking about them. 

[Bertz]

29 minutes ago, Bull said:

Because they also have Ballesteros. If Caissie is sent down you have Moises as DH, Seiya back to RF. And failing that, give Alcantara a shot. 3 top 100ish position players for one spot is a legitimate logjam.

This may all be smoke and mirrors to convince Miami that the Cubs are about to pull the trigger with Seattle. This is chess season.

 

Bingo.  There is nothing immediately behind Dansby/Hoerner/Shaw. If Caissie fails there's Mo, or Alcantara, or Long.  Even after a hypothetical Alex Bregman signing Shaw is less redundant than the lesser of Caissie/Mo.

[Rcal10]

45 minutes ago, Bull said:

Because they also have Ballesteros. If Caissie is sent down you have Moises as DH, Seiya back to RF. And failing that, give Alcantara a shot. 3 top 100ish position players for one spot is a legitimate logjam.

This may all be smoke and mirrors to convince Miami that the Cubs are about to pull the trigger with Seattle. This is chess season.

 

My argument isn’t “why would the Cubs be looking at a 3rd baseman over an outfielder”? It is why would reporters assume that is the case

But really the reason for the response is the second part of your post. What is all smoke and mirrors to convince Miami the Cubs are about to pull off a trade with Seattle? 

[Bertz]

Apparently Heyman is blowing a lot of smoke about the Cubs and Imai.  Given the Heyman/Boras stuff you could read that one of two ways.