Cubs Pre-Offseason Mega Thread

[Backtobanks]

3 hours ago, Rcal10 said:

I agree they could/should trade one of Shaw or Ramirez. But disagree about your thoughts on Shaw. Again, he actually played the outfield very well. So he can play the corner defensively. So why is Duran, at 29 with 2 years of arbitration left where he will have to be making at least $8M, coming off a terrible year, someone you believe could bounce back and be a quality bat in the line up? Yet, Shaw, a guy who is 25, done ok offensively, with potential to be better not someone who should be in an everyday line up.
My guess is if Duran was on the Cubs and had that season for them you would be righting him off as a guy they have to let go. 
Which being me back to if the Red Sox came to the Cubs with Duran and Bello, I don’t see why the Cubs would have to give up more than just Ramirez. Then Duran and Shaw can play the corners. And if that wasn’t enough for Boston, move on. IMO both Shaw and Ramirez have more value than either Duran or Bello. Ramirez having the most, IMO. 

One reason I think Duran can bounce back is that he had two seasons of 9 WAR and 4.9 WAR just before his terrible 2026 season.  I would think that you would need a pretty solid backup OF if you're going to play Shaw and Duran as corner OFs.  Experimenting with Shaw and hoping that Duran bounces back could be anywhere from great to disastrous.  

[Jason Ross]

Count me way out on Duran. 2024 was excellent and 2025 was mostly good, but the drop from '24 to '25 was already there. His approach numbers have also got to hell; and they were never good.  2024 is the clear outlier. He's now over 30 and appears to be capable of causing headaches for organizations. LF is not like SS or C where you look at the available options and think "is it worth it for me to deal with a headache?" because there are plenty of players who won't be headaches and are also risky profiles. 

In other words, outside of 2024, he was basically "Ian Happ" at the plate posting wRC+ of 122 in 2023 and 113 in 2025 with good LF defense. He's very platoon dependent as well, posting a 115 wRC+ against RHP over his career and a 71 vs LHP. 

I think the Cubs can find a different reclamation that I'd feel more comfortable with both on the field and off of it. 

 

[Bertz]

I think Duran, purely as a player, is a reasonably smart buy low guy.  But like I don't see any coherent rationale for why we'd be okay with a buy-low veteran and not a young player already on hand?

[Rcal10]

23 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I think Duran, purely as a player, is a reasonably smart buy low guy.  But like I don't see any coherent rationale for why we'd be okay with a buy-low veteran and not a young player already on hand?

I agree. Which is my argument with btb. If Shaw or, preferably, Ramirez is traded to Boston for Duran Boston has to give something more back. Duran is strictly a low buy candidate who shouldn’t cost much, at all. There is a chance he isn’t even offered a contract. Which is why Bello and Duran makes some sense to me. Of course, that is before you showed how bad Bello is. Still might do Bello and Duran for Ramirez. But nothing more from the Cubs. Bottom line is the Cubs need some cheap players they need to get a little lucky with. Duran and Bello could be a decent gamble. 

[muntjack]

So it looks like they hired Steve Miller? This is a good thing, right? 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

28 minutes ago, muntjack said:

So it looks like they hired Steve Miller? This is a good thing, right? 

https://www.cubsinsider.com/2026/10/19/cubs-hire-steve-miller-as-new-vp-of-international-scouting/

[Jason Ross]

1 hour ago, muntjack said:

So it looks like they hired Steve Miller? This is a good thing, right? 

On paper, it's probably a very good thing. I think in practice, what it actually does is going to be less than what people think it will. The new CBA is probably going to come with an IFA draft in some fashion. We can debate the good/bad of that in terms of a moral stand point, but it's something I fully expect the owners want and the players to budge on. 

What that does to IFA scouting is probably going to be a decent change. Having someone from an organization who's been pretty good at IFA scouting is a good start, but as we've seen with the MLB draft, there's a game-within-the-game aspect of it. I'd expect something like that in an IFA draft. How good Miller, or anyone, is at that part is going to be unknown.

[Bertz]

1 hour ago, muntjack said:

So it looks like they hired Steve Miller? This is a good thing, right? 

Probably?  The Cubs' IFA pipeline was definitely busted during the back half of the Theo era from 16-20.  And we've really felt going 0'fer half a decade the past few years.

That said it's not clear that there's still a problem?  Pedro Ramirez, Mo Baller, Jefferson Rojas, Cristian Hernandez, Angel Cepeda, etc. look like probable major leaguers from the '21-'23 era.  Some fun guys are either currently at Myrtle Beach or almost there from '24/'25 as well.  We're not the Brewers but things seem perfectly healthy.

But Tampa's obviously a player development power house, so even if the Cubs' IFA group have improved from 30th to like 14th already, there's probably room to get even closer to #1.

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

Has Tampa had any big hits out of IFA recently? I can't think of anybody but maybe they've traded them or are still in the minors.

