Random trade speculation

[Rcal10]

4 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

With whatever small areas we may disagree with each other on this, I think we ultimately agree that the Cubs need to probably push some chips in at some point between today and whenever the 2027 season kicks off. They have prospect capital to do it. And frankly, they have enough overlapping capital that I think it borders on prospect hugging at the organizational level not to. It'd be one thing if it were a load of pitching prospects when you consider pitching attrition, but with hitting prospects? Cash some in. 

I am in total agreement with this. Even if you look at the prospects we have. How different are they then last year. Cubs added a lot of higher end prospects by guys having good years. And a lot of overlap. Buy big now. There will be a new group of prospect again next year. 

[ILMindState]

55 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

This is easy to say now because of how well Cease is doing and how poorly Bregman is doing. And you may have said it then, too. I am not saying you didn’t. So now you look like you were right. But I would bet in last few years people also wanted Corbin Burnes, Snell, Fried, Valdez, Rodon, etc… And I will also say during Cease contract years there will be a time we will be happy we didn’t have him. I was fine with Bregman before and still am. He just isn’t playing well. I am not a fan of giving a 30 year old pitcher with a lot of innings on his arm a 7 year deal. Right now, yes, looks like a good deal so people can sit back with “I told you so”. And DID TELL US. Let’s see how it all plays out. To me the mistake was not trading Shaw+ for a young pitcher. I think something like Bregman and Soriano(as an example) would be just about as good as Cease and Shaw. And it would come with less risk of injury to the high priced guy. 

When the offseason started I wanted Cease, Imai, and Cabrera. I had no interest in Bregman because of his age, declining bat speed and he was coming off an injury. I probably completely overreacted when they missed on Imai haha. I was hopeful and willing to give them the benefit of the doubt when they signed Bregman but oof, he’s who I was worried about. I don’t think he’s gonna be much better than what you see now. A good defender who hovers around a league average bat with no pop. 

[Rcal10]

2 minutes ago, ILMindState said:

When the offseason started I wanted Cease, Imai, and Cabrera. I had no interest in Bregman because of his age, declining bat speed and he was coming off an injury. I probably completely overreacted when they missed on Imai haha. I was hopeful and willing to give them the benefit of the doubt when they signed Bregman but oof, he’s who I was worried about. I don’t think he’s gonna be much better than what you see now. A good defender who hovers around a league average bat with no pop. 

Like I said, I don’t doubt you wanted Cease instead of Bregman. A lot of people did. And right now it is easy to say you were right. I just don’t like spending that kind of money and years on a 30 year old pitcher with a lot of innings under his belt let. Sure, looks like a great move now, but this is year 1 of 7. He will be well into his later 30’s by the time the contract is up. And more often than now spending on those arms doesn’t work well. As I said, to me if they signed Bregman, Shaw and/or Alcantara should have been traded for a young controlled solid arm. That is the bigger mistake to me. 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Passan says Mason Miller is definitely available

[squally1313]

PCA over 6 fWAR. No one else has more than 5 offensively. Ohtani also shut down indefinitely from pitching, so if PCA keeps it up I’d expect him to lead all of baseball pretty soon. 

[JD94]

28 minutes ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

Passan says Mason Miller is definitely available

I haven’t seen it, nor have I cared to look, but I had 2 buddies tell me today they read that SD insists on somebody eating the Bogaerts contract in any Mason Miller trade. Maybe that’s them just throwing it out there to see if anybody bites if true, but man if I’m SD, just give me the prospect haul. 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

4 minutes ago, JD94 said:

I haven’t seen it, nor have I cared to look, but I had 2 buddies tell me today they read that SD insists on somebody eating the Bogaerts contract in any Mason Miller trade. Maybe that’s them just throwing it out there to see if anybody bites if true, but man if I’m SD, just give me the prospect haul. 

his contract is an albatross, I don't know who could just take that on beyond the yankees or dodgers

24.5 million a year until 2033

Edited yesterday at 02:04 AM by Tangled Up in Plaid

[JD94]

4 minutes ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

his contract is an albatross, I don't know who could just take that on beyond the yankees or dodgers

24.5 million a year until 2033

Right and why would SD want to limit their return? Just eat it and get the prospects. Nobody is taking on enough of that contract to where it even makes sense for SD. Even if they ate half of it, you’re still not getting anything for Miller. I mean I bet they would love to get out from under it, but it ain’t happening. 

[Rcal10]

9 minutes ago, JD94 said:

I haven’t seen it, nor have I cared to look, but I had 2 buddies tell me today they read that SD insists on somebody eating the Bogaerts contract in any Mason Miller trade. Maybe that’s them just throwing it out there to see if anybody bites if true, but man if I’m SD, just give me the prospect haul. 

IMO it would be incredibly stupid for the Padres to lessen their prospect haul by making someone take Bogaerts too. Get the best prospects you can get. 

[Bertz]

1 hour ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

Passan says Mason Miller is definitely available

I mentioned this a few weeks back but I do think there's some merit to just steering into the skid rotation-wise and going bullpen of doom.

Like don't totally punt on the rotation, but e.g. use one of your blue chippers on Mason Miller and then pair that with something like a Freddy Peralta/Luke Weaver trade (which given Peralta's struggles should be doable with just mid-level guys).

[muntjack]

9 hours ago, squally1313 said:

PCA over 6 fWAR. No one else has more than 5 offensively. Ohtani also shut down indefinitely from pitching, so if PCA keeps it up I’d expect him to lead all of baseball pretty soon. 

He already does. 

PCA is at 6.3 fWAR

Ohtani is at 6.0 combined fWAR

There might be an actual argument for MVP.

