Winter Doldrums Thread

[Cuzi]

Who's next on the "Price Is Wrong" for the Cubs?

[Tryptamine]

Just now, Jason Ross said:

Yeah, I won't say that I know what the plan is, either. I think they're better set up to trade for a SP than they are someone on offense, so Bregman + a Cabrera trade feels like something they could do versus, say, sign Imai and trade for a hitter, if they're trying to get both one hitter and an impact SP. 

Or maybe they really are cheaping out. They boxed themselves in last offseason, so let's hope they learned something.

I have so little faith in a GM who so completely whiffed at the trade deadline that his RP acquisition had to become his SP acquisition because he so badly judged the market. The same GM who fumbled the numbers and put the cubs over the cap, something I've ever seen any other GM do.

[Rcal10]

6 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Far too optimistic

Oh, I am not optimistic they do this. I am saying the need to in order to improve their team. I have little confidence they will do it. 

[Dfan25]

If this ends up like I think it will ( Gallen + backup 3B )  underwhelming offseason especially for a team that made the playoffs . 

There still offseason left , but they will need to make a trade for a SP and sign an impact bat for me to salvage it .

Edited January 1 by Dfan25

[Hortonhearsawho]

33 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

This is very possible. I think it is a BS excuse by ownership to not spend money. But it might be what they do. 

I agree. They don't care about the work stoppage they just don't want to spend money period.

[Rcal10]

5 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

If this ends up like I think it will ( Gallen + backup 3B )  underwhelming offseason especially for a team that made the playoffs . 

There still offseason left , but they will need to make a trade for a SP and sign an impact bat for me to salvage it .

Yep, trade for a pitcher and sign a proven bat would be my preference. I am not optimistic the do that, however. 

[Tryptamine]

If I were to set odds I'd put them like this at the moment

They go into 2026 with a worse team than they left 2025 50%

They go into 2026 similarly as good as they left 2025 40%

They go into 2026 with a better team than they left 2025 10% 

Right now without Tucker I don't think there's any question the current squad is worse than it was at the end of the 2025 season.

[Rcal10]

3 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

If I were to set odds I'd put them like this at the moment

They go into 2026 with a worse team than they left 2025 50%

They go into 2026 similarly as good as they left 2025 40%

They go into 2026 with a better team than they left 2025 10% 

Right now without Tucker I don't think there's any question the current squad is worse than it was at the end of the 2025 season.

I think 40% chance as good is very optimistic. 

[Rcal10]

So losing out on Imai, Cubs had to have a plan B ready, right? So moves should start soon, if there are to be any. 

[tartan22]

given hoyer's remarks on pitching at the start of the offseason, i don't think there's a player left in free agency who would qualify as a success for addressing the need as he defined it. you can't come out in november hammering on that as the big thing you're going to focus on and then walk away with "zac gallen bounceback year?" as your solution

you gotta swing a trade at this point. you have the resources, go out and make a move

[Rcal10]

6 minutes ago, tartan22 said:

given hoyer's remarks on pitching at the start of the offseason, i don't think there's a player left in free agency who would qualify as a success for addressing the need as he defined it. you can't come out in november hammering on that as the big thing you're going to focus on and then walk away with "zac gallen bounceback year?" as your solution

you gotta swing a trade at this point. you have the resources, go out and make a move

Gallen wouldn’t be my first choice, but I disagree that he doesn’t fit the narrative on improving the staff, I also would rather make a trade, but Gallen would be a solid pick up. Thr issue is they then won’t have enough to add a bat. And I don’t see many available in a trade. 

[Tryptamine]

Just now, Rcal10 said:

Gallen wouldn’t be my first choice, but I disagree that he doesn’t fit the narrative on improving the staff, I also would rather make a trade, but Gallen would be a solid pick up. Thr issue is they then won’t have enough to add a bat. And I don’t see many available in a trade. 

Yeah if they're getting a bat it almost has to come from FA, making a SP trade the obvious route, but it's Jed so I have zero expectations for anything substantial. With Jed it's always the same, you know he wont shop at the top of the market so you look at the 2nd tier FA where they should be, but then realistically he's going to shop a tier or two below that too.

[Tryptamine]

Not letting myself believe it for one damn second

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/01/yankees-cubs-dodgers-have-checked-in-on-bo-bichette.html

[tartan22]

i've been kind of confused as to why we haven't shown any interest in bichette if we are in on bregman, so i'll take that report

bichette + using shaw in a package for a front-end pitcher was always my dream 'feasible' offseason. (seems like we probably wouldn't trade shaw even if we did add a 3b, given the noise around nico's future, but you could still add a solid SP via trade with other pieces)

[chibears55]

3 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

Not letting myself believe it for one damn second

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/01/yankees-cubs-dodgers-have-checked-in-on-bo-bichette.html

Yep, we now move on from Imai and Bregman rumors to Bo Bichette and also the rumblings of trading Hoerner 🙄🙄🙄🙄

Why i never believe in rumors, because 9 out of 10 times a team nobody mentions ends up with the player 🤷

 

[Post Count Padder]

I have had in my head signing Bregman or Bichette and trading Shaw for a SP. 

