Braves (López) vs Cubs (Peterson): 09/14/26, 6:40 PM

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, squally1313 said:

He just gave some quotes praising the next owner of the Angels (Kroenke, the Rams guy), which, combined with everything that's been going on with Mark Walter in the last few weeks, is probably enough for me to leave the door open on him. 

I do think you need to address at least one of the corner outfield spots externally, and there's a lot of guys still floating around without any path to a starting spot. Peterson and Holmes have shown how much nicer it is when you have a GB rate above 40%, and you don't necessarily need to break the bank for either those guys or adjacent guys. Can you get both of them, trade Shaw/Ramirez for another one, and then use the rest of the money keeping the outfield as elite as it is? Steele/Holmes/Brown/Peterson/controlled starter/Cabrera/Assad I guess/the hypothetical version of Cade Horton isn't bad, and the costs to pick one up midseason weren't terrible this year. 

Exact same plan I have for the off season. Except I also want 1 bull pen arm they actually spend money on. Morejon would work. 

[Jason Ross]

3 minutes ago, ILMindState said:

Isn't there a pitcher and/or OF from Japan that's supposed to be good?

Kaima Taira is a SP the Cubs scouted recently. He's an interesting option, but one that I wouldn't be banking on. For a lack of a better way to explain it, think "What if Moises Ballesteros, but pitcher?" He's listed at 5'8" and over 200lbs, so first, the reason I brought up Mo is...well...he's an awkward looking human being. That shouldn't disqualify him, but I think it's important to note that for the comparison.

Secondly is a question of "is this dude a SP?" When the Cubs saw him he sat comfortably at 97mph apparently, and has hit 100mph, but he's been a career reliever for most of his career. He logged 150 IP in 2023, then got hurt and went back to relieving and is back as a SP this year. He will be 27 when he comes stateside, so he'd have two years of starting under his belt and important to remember they go less in NPB. Can he hold up as a guy who goes every 5? 

He's a really fun dude. The stuff can really pop at times. He's on record talking about pitching science and data. But whether or not he holds up is a question. 

 

[gflore34]

6 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

Yeah, I totally get that. Baseball owners are about the most easy group on the planet (sports wise) to despise. The Dodgers have some benefits (their TV deal is nuts!) so they spend more than others, but overall, the other 29 owners are nearly all shades of "has more money but cries poor" (and then there's the even worse group of "refuses to spend money and steals all of the revenue sharing" group).

The ironic point is, although it may cost a little more, ultimately, winning generates more revenue.

[gflore34]

6 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

Yeah, I totally get that. Baseball owners are about the most easy group on the planet (sports wise) to despise. The Dodgers have some benefits (their TV deal is nuts!) so they spend more than others, but overall, the other 29 owners are nearly all shades of "has more money but cries poor" (and then there's the even worse group of "refuses to spend money and steals all of the revenue sharing" group).

The ironic point is, although it may cost a little more, ultimately, winning generates more revenue.

[ILMindState]

16 minutes ago, gflore34 said:

For me it's envy, at least they're willing to splash money, the Cubs, in terms of finance, have the ability to be the Dodgers of the Central.  They are the only team in the Central with such capabilities and they choose not to fully leverage them.

The Cubs don't have the same advantages of money laundering and not sharing revenue as the Dodgers do. 

[Tryptamine]

23 minutes ago, ILMindState said:

Isn't there a pitcher and/or OF from Japan that's supposed to be good?

I'm not sure what to believe anymore in regards to those guys. The Tatsuya Imai thing completely threw me off. Everyone was talking about how his stuff was so good. Then he comes over here and his stuff looks tremendously underwhelming, though it has been improving a bit.

[Jason Ross]

25 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

I'm not sure what to believe anymore in regards to those guys. The Tatsuya Imai thing completely threw me off. Everyone was talking about how his stuff was so good. Then he comes over here and his stuff looks tremendously underwhelming, though it has been improving a bit.

I've heard that one of the issues with Imai has to deal with soft skills and comfortability. Houston has never had an NPB player come over and apparently he's very schedule oriented and has struggled with this. 

Is that everything going on? Can't say. I was a big Imai guy so seeing him suck has been a bummer. I was rooting for him regardless of org. 

[ILMindState]

8 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

I've heard that one of the issues with Imai has to deal with soft skills and comfortability. Houston has never had an NPB player come over and apparently he's very schedule oriented and has struggled with this. 

Is that everything going on? Can't say. I was a big Imai guy so seeing him suck has been a bummer. I was rooting for him regardless of org. 

If he doesn't like it there and opts out it could be a good buy low opportunity. 

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, Jason Ross said:

He's said nothing of the sort. Not only would Scott Boras have to do considerable damage control (at what point would the Dodgers have to offer him a big contract if he said that?) but it'd be the first time any free agent of any sort did that months before they become a FA. Any comments he's made have been just general praise for organizations but not really anything that should make anyone believe he's signing with LAD immediately. 

I know everyone has this defeatist attitude about all free agents who are good, but the Dodgers won't sign everyone and the Cubs can sign players. I think we can be skeptical without defeatist (not saying you are for the record, just the general sentiment across Cubdom). 

I would put me in the skeptical without defeatist camp. And not because they can’t get him or won’t try for him, but because there are probably 6 or more teams who can really go after him hard, including the Cubs. I would hate for them to be all in on him, not get him, and not get a solid corner bat because while they were waiting on Skubal the bats got signed. Now, if they signed Seiya again, signed Peterson, traded for a young arm, signed Morejon and then were still in on Skubal, that would be awesome. If Skubal goes elsewhere pivot to Holmes. I just don’t think they can/will do all of that. Maybe the choice comes down to Holmes and Morejon or just Skubal and a dumpster dive pen arm. 🤷 I guess if they secured Seiya and Peterson and traded for a young starter, I would be fine with Skubal and dumpster dive pen arm as plan A, and Holmes and Morejon as plan B.