[Bertz]

Luke Weaver got specifically name-checked by Mooney this AM, often a meaningful sign:

Quote

 

It’s been a long-held belief in this front office that making big commitments to the bullpen is a poor strategy for investing your resources. Once again, those Cubs officials have been proven right — in several ways but not always in a satisfactory manner.

It remains to be seen how much the club is willing to bend that philosophy at the trade deadline, but one possible exception to keep in mind is Luke Weaver, a free agent the Cubs targeted last offseason before the right-handed reliever signed a two-year, $22 million contract with the New York Mets.

Weaver, who has performed under pressure for the New York Yankees, made a strong impression during a video conference with the Cubs. In 39 appearances with the Mets — one of the few clear-cut sellers this summer — Weaver has a 1.98 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP.

 

 

[CubinNY]

16 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

Cubs have no control on what the Brewers do. Honest question, what do you think the Cubs record would be if their staff wasn’t decimated by injuries? Being conservative I would say 60-40. That is a team built to win 96 games. I agree Jed normally wasn’t aggressive enough. And I wish he did more. But being fair to him now, he did build a pretty good team this year that caught serious bad luck with injuries and a crazy good Brewers team. 

Who are you responding to because it wasn't me,

[Rcal10]

24 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

Who are you responding to because it wasn't me,

Didn’t mean to quote you. Just a general comment regarding building the team in this off season, and team building overall by Jed. 

[Jason Ross]

So, this obviously isn't reporting, but I think these things can give you an idea of where reporters/the media are sitting on prices. Mitch Bannon, the author, the Jays' version of Sharma/Mooney for the website. In a recent The Athletic article, the following trade was proposed for the Jays at the deadline:

Toronto sends: Kevin Guasmann 
Chicago Cubs sends: Brooks Caple and Brett Bateman 

If that's the cost, I sincerely hope both have their passports and visas up to date because I couldn't drive them north of the border faster.

Source

[Neuby]

Cubs have multiple scouts following the Blue Jays all week in preparation of a sell off. 

[Neuby]

2 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

So, this obviously isn't reporting, but I think these things can give you an idea of where reporters/the media are sitting on prices. Mitch Bannon, the author, the Jays' version of Sharma/Mooney for the website. In a recent The Athletic article, the following trade was proposed for the Jays at the deadline:

Toronto sends: Kevin Guasmann 
Chicago Cubs sends: Brooks Caple and Brett Bateman 

If that's the cost, I sincerely hope both have their passports and visas up to date because I couldn't drive them north of the border faster.

Source

Guasmann wasn't the name I heard but can confirm the Cubs scouts are following the Jays,

[Jason Ross]

2 minutes ago, Neuby said:

Guasmann wasn't the name I heard but can confirm the Cubs scouts are following the Jays,

Can't imagine who else they could be considering if it isn't Gausmann. Bieber sucks. Scherzer sucks. They're not trading Ysevage or Varland. He's about the only pitcher the Jays would reasonably trade who the Cubs could reasonably consider helping them. 

[BobbyD3]

3 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

Can't imagine who else they could be considering if it isn't Gausmann. Bieber sucks. Scherzer sucks. They're not trading Ysevage or Varland. He's about the only pitcher the Jays would reasonably trade who the Cubs could reasonably consider helping them. 

Can I assume, Jeff Hoffman?

[Jason Ross]

3 minutes ago, BobbyD3 said:

Can I assume, Jeff Hoffman?

I guess it could be Hoffman. Though the Jays seem likely to keep anyone controlled based on where they are on the win arc which is why I didn't really mention him, or Rogers. 

If the Jays were bad and likely were cool with being bad again next year, I'd believe Hoffman were available. I'd expect the Jays would be shooting for a 2027 revival so trading him puts them in a weird spot. But yeah, maybe.

[Outshined_One]

8 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

I guess it could be Hoffman. Though the Jays seem likely to keep anyone controlled based on where they are on the win arc which is why I didn't really mention him, or Rogers. 

If the Jays were bad and likely were cool with being bad again next year, I'd believe Hoffman were available. I'd expect the Jays would be shooting for a 2027 revival so trading him puts them in a weird spot. But yeah, maybe.

There are trade possibilities where the Jays could be stocking up for a run in 2027 while selling redundant assets. They could covet Ballesteros/Shaw/Ramirez/Alcantara or even guys like Rojas, Ayers, Wiggins, or Kepley if they think those players would keep the competitive window open longer from 2027 and beyond.

[Geographyhater8888]

19 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

So, this obviously isn't reporting, but I think these things can give you an idea of where reporters/the media are sitting on prices. Mitch Bannon, the author, the Jays' version of Sharma/Mooney for the website. In a recent The Athletic article, the following trade was proposed for the Jays at the deadline:

Toronto sends: Kevin Guasmann 
Chicago Cubs sends: Brooks Caple and Brett Bateman 

If that's the cost, I sincerely hope both have their passports and visas up to date because I couldn't drive them north of the border faster.

Source

We gave up our #14 and #13 for Soroka. That’s what a delusional cubs fan would propose. 

[Bertz]

I think with all the ups and downs Hoffman's had they'd probably take the opportunity to sell him on an up rather than risk holding onto him long enough for the next down.

Bieber's interesting too.  There's nothing obviously wrong with him and we know this team has had a hard on for him for a while.  I *think* his issues are just pitch mix.  If you told me we were going to have a two SP deadline I'd happily take Bieber as the second.

[Bertz]

Just now, Geographyhater8888 said:

We gave up our #14 and #13 for Soroka. That’s what a delusional cubs fan would propose. 

The farm's a lot deeper than it was a year ago.  I think that package for Gausman is probably light but Caple's a grade higher than either guy we gave up for Soroka and Bateman's very comparable to Franklin.

[mk49]

Gausman has been pretty bad lately.  I'd be disappointed, if he's the only SP we get.

That said, it sounds pretty realistic.