Winter Meetings Thread

[Derwood]

I just get the sense that Jed doesn't think this roster needs to be improved as much as we do. 

[Jason Ross]

27 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I'd be surprised if the team does anything big before Imai signs.  It's pretty clear IMO that either he's their top guy or their top guy (let's say Gore for sake of argument) isn't going to be moved until they have that market clarity from Imai's decision.

Possible exception is the closer.  Sounds like they were in on Williams and Pagan until close to the end, so unless the reason they pulled out was purely timing we can be reasonably confident they're comfortable with a 9 figure reliever salary regardless of what else happens.

I continue to hope this is their plan A. No secret I've been a big Imai guy from the beginning, much of the research on how he'll translate seems to push me more into this territory. 

The Cubs have seemingly done well with NPB players when there hasn't been a lot of attention on the courting phase (Imanaga and Suzuki come to mind here) so I'm hoping with how kind of quiet it's been (who he's meeting, how close is he to signing, etc) that it bodes well.

[Tryptamine]

6 minutes ago, Derwood said:

I just get the sense that Jed doesn't think this roster needs to be improved as much as we do. 

He literally said the rotation had to be addressed

[Tryptamine]

27 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

I guess they can trade for Cabrera, Gore, Ryan or a few other options to get the starting pitcher. Then maybe sign Okamato and a decent pen arm or rein and it still be a solid off season. But that is threading the needle. 

Exactly. Of course they could still potentially put together a fabulous offseason, but things would have to go so perfectly it's just wildly unrealistic. There is no margin for error anymore.

[Tryptamine]

For the love of god can we please fix the bug where when you submit a response using a quote from a previous page and hit submit, nothing happens on your screen. Then you think you have to hit submit again but in reality it is posting them, you just receive no indication at all.

Edited December 16, 2025 by Tryptamine

[Cuzi]

Jesse Roger's saying the price tag on Bregman is going up because of the deals Schwarber and Alonso signed. Makes sense.

Guess we'll keep waiting for those prices to come down.

This is like all the car buying influencers... "It's OVER! The car market crash of <insert year here> has begun!" Meanwhile it's remained relatively steady for over a year now without any major change outside of EV.

Edited December 16, 2025 by Cuzi

[Derwood]

3 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

He literally said the rotation had to be addressed

He also said he was saving $30 million to spend at the deadline last year.¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Bertz]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/2025-26-top-50-mlb-free-agents-with-predictions.html

8 of MLBTR's Top 10 FAs are still on the board.  4 of the Top 5 SPs.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/mlb-rumors-top-trade-candidates-offseason.html

Only two trade candidates on this list have been moves, and we were probably always boxed out of Sonny Gray to begin with.

The high end reliever market is a couple guys away from being picked over, and Dylan Cease was a kick to the nuts, but mostly it's just been slow all around.

[Cuzi]

4 minutes ago, Bertz said:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/2025-26-top-50-mlb-free-agents-with-predictions.html

8 of MLBTR's Top 10 FAs are still on the board.  4 of the Top 5 SPs.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2025/11/mlb-rumors-top-trade-candidates-offseason.html

Only two trade candidates on this list have been moves, and we were probably always boxed out of Sonny Gray to begin with.

The high end reliever market is a couple guys away from being picked over, and Dylan Cease was a kick to the nuts, but mostly it's just been slow all around.

How many of the 8 remaining do you have as realistic targets for this FO?

I see 2. Imai and Suarez.

Edited December 16, 2025 by Cuzi

[Jason Ross]

4 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

How many of the 8 remaining do you have as realistic targets for this FO?

The Cubs could realistically end up with Alex Bregman, Tatsuya Imai or Ranger Suarez and have been loosely connected to Munataki Murakami, which is about half of those. I don't think the Cubs will be players in the Kyle Tucker, Bo Bichette (though, I guess if they're in on-Bregman it wouldn't be like, impossible?) or Cody Bellinger. And Framber Valdez wouldn't be the biggest shock if they were in on Cease and are in on Imai. 

So I'd say:
Very realistically in on - 3
Kind of connected to, even though it feels a little weird - 1
Could maybe squint and see it - 2 
Definitely no chance in hell - 2 

But those "maybe squints" are pretty unlikely, too.

[Bertz]

3 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

How many of the 8 remaining do you have as realistic targets for this FO?

I see 2. Imai and Suarez.

Bregman's clearly realistic.  Chatter makes it seem like he's their favorite bat, and I'd assume squarely in play if they fill SP via trade.

We haven't heard anything on Valdez but he's clearly realistic.  This FO either does an obnoxious slow drip of info about their pursuits or does the opposite and ninjas guys.  So given that Valdez is in the same vein as their other pursuits I wouldn't write him off.

