Spring Training games thread

[Bertz]

4 minutes ago, mk49 said:

Alcantara is finally playing, but DH?  I guess they want to see other OF players.

Worth noting he did have surgery this offseason.  So probably not a huge surprise they're slow playing him a bit this spring.

[mk49]

Just now, Bertz said:

Worth noting he did have surgery this offseason.  So probably not a huge surprise they're slow playing him a bit this spring.

Oh, I didn't know that.  That makes sense.  Thanks.

[Gjfificifjdej]

Eat horsefeathers Rick Monday, they won the division in 2020, go to hell with that since 2017 garbage 

[CubinNY]

of course MLB.tv isn't working

 

[chopsx9]

Thank God for wild pitches.

[Bertz]

Assad another guy whose velo is way up.  Curious gow much of that sticks as he stretches out.

And man Ben Brown

[mk49]

Yeah, it was fun to watch Rea - Brown - Assad.  They all looked pretty good, especially Ben.  They pitched 7 innings only 3 H, 0 BB and 8 K combined.  Aside from Jamo, our SP's + those backup SP's are looking good so far.

[Jason Ross]

Ben Brown's sinker is now getting classified as such by Savant. It's also sitting at a near identically velo reading as his fastball. That's a pretty heavy sinker. 

Also, he snuck in a real changeup today! Just one, but hello!

[Jason Ross]

Also I'm not a "spring training results matter" guy but Jefferson Rojas is really trying to get me to consider changing that. 

Hes looked incredibly comfortable this off-season. And seeing that he's made the pre-pitch changes it gives me hope for what he can do in Double-A.

[Gjfificifjdej]

This pitcher is deadset on this game lasting longer than it needed to

[Layoutman]

6 hours ago, Stratos said:

Wouldn't be the worst thing for Brown to be able to work on his change and new sinker in Iowa for a bit.  He has lots of potential.

Brown is going to be impersonating a yo-yo this season. He will be back and forth from Chicago to Des Moines.  Why? Brown has options remaining and the majority of the roster does not.

 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Iowa's rotation is gonna be nasty this year with Wiggins, Brown, and Assad lol

[Bertz]

54 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

Also I'm not a "spring training results matter" guy but Jefferson Rojas is really trying to get me to consider changing that. 

Hes looked incredibly comfortable this off-season. And seeing that he's made the pre-pitch changes it gives me hope for what he can do in Double-A.

The way I'd reconcile this is:

1. Spring training results are noisy but measurables (e.g. Rojas' impressive exit velos) are usually very real

2. The biggest argument against results mattering is the wildly varying quality of competition.  But for a 20 year old with just a quarter of a season at AA there's no worry that he's just beating up on pitchers beneath him on the minor league ladder

[Tryptamine]

I have turned from super skeptical when they drafted him to a Kepley fanboi in record time. There's a fair bit more pop there then I thought.

[chibears55]

5 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

Also I'm not a "spring training results matter" guy but Jefferson Rojas is really trying to get me to consider changing that. 

Hes looked incredibly comfortable this off-season. And seeing that he's made the pre-pitch changes it gives me hope for what he can do in Double-A.

Maybe if he has a big year, he can be Nico replacement if Nico not extended

[We Got The Whole 9]

The biggest surprise of the spring was Pedro Ramirez ripping 113

[Jason Ross]

9 hours ago, chibears55 said:

Maybe if he has a big year, he can be Nico replacement if Nico not extended

Its unlikely he will have enough juice to replace Nico next year at the start. He was pretty raw in Tennessee last year, so he's probably going to need to spend 3 months there at minimum to make sure it's not a hot streak (unless he's bananas good). 

He might see MLB in 2027 but it won't really be as Nico's replacement. Instead that will be Shaw. 

[Geographyhater8888]

47 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

Its unlikely he will have enough juice to replace Nico next year at the start. He was pretty raw in Tennessee last year, so he's probably going to need to spend 3 months there at minimum to make sure it's not a hot streak (unless he's bananas good). 

He might see MLB in 2027 but it won't really be as Nico's replacement. Instead that will be Shaw. 

Will Rojas have any effect on the decision to resign Nico? Second base is obviously Shaw’s position to lose but if they find an outfield spot for him then there’s more infield flexibility. Resign Nico and Rojas will be blocked until 2029 or used as a trade piece. Of course Shaw’s bat may or may not be ideal for an outfielder.

 

Edited March 1 by Geographyhater8888

[Geographyhater8888]

I feel like Happ is to Cubs fans as Toby is to Michael Scott.

[Radar3454]

Happ is far from my favorite, but he gets a lot of grief for being a top 10 player at his position every year. Checked his contract to see if he was being paid more than I remembered, but is at 20 mil per year which is fine. I did see that he gets a suite for road games per his contract.

[Geographyhater8888]

6 minutes ago, Radar3454 said:

Happ is far from my favorite, but he gets a lot of grief for being a top 10 player at his position every year. Checked his contract to see if he was being paid more than I remembered, but is at 20 mil per year which is fine. I did see that he gets a suite for road games per his contract.

Yes. A large number of cubs fans have an irrational dislike of him for despite consistent 30 double/20 homer seasons and solid defense. He’s paid accordingly. You wouldn’t know it talking to the average person. 

Edited March 1 by Geographyhater8888

[Bertz]

Yeah Rojas alone probably can't show Nico the door.  That said if Shaw has a good year in MLB and Rojas rakes in MiLB it's a bit hard to argue for keeping Hoerner around.  Ditto Shaw plus Pedro Ramirez.

The team is  currently about $100M under the LT heading into 2027.  And while the CBA almost certainly bumps that number up, inflation will keep it close to $100M in 2025-2026 dollars.  So I assume the team will sign a FA SP of substance, a FA OF of substance (probably re-signing Happ or Suzuki), do a bullpen spending spree similar to this winter, and have room for one more big move.  Whether that's Hoerner, the other of Happ/Suzuki, a second FA SP, etc. depends a lot on who does/does not have a big year in 2026.

[Bertz]

 

[mk49]

Looking forward to it.  Mo and Conforto for the first time this spring + Shota for the first time on TV this year.  

Edited March 1 by mk49

[Bertz]

My guess is he will be in real honest to goodness games before the end of April, but given that he missed an entire year we're talking 5+ rehab starts in full season ball.