[Bertz]

16 minutes ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

Has Tampa had any big hits out of IFA recently? I can't think of anybody but maybe they've traded them or are still in the minors.

They don't have a big one since Franco, but via FG they've got got five IFA prospects who are 45 FVs and another five who are 40 FVs, and another nine who were worth ranking.  So at minimum they seem to have a really high average in that market.

I also tend to think that group probably deserves some Junior Caminero credit.  When you trade for a guy that early in his career it's based on info from when he was an amateur IMO.  Similar if Alcantara works out for us.

[squally1313]

Arizona Phil with a report today saying the Angels actually turned down a Detmers trade (for Wiggins and likely Rojas) because they didn't like Wiggins medicals. So basically would have have Wiggins, Rojas, Ballesteros, McGwire for Detmers and Zeferjahn. 

And then the Diamondbacks were going to trade their top prospect for Holmes but that fell apart because the Mets didn't like the medicals on the prospect (Crisantes). So then the Mets and Cubs pivoted to Holmes/Rojas.

[KCCub]

20 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

Arizona Phil with a report today saying the Angels actually turned down a Detmers trade (for Wiggins and likely Rojas) because they didn't like Wiggins medicals. So basically would have have Wiggins, Rojas, Ballesteros, McGwire for Detmers and Zeferjahn. 

And then the Diamondbacks were going to trade their top prospect for Holmes but that fell apart because the Mets didn't like the medicals on the prospect (Crisantes). So then the Mets and Cubs pivoted to Holmes/Rojas.

Full thread here -

 

[muntjack]

Wow, that would have been ideal.  For the addition of Wiggins you upgrade to a younger, better starter under control for multiple years.  It's a shame that didn't get done.  

[macarthur31]

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/cubs-to-retain-both-pitching-coaches.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky

 

Quote

The Cubs had to navigate a litany of injuries in the rotation and bullpen this season. A handful of trade deadline acquisitions added an extra wrinkle to managing the staff. Pitching coach Tommy Hottovy and assistant pitching coach Casey Jacobson were tasked with handling an ever-changing group. They’ll get another chance to do it in 2027, as both are expected to be retained by the team, reports Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic.

 

I'm not necessarily against retaining Hottovy, but somewhat surprised given how poorly the starting pitching did last season along with the ascendance of Zombro.  

[Jason Ross]

1 minute ago, macarthur31 said:

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/10/cubs-to-retain-both-pitching-coaches.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=bluesky

 

 

I'm not necessarily against retaining Hottovy, but somewhat surprised given how poorly the starting pitching did last season along with the ascendance of Zombro.  

I thought he would be an easy fall guy and a place for Zombro to insert someone he wanted. I'd take this as Zombro and Hottovy work well together and that the Cubs generally don't blame Hottovy. I think that's fine; injuries aren't his fault and the young players on the farm are Zombro anyways. 

New ideas can be good, but a good working relationship is all I care about. The Cubs are kind of all in on Zombro so whomever he thinks is best is fine with me. We might as well let him cook.

[macarthur31]

1 minute ago, Jason Ross said:

I thought he would be an easy fall guy and a place for Zombro to insert someone he wanted. I'd take this as Zombro and Hottovy work well together and that the Cubs generally don't blame Hottovy. I think that's fine; injuries aren't his fault and the young players on the farm are Zombro anyways. 

New ideas can be good, but a good working relationship is all I care about. The Cubs are kind of all in on Zombro so whomever he thinks is best is fine with me. We might as well let him cook.

Agreed.  Also, do you intuit that front offices are trying to lock down their staff ahead of the impending lockout, or is this just the usual pace for front office "transfer season."  (I.e. yesterday we got the Steve Miller add for International Scouting, and prior to that, Jared Banner to O's)

[Jason Ross]

Just now, macarthur31 said:

Agreed.  Also, do you intuit that front offices are trying to lock down their staff ahead of the impending lockout, or is this just the usual pace for front office "transfer season."  (I.e. yesterday we got the Steve Miller add for International Scouting, and prior to that, Jared Banner to O's)

Think we're just in "transfer window" mode. This is around when teams change coaching staffs and front offices generally. The Cubs hired Counsell on November 7th, as an example, in 2023. This feels like the right time to make those choices.

[Bertz]

Firing Tommy would have been dumb glad they avoided that own goal

[Wilson A2000]

2 hours ago, Jason Ross said:

I thought he would be an easy fall guy and a place for Zombro to insert someone he wanted. I'd take this as Zombro and Hottovy work well together and that the Cubs generally don't blame Hottovy. I think that's fine; injuries aren't his fault and the young players on the farm are Zombro anyways. 

New ideas can be good, but a good working relationship is all I care about. The Cubs are kind of all in on Zombro so whomever he thinks is best is fine with me. We might as well let him cook.

I thought you wanted Hottovy gone?

[Jason Ross]

19 minutes ago, Wilson A2000 said:

I thought you wanted Hottovy gone?