Bichette is a combo of the Bregman rationale and the Valdez one.  I'm not counting on it but it doesn't seem crazy.

[Cuzi]

If Jesse Rogers is right and the price for Bregman has gone up to 6/170 then there's no way I see the Cubs in on that. They offered him 4 last year. He's a year older and had a very Kyle Tucker like mid level year. Why go 6 now?

[Bertz]

1 minute ago, Cuzi said:

If Jesse Rogers is right and the price for Bregman has gone up to 6/170 then there's no way I see the Cubs in on that. They offered him 4 last year. He's a year older and had a very Kyle Tucker like mid level year. Why go 6 now?

He can ask for whatever he wants but the simple question is who's giving him that?  His market as far as we know is BoSox/Cubs/Tigers.  All three GMs literally cut from the same cloth.

[Cuzi]

2 minutes ago, Bertz said:

He can ask for whatever he wants but the simple question is who's giving him that?  His market as far as we know is BoSox/Cubs/Tigers.  All three GMs literally cut from the same cloth.

Yet we know for a fact our GM, isn't willing to do what it takes to get a player he "really likes" in a year he's going all in to save his job.

[Bertz]

4 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

Yet we know for a fact our GM, isn't willing to do what it takes to get a player he "really likes" in a year he's going all in to save his job.

Feels like the simple explanation is that the former implies that the latter isn't true.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Bertz said:

Feels like the simple explanation is that the former implies that the latter isn't true.

Yup. He's not saving his job--he's only saving the pennies that are gathering dust in his vault. 😆

[Rcal10]

22 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

How many of the 8 remaining do you have as realistic targets for this FO?

I see 2. Imai and Suarez.

I agree with you on this. I don’t see Bregman as a possibility, at all. I think the best bat they would realistically consider this off season FA list is Okamoto. And if they got Imai, I doubt they get Okamoto too. 

Edited December 16, 2025 by Rcal10

[Cuzi]

1 minute ago, Bertz said:

Feels like the simple explanation is that the former implies that the latter isn't true.

But you just said it seems like Bregman is their favorite bat. So if the latter isn't true then at a higher number and a year older, Bregman isn't really on the radar.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Cuzi said:

But you just said it seems like Bregman is their favorite bat. So if the latter isn't true then at a higher number and a year older, Bregman isn't really on the radar.

What do you really think the Cubs management is after? They are only after their economic benefit and could care less about the sustenance of their team; Hoover and Mellon--er, Hoyer and Ricketts--are still trying to hope for the best when their silence at the winter meetings and their Gatsy-esque fervor at not signing Imai or Suarez is largely concerning. 

So if the former is true, the latter cannot be.

[Bertz]

2 minutes ago, Cuzi said:

But you just said it seems like Bregman is their favorite bat. So if the latter isn't true then at a higher number and a year older, Bregman isn't really on the radar.

I think the simple explanation is that Bregman isn't going to get a significantly more player friendly contract.   He almost certainly gets more total dollars but at a noticeably lower AAV and without any options or anything else that tilt the deal in his favor.

[KCCub]

 

[chibears55]

2 hours ago, Cuzi said:

I'm not even sure Jed goes by "we can't sign anyone until the team is ready."

He signed Dansby Swanson and then crickets. Did he think Dansby Swanson was the missing piece? Because he's not done much since and we're coming up on the half way mark of that contract. And looking ahead to 2027, the future isn't looking too bright.

The only thing he's done is make a win now move to earn a contract extension and then right back to the same old horsefeathers.

Part of me think he inked Dansby to the 7 yrs was because he was set on bringing in one of the 4 SS that offseason and waited it out to where Swanson was his last option and he had to go 7 yrs to get him 

[chibears55]

1 hour ago, Cuzi said:

Yet we know for a fact our GM, isn't willing to do what it takes to get a player he "really likes" in a year he's going all in to save his job.

Save his job ???? He just signed an extension for 5 more years.

Jed will be the Cubs POBO until like Theo hes ready to step down and that wont be until at least 2030.

 

[CubinNY]

21 hours ago, chibears55 said:

That i remember, they had a 66 win team with Dusty in 2006, went out and hired Pinella and brought in Soriano and other FA to spice up the team and won the division with 85 wins and then sold them to the Ricketts. Lol

Sold them and the Tribune to Sam Zell, who sold them to the Ricketts. 

 

[Cuzi]

5 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

Save his job ???? He just signed an extension for 5 more years.

Jed will be the Cubs POBO until like Theo hes ready to step down and that wont be until at least 2030.

We aren't talking about this year, champ.