Cubs (Imanaga) vs Mets (Senga): 6/22/26, 6:10pm

[Brock Beauchamp]

One of the great things about baseball is that when it comes to a series such as this, one of the teams *has* to win, even if it's by accident.

	WED	THU	FRI	SAT	SUN	TOT
Trent Thornton	0	0	0	13	0	13
Ryan Rolison	0	0	0	1	0	1
Phil Maton	0	0	0	0	0	0
Javier Assad	92	0	0	0	0	92
Jacob Webb	16	0	0	27	0	43
Hoby Milner	25	0	16	0	0	41
Gavin Hollowell	0	0	13	0	0	13
Ethan Roberts	15	0	10	14	0	39
Caleb Thielbar	16	0	0	13	0	29

 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

this is probably gonna get rained out as well

[Stratos]

Is it safe yet to say that the Cuns are out of their dreadful team-wide offensive slump?  Some individual slumps remain obviously.  But even Dansby seems to be doing a bit better lately.

[cl smooth]

22 minutes ago, Stratos said:

Is it safe yet to say that the Cuns are out of their dreadful team-wide offensive slump?  Some individual slumps remain obviously.  But even Dansby seems to be doing a bit better lately.

Chicago Cuns

[Tryptamine]

We don't really have a place to talk trades, but I just read an article that suggested Kane Kepley and Kaleb Wing for Sonny Gray. If the Cubs were 15 games over and one front line starter from being amongst the WS favorites sure. With that said, throwing that kind of prospect capital for half a season when this team is clearly nowhere near a contender would be criminal. 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

5 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

We don't really have a place to talk trades, but I just read an article that suggested Kane Kepley and Kaleb Wing for Sonny Gray. If the Cubs were 15 games over and one front line starter from being amongst the WS favorites sure. With that said, throwing that kind of prospect capital for half a season when this team is clearly nowhere near a contender would be criminal. 

sonny gray is old and on an expiring contract. who suggested this trade, Jon Red Sox Fan?

edit: would be all for adding sonny gray at a reasonable price however

Edited 5 hours ago by Tangled Up in Plaid

[Tryptamine]

2 minutes ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

sonny gray is old and on an expiring contract. who suggested this trade, Jon Red Sox Fan?

That's the least of the crazy. I'm looking at an article right now that wants the Cubs to give up Shaw, Alcantara and Ayers for Sonny Gray. That's just an absurdly huge overpay.

[muntjack]

Maybe for Joe Ryan.

[Rcal10]

46 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

We don't really have a place to talk trades, but I just read an article that suggested Kane Kepley and Kaleb Wing for Sonny Gray. If the Cubs were 15 games over and one front line starter from being amongst the WS favorites sure. With that said, throwing that kind of prospect capital for half a season when this team is clearly nowhere near a contender would be criminal. 

I agree they should not do something like that. But to suggest they are clearly nowhere near a contender is wrong. No idea why so many people say this. If they are a team who by projections should win 86-90+ games they are a contender. This team has those projections. At the very least they are definitely a playoff contender. And clearly much closer than “nowhere near ” territory. 

[Rcal10]

44 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

That's the least of the crazy. I'm looking at an article right now that wants the Cubs to give up Shaw, Alcantara and Ayers for Sonny Gray. That's just an absurdly huge overpay.

That is nuts. Even a team clearly making the playoffs doesn’t give that away. Cubs are in a bad spot when it comes to TDL deals. While they are contending for a a lot in the playoffs, they aren’t a sure thing. So they can’t go get that missing piece, like the ‘16 team did with Chapman. Prices are going to be high. Not really sure how aggressive the FO will be.

[Stratos]

1 hour ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

sonny gray is old and on an expiring contract. who suggested this trade, Jon Red Sox Fan?

edit: would be all for adding sonny gray at a reasonable price however

Sonny Gray is solid but Jed isn't going to give up much for "solid, or at least he shouldn't.  If we give up real prospects we should target a well above-average pitcher.

