BigbadB

Never should have. It’s fine to continue building the line through the draft, but you can’t depend on it. There never was a reality where Caleb’s protection was 2 or 3 rookies after last season’s debacle. At the same time, free agency is a crapshoot. You can be outbid by anyone. I say go hard after Drew Dalman when free agency opens. Dalman will already see the Bears are serious about improving QB protection.

Love it. Two gaping holes filled before free agency opens. Only cost is a 6th rounder so far this year.

I’m okay with it too. Free agents are going to be a bidding war, as per usual. 6th rounder for a recent pro bowler? Heck yeah.

I’ve seen reports that said he’s due 9m and 14.6 million besides the 17.5m. Not sure which one to believe. Hopefully the 9m.

They may still be earmarking some of that money towards a Tucker extension once he finds out how awesome it is playing for the Cubs. Then they still have plenty of money to add at the trade deadline and Jed looks like a genius. And then the alarm clock goes off and the dream is over.......hey now, hey now!

I will agree the end result is not the preferred outcome. I lean towards the fact they missed some golden opportunities to really improve this team, but felt it would be just another failure if they didn't get some better bench bats. I can agree with "Meh" as the overall end product. I just don't agree that signing Turner given what they had left to sign was "Meh".

I'm still trying to figure out how you were able to pick the timeline by his cleats. Glad I'm not the only one around full of useless information. Ah, but wait. Yours is no longer useless information. You are the winner of "Who dat?" Nice job!

I waited until you finished your article before commenting. It was well thought out, but it also ignores a lot of factors that went into the decision to sign Turner. First off, Solano and Grichuk were signed long before the Bregman sweepstakes were completed. Grichuk is primarily an OF, and he just wasn't going to go to a team that already has 4 all star caliber OFers. Berti wasn't even signed until January 28th. So the earmarkings of what the infield was going to look like hadn't even taken shape yet. Signing a free agent has to be agreeable from both sides of the table. The Cubs were still in the trade for a pitcher or sign Bregman mode, where improving the lineup was the first priority over a bat that can play 1b. If the Cubs did trade for Cease, it's possible that someone like Cronenworth or some other 1b capable bat could have been included in the deal to help the Padres with their financial struggles. Bregman would have made it where they may not have been able to afford a 1b bench bat. Basically, it would have been silly to put backup 1b as an option ahead of signing a Bregman or trading for Cease. Now, once those guys are off the table and the appearance of spring deals is done, figuring out any gaping hole and filling it with the best of what's left makes a bit of sense. I'm not offended you used the term "freaking out" about not having a back up 1b or "pumped" about signing Justin Turner, but I will point out that this is not something I have seen, and seems to be stretching the truth like social media pages dramatize for "clicks". You point out that the Berti signing was a great value and Justin Turner's is not. I think we can all agree with that. But sometimes you do have to overpay for things. A rookie player is amazing value if he is productive. Having several allows you to be able to overpay to improve the roster. The same can be said for late spring signings after you have exhausted all efforts to improve the team and you still have a wheelbarrow full of money to improve the end of the bench. Signing Turner does not stop the Cubs from adding pretty much whoever they want at the trade deadline, so in what way, shape or form does a Turner signing slow down this team in the big picture? The bottom line is that Turner is likely a better bench bat than Lopez, Canario, Brujan and Workman, and we should probably include Kelly in that also for PH reasons. Those are the guys the front office should have been comparing Turner to, along with whoever was still a free agent like Canha or Grandal. Finally, Turner is not stopping the Cubs from improving even if there was a significant injury. As you said yourself, there are plenty of guys that can be brought in to fill that void. What we don't want is another year of useless bench bats like Wisdom, Mastrobuoni, Madrigal and Mervis taking a significant percentage of the bench at bats. So, if you want to compare bench production at 1b, do so by comparing Turner's projected stats to Wisdom and Mervis from last year. I think we can all agree that he should be able to top those pretty easily.

They talked to Wicks during the broadcast. He said his wife created a diet plan that helped him lose weight, which I think is code for "her cooking sucks". I noticed Kilian had 6 starts and 7 bullpen appearances in AAA last year. I wonder if he's about to be converted to a full time BP guy going forward. I'm guessing he's running out of time to prove he's a starter.

I'll go with Marvell Wynne.

Watching those guys skate last night was absolutely amazing. The best of the best playing their hearts out. I won't even tune into "all star games". Sign me up for more of that.

I did a bunch of stuff in anticipation of sitting down to watch the game, only to find that MLB Network isn't on You Tube TV. I'm having a tough time justifying my monthly YTTV service these days. I did remove $20 worth of service from them yesterday as payback, plus that $20 now pays for my Marquee app. How are they not providing MLB Network to their customers? Geez.

