Cubs Offseason Mega Thread

[Rcal10]

29 minutes ago, Outshined_One said:

Stop trying to make Duran a thing.

If he was let go and signed as a change of scenery guy I wouldn’t mind him. I definitely would not be interested in trading for him. Especially not for what btb origianbly suggested several weeks ago. But as one of the 2 or 3 bats they sign and for under $8M I think he would be a good gamble. He is a thing because he was mentioned as a Cubs option in an article the other day. No one is making a big deal of it. Just a possible option if released. 

[Rcal10]

1 hour ago, Bertz said:

Unfortunately no because the Cubs went over the luxury tax.

Under the luxury tax you lose your 2nd rounder for signing a QO free agent and you gain a pick at the end of the 2nd round for losing a QO player.  It's not quite a wash but it's close enough.  

Over the luxury tax you lose your 2nd and 5th picks for signing a QO free agent, and you only gain a single pick after the 4th round for losing a QO free agent.  So if e.g. the Cubs lose Seiya and sign Bauers, they gain a pick after the 4th for losing Seiya, then after signing Bauers lose their second rounder and also the pick they just got for losing Seiya.

So the bar needs to be especially high for signing a QO free agent.  My personal POV would be Rogers or bust, but everyone's mileage will vary.

I would agree the only guy the cubs should consider, who comes with a QO is Rogers. Honestly, I am kind of surprised the Red Sox went after Bauers. I would have bet he would have signed back with the Brewers. They lose a 2 and 5 pick for signing him, right? Or did they not go to the threshold the Cubs were at? 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

2 hours ago, Bertz said:

I wonder how far they'd pay down Yoshida.  Wouldn't hate him for the Conforto role.

Yoshida/Shaw platoon would probably be really good. But yeah, he's making a ton of money.

[Stratos]

1 hour ago, Outshined_One said:

Stop trying to make Duran a thing.

Hey he was a 7 fWAR guy like 2 years ago.  Is that the world record for biggest/fastest WAR dropoff in your 20s?

[Stratos]

2 hours ago, Bertz said:

I wonder how far they'd pay down Yoshida.  Wouldn't hate him for the Conforto role.

How about Conforto in the Conforto role?  1 year deal?

[Stratos]

Is this year's Cubs the first team to ever lose their entire rotation to free agency in a single winter?

[Stratos]

Just caught that Sharma/Mooney reported that Hoyer's "multiyear"  extention is for 5 years,  so through 2030 season.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/11/cubs-notes-ramirez-kelly-hoyer-staffing.html

[Rcal10]

5 hours ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

Yoshida/Shaw platoon would probably be really good. But yeah, he's making a ton of money.

Yep, Red Sox would probably have to eat half his contract for it to make sense. But then the Cubs would have to trade someone for him. Which I wouldn’t want to do.