A rotation of Brown/Gray/Boyd/Shota-Cabrera is so-so for a playoff team but still isn't a strength and not likely to be a true WS contender against the better teams.   The Dodgers and likely Brewers would still annihilate us.

[chibears55]

21 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

I agree they should not do something like that. But to suggest they are clearly nowhere near a contender is wrong. No idea why so many people say this. If they are a team who by projections should win 86-90+ games they are a contender. This team has those projections. At the very least they are definitely a playoff contender. And clearly much closer than “nowhere near ” territory. 

I think new projections may have them being closer to 80-85 wins now, and that will mostly depend on what they can get out of the pitching side until at least the deadline. 

Theres 34 games til the deadline,  if they can find a way to win 20 of those, i think theyll be in pretty good shape from there if Hoyer can add a solid arm or two to the rotation and bullpen to get them through to the postseason and raise that win total to at least 90

 

[chibears55]

10 minutes ago, Stratos said:

Sonny Gray is solid but Jed isn't going to give up much for "solid, or at least he shouldn't.  If we give up real prospects we should target a well above-average pitcher.

A rotation of Brown/Gray/Boyd/Shota-Cabrera is so-so for a playoff team but still isn't a strength and not likely to be a true WS contender against the better teams.   The Dodgers and likely Brewers would still annihilate us.

Theres 4 guys in the system I dont want to see moved this deadline and that....

Rojas, Hartshorn, Ayers, and Wiggins 

These are 4 guys id love to see on the 2028 opening day roster as starters.

[CubinNY]

They aren’t a bad team. They are a Jed Hoyer production. It’s the same every year. 
 

on the plus side, there are only a handful of teams who are trying.  The rest of the owners are waiting to get all the money after the next CBA. 

[Rcal10]

42 minutes ago, chibears55 said:

I think new projections may have them being closer to 80-85 wins now, and that will mostly depend on what they can get out of the pitching side until at least the deadline. 

Theres 34 games til the deadline,  if they can find a way to win 20 of those, i think theyll be in pretty good shape from there if Hoyer can add a solid arm or two to the rotation and bullpen to get them through to the postseason and raise that win total to at least 90

 

I don’t see any projections with 80 wins. Pecota has them at 85.9, but a clear playoff team. Most have them 40%-70% chance of making the playoffs. The point isn’t really how many wins they will have. My comment was more about the statement that they were nowhere near a contender. Whether it is a projected 85 win team or a 90 win team, that is still a contender. 
I agree they have to add arms to get to that 90 level. At least one SOLID starter, and I would like 2 pen arms. 

[Rcal10]

42 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

They aren’t a bad team. They are a Jed Hoyer production. It’s the same every year. 
 

on the plus side, there are only a handful of teams who are trying.  The rest of the owners are waiting to get all the money after the next CBA. 

Agreed. Rhey aren’t a bad team. And that makes them a contender. If they can add a playoff starter to the rotation and a few solid pen arms they have a chance in any series. Not great, not super exciting, but a team that should be in the playoff race all year. 

[Dfan25]

For me , if they can find an arm under control to trade for , they should do it , regardless of how good or bad this team is . I have absolutely no interest in trading for rentals however . This team isn’t worth it for those kind of trades 

[Derwood]

I wouldn't give Shaw straight up for Gray, much less Shaw+

[Rcal10]

9 minutes ago, Dfan25 said:

For me , if they can find an arm under control to trade for , they should do it , regardless of how good or bad this team is . I have absolutely no interest in trading for rentals however . This team isn’t worth it for those kind of trades 

I agree. If they find a guy they like with control left, they should trade for him. That sort of deal works even if they don’t make the playoffs this year, provided they trade for the right guy. But that also makes that guy even more valuable and the cost is even higher. So while I like that move, we better be prepared to lose a lot to make it. 