Is something like Shaw and Alcantara for Edward Cabrera and Javier Sanoja feasible? Get the guy we've been looking at for the rotation and Sanoja is a controllable utility guy coming off a gold glove win. Not the greatest hitter but has pop and can play anywhere. Basically what we wanted Berti to be.

The Marlins have a lot of prospect pitching depth in the upper minors so I don't imagine they'd want Wicks or Brown.

Edited January 1 by Post Count Padder

[mk49]

I don't even know if Bichette is better than Nico.  Yes, he has more power, but his defense way worse than Nico.  So, no, I don't belive the Bichette rumor, either.  I don't even think Bregman is realistic.  I want the Cubs to prove me wrong, though.

[Bertz]

I don't expect Bichette but basically any argument you can make for the Bregman fit applies to Bo too.  Bichette's going to get a longer contract but that's largely a wash with being 4 years younger.

If they do the "sign a 3B trade for a SP" move I wonder if they put any thought into getting Shaw CF reps as part of his super sub role. 

[Rcal10]

2 minutes ago, mk49 said:

I don't even know if Bichette is better than Nico.  Yes, he has more power, but his defense way worse than Nico.  So, no, I don't belive the Bichette rumor, either.  I don't even think Bregman is realistic.  I want the Cubs to prove me wrong, though.

I think if they got Bichette he would play 3rd, so he doesn’t have to be better than Nico. Unless, of course, Nico trade rumors turned out to be real.

[Tryptamine]

Just now, Post Count Padder said:

I have had in my head signing Bregman or Bichette and trading Shaw for a SP. 

Is something like Shaw and Alcantara for Edward Cabrera and Javier Sanoja feasible? Get the guy we've been looking at for the rotation and Sanoja is a controllable utility guy coming off a gold glove win. Not the greatest hitter but has pop and can play anywhere. Basically what we wanted Berti to be.

That feels like a drastic overpay. 6 Years of Shaw and Alcantara for 3 years of Cabrera and a guy whose upside is bench bat. 

[Rcal10]

1 minute ago, Bertz said:

I don't expect Bichette but basically any argument you can make for the Bregman fit applies to Bo too.  Bichette's going to get a longer contract but that's largely a wash with being 4 years younger.

If they do the "sign a 3B trade for a SP" move I wonder if they put any thought into getting Shaw CF reps as part of his super sub role. 

Right. Either Bregman or Bichette to play 3rd. Then trade for Cabrera. Solid off season.  Not likely, but it does work. 

[mk49]

2 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

I think if they got Bichette he would play 3rd, so he doesn’t have to be better than Nico. Unless, of course, Nico trade rumors turned out to be real.

Yes, you're right about that, but I was more like if they let Nico go after the next season or trade him now, extend him, instead of signing Bichette.

[Rcal10]

4 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

That feels like a drastic overpay. 6 Years of Shaw and Alcantara for 3 years of Cabrera and a guy whose upside is bench bat. 

Why is Sanoja upside a career backup but Shaw is too valuable to give up 6 years of control? They hit about the same last year and Sanoja is younger. They would get 5 years of control for him. I mean, I wouldn’t complicate the trade so much, but it isn’t a drastic  overpay. I would rather just do Cassie or Alcantara for Cabrera and leave thr others out of the deal. But I don’t think the overpay is massive. 

[Rcal10]

6 minutes ago, mk49 said:

Yes, you're right about that, but I was more like if they let Nico go after the next season or trade him now, extend him, instead of signing Bichette.

For one thing, this would make them better this year. And they would have someone IF they can’t extend Nico next year. Extending Nico does nothing to help 2026. 

[Rcal10]

28 minutes ago, tartan22 said:

i've been kind of confused as to why we haven't shown any interest in bichette if we are in on bregman, so i'll take that report

bichette + using shaw in a package for a front-end pitcher was always my dream 'feasible' offseason. (seems like we probably wouldn't trade shaw even if we did add a 3b, given the noise around nico's future, but you could still add a solid SP via trade with other pieces)

I wouldn’t trade Shaw. Use Cassie or Alcantara and add Brown, Wicks OR Assad(pick one) to get a pitcher. If you have to add on, then no one in the teams top 10 prospects. That should get a decent controlled starting pitcher.