I did not. Never advocated and demanded it. I expected it because I thought it was an easy change; much easier to fire a coach than an entire team. I'm also a fan of new ideas where/when you can. But I was also careful to mention I didn't think it was a necessity, just that I can see why you'd do it. 

Whether you like him or not, whether you believe him or not, the Cubs have turned the keys to the pitching kingdom over to Zombro. And all I really want is to let the team see that out. There's just no reason for half measures. He either is the dude or he isn't and I'm a big fan of finding that out in 2027. If he wanted a new pitching coach...so be it. If he didn't (which I would assume he didn't) so be that.

[Rcal10]

22 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

I did not. Never advocated and demanded it. I expected it because I thought it was an easy change; much easier to fire a coach than an entire team. I'm also a fan of new ideas where/when you can. But I was also careful to mention I didn't think it was a necessity, just that I can see why you'd do it. 

Whether you like him or not, whether you believe him or not, the Cubs have turned the keys to the pitching kingdom over to Zombro. And all I really want is to let the team see that out. There's just no reason for half measures. He either is the dude or he isn't and I'm a big fan of finding that out in 2027. If he wanted a new pitching coach...so be it. If he didn't (which I would assume he didn't) so be that.

I don’t think it matters if it is Hottovy or someone else coaching the pitchers. As long as that person lines up with Zombro. Apparently Hottovy does, so fine by me. What does matter is the pitchers he is going to coach. Have to get an opening day starter (Skubal, Peralta, or King). Then via trade or another signing need a guy to pitch day 2 and then a MOR/BOR starter. They probably can’t get all of that via free agency unless their plan is to play Shaw, Ramirez and Alcantara with some cheaper signed bats in the corner outfield, back up the infield and DH. 

[Jason Ross]

9 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

I don’t think it matters if it is Hottovy or someone else coaching the pitchers. As long as that person lines up with Zombro. Apparently Hottovy does, so fine by me. What does matter is the pitchers he is going to coach. Have to get an opening day starter (Skubal, Peralta, or King). Then via trade or another signing need a guy to pitch day 2 and then a MOR/BOR starter. They probably can’t get all of that via free agency unless their plan is to play Shaw, Ramirez and Alcantara with some cheaper signed bats in the corner outfield, back up the infield and DH. 

I do think it matters. You can't have a coach who teaches one way and an organizational philosophy that teaches another. That's sports. If I have a coach who works best with horizontal movement, and a pitching direction of vertical teaching; they won't really mesh. Hoyer makes the moves but I think Zombro is going to be in that room on who they go after. They can't have a pitching coach who sees pitching in an entirely different way; it'll all fall apart.

That said, the two seem to be perfectly fine. They're not 1:1 alike, but it's close enough. I thought Zombro might want someone who aligns even closer, but I'd take this as he's perfectly happy working with Hottovoy. Which is fine by me.

[Rcal10]

2 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

I do think it matters. You can't have a coach who teaches one way and an organizational philosophy that teaches another. That's sports. If I have a coach who works best with horizontal movement, and a pitching direction of vertical teaching; they won't really mesh. 

That said, the two seem to be perfectly fine. They're not 1:1 alike, but it's close enough. I thought Zombro might want someone who aligns even closer, but I'd take this as he's perfectly happy working with Hottovoy. Which is fine by me.

I said that the very next sentence. I said it doesn’t matter who the coach is “AS LONG AS THAT PERSON (the pitching coach) LINES UP WITH ZOMBRO.”Isn’t that what you are saying? Zombro is running the show. They need a coach, whether it is Hottovey or someone else, that is on the same page with Zombro. That is what does matter.
And, as I said, keeping Hottovy must mean they are on the same page. So I am fine with Hottovy. 
Now we need to get him some pitchers. Which is of great importance. 

[Jason Ross]

20 minutes ago, Rcal10 said:

I said that the very next sentence. I said it doesn’t matter who the coach is “AS LONG AS THAT PERSON (the pitching coach) LINES UP WITH ZOMBRO.”Isn’t that what you are saying? Zombro is running the show. They need a coach, whether it is Hottovey or someone else, that is on the same page with Zombro. That is what does matter.
And, as I said, keeping Hottovy must mean they are on the same page. So I am fine with Hottovy. 
Now we need to get him some pitchers. Which is of great importance. 

Long day of reading middle school writing leaves my brain mush. Do forgive.

[Jason Ross]

4 hours ago, squally1313 said:

Arizona Phil with a report today saying the Angels actually turned down a Detmers trade (for Wiggins and likely Rojas) because they didn't like Wiggins medicals. So basically would have have Wiggins, Rojas, Ballesteros, McGwire for Detmers and Zeferjahn. 

And then the Diamondbacks were going to trade their top prospect for Holmes but that fell apart because the Mets didn't like the medicals on the prospect (Crisantes). So then the Mets and Cubs pivoted to Holmes/Rojas.

Someone who I trust very much has mentioned elsewhere that this probably isn't what went down. Nothing definitive but TIFWIW.