[PeanutPunch33]

What do folks think about a Seiya extension and what number?  He's taken a massive step forward defensively in right field and he's a consistent (albeit streaky) hitter.  

The difference between him and Happ is that I think the Cubs need a right handed slugger to balance the team more than another LHH.  Happ is a switch hitter but he's not great as a RHH.  Seiya can be sandwiched right in between PCA and Busch at the top - I also think Seiya is a notch above Happ as a hitter and overall player and will age better to boot.  

The Cubs can't afford to lose both of them but probably won't be interested in keeping both of them either, given Shaw's emergence.  I'm thinking:  4 years, 92 million would be a fair offer for both sides.  

Edited 2 hours ago by PeanutPunch33

[Rcal10]

20 minutes ago, PeanutPunch33 said:

What do folks think about a Seiya extension and what number?  He's taken a massive step forward defensively in right field and he's a consistent (albeit streaky) hitter.  

The difference between him and Happ is that I think the Cubs need a right handed slugger to balance the team more than another LHH.  Happ is a switch hitter but he's not great as a RHH.  Seiya can be sandwiched right in between PCA and Busch at the top - I also think Seiya is a notch above Happ as a hitter and overall player and will age better to boot.  

The Cubs can't afford to lose both of them but probably won't be interested in keeping both of them either, given Shaw's emergence.  I'm thinking:  4 years, 92 million would be a fair offer for both sides.  

I wouldn’t mind Seiya coming back. I agree they need a strong right handed bat. I am a Happ fan, but if I am only taking one back it would be Seiya. Mainly because of his hitting from the right side. While the Cubs do have a lot of right handed bats, none have been particularly good. They need Seiya to have a good bat on the right side. The offer you suggested sounds pretty fair too. 

[mk49]

26 minutes ago, PeanutPunch33 said:

What do folks think about a Seiya extension and what number?  He's taken a massive step forward defensively in right field and he's a consistent (albeit streaky) hitter.  

The difference between him and Happ is that I think the Cubs need a right handed slugger to balance the team more than another LHH.  Happ is a switch hitter but he's not great as a RHH.  Seiya can be sandwiched right in between PCA and Busch at the top - I also think Seiya is a notch above Happ as a hitter and overall player and will age better to boot.  

The Cubs can't afford to lose both of them but probably won't be interested in keeping both of them either, given Shaw's emergence.  I'm thinking:  4 years, 92 million would be a fair offer for both sides.  

Personally, I like Happ better than Seiya, but I agree I want them to keep Seiya.  He should help the team more than Happ in the next few seasons.

That said, I would be surprised, if they offer him a 4yr/$92M.  I agree that is probably a fair contract, but I think it'll be more like 3yr/$60M.  Not sure if Seiya takes it, though sounded like he wanted to stay.

[cl smooth]

massive downpour in brooklyn at the moment. doubt the game starts on time, if at all. 

[Derwood]

[Stratos]

2 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

I don’t see any projections with 80 wins. Pecota has them at 85.9, but a clear playoff team. Most have them 40%-70% chance of making the playoffs. The point isn’t really how many wins they will have. My comment was more about the statement that they were nowhere near a contender. Whether it is a projected 85 win team or a 90 win team, that is still a contender. 
I agree they have to add arms to get to that 90 level. At least one SOLID starter, and I would like 2 pen arms. 

They're certainly still a contender for a wild card spot.   But if they want to rely on something other than getting very lucky then they need a good SP if they want to go far in the playoffs.

I think they need 1 of Boyd/Shota/Cabrera to shine from now to the deadline to show they can have another playoff quality SP besides Brown in order it to be worth giving up good prospects for a another good quality SP.

If the trade deadline were today I think Jed would still grab us a SP but more in the Sonny Gray tier at best.

I'm hopeful for Cabrera next season with the whole winter to improve but not confident if he can turn the corner this year, but it's possible.  Also praying Boyd is effective and healthy

I'm optimistic for Shota, he pitches well when he can locate the splitter.