Workman hasn't played an inning above AA ball. He's probably better off if the Cubs make some sort of trade official and dumping him to AAA where he can hit everyday rather than rotting on the bench as a little used lefty bat. Or just return him to Detroit and find a lefty hitting INF/OF option.

Losing Morez likely for the rest of the season doomed their chances of being good.

Probably Workman.

Correct. I pay about an equal amount to California as I do Illinois. My source of income is from California, but I live in Illinois. I don't earn anything from Illinois. The little bit of income I get from Missouri doesn't even qualify as owing taxes.

I don't think anyone is jumping up and down for joy that Turner is a Cub now. I don't think anyone here would have crafted an offseason plan that would have included Turner. He's getting paid more than he's likely worth. But, given where this offseason has led the Cubs brass, he's a decent signing this late in the ballgame. While I do agree it's important to consider cap space on any signings, I don't see how overpaying for a bench bat when there is plenty in the coffers to not only sign Turner and possibly another pitcher, but they'd still have plenty left at the trade deadline. Overspending on a budget actually works if you managed to keep enough in reserve to be able to make those types of signings. I also think he'll end up with a lot of at bats, and not necessarily at the expense of the better bats. Injuries happen, and Turner is 100% the first DH option the moment someone is missing time, whether it's for a DL stint or days of rest. I think there will be a lot of rotating of outfielders to get Suzuki plenty of time in the field since he's not all that keen on being a full time DH. Grichuk just wasn't coming to Chicago. There is already 4 OFers blocking him from playing the field, and there is really no position he fills as a bench guy that wasn't already covered. Grichuck hasn't played a single inning at 1b in his entire MLB career, and that's something that was a bit needed. As much as Ryanrc thinks any athlete can play 1b, and in a pinch, I think good athletes can catch a ball, I have to agree with Cubs brass that having one with experience that can also hit is a much better idea than just winging it. Whether Turner deserves 6m or not: A combination of Workman, Brujan, Kelly, Berti and Canario is not as good of a bench as Workman, Turner, Kelly, Berti and Canario, and benches do matter. It drove me nuts seeing Wisdom being the best bench bat at times in previous seasons. No one is going to be sitting here waiting for "I told you so's" at the end of the season if the Cubs stay relatively healthy all year and Turner only logs about 125-150 at bats. You sign a decent bench bat for the risk there will be that many and possibly a whole lot more.

Think that's about all he'll play besides DH. Berti has the other infield positions covered. I'd even bet on BJ Murray or someone in the minors logging more time at 3rd than Turner if Shaw had to miss significant time.

They need to sign at least 2 starters in free agency. Even then, you're counting on at least one player from the draft to step in on day 1. Not sure you want two rookies protecting your QB after last season's failures. If the plan is to continue with Braxton Jones at LT, the holes can be filled a lot more easily, but I'd guess about 3/5's or more of the cap space the Bears have should be spent on OLine, if not more. The depth on the OLine is just as concerning.

Yep. There is plenty of talent to make a trade work. They just have to stop asking for Shaw.

I'd also give the nod to Turner as a righty hitter. The times to give Busch a day off would be a day where they face a tough lefty, and Turner would be a better handcuff than Rizzo.

I think you are undervaluing the position way too much. It's one thing to have an average fielding guy at 1st. It's another to put guys out there that just don't play 1b. There is way more going on at that position than you are letting on. There are pick offs from the pitcher and catcher. There are throws from 3rd and short that are hoppers, or off base. There are places to be moving to when runners are in motion. There's places to be when a runner doesn't take off as the pitch is delivered. There are a lot of foul ball plays that require an ability to avoid injury making plays on balls around the dugout. Bunts. Knowing when to take your foot off the base to chase an errant throw to prevent extra bases, etc... The biggest thing to me is being a legit ball retriever from your all gold glove ability infield. Reducing their defensive play ability with an inexperienced guy you are just throwing out there because "anyone can play 1b" changes them to no longer gold glovers. I'm not really clamoring for Turner because I'm enamored with him in some way. I just don't see how you can be happy with the current roster as it's currently constructed, whether you add Bregman or not. You need an experienced backup 1b, and there is no one in AA or AAA that qualifies as that, let alone the roster. Everywhere else outside of SS if you traded Hoerner, there are backup options in the minors, And that's why trading Hoerner because they "signed Bregman" is a big no for me. Even signing Bregman means you still have to make room for a backup 1b regardless. Not sure how they plan to fit all that in their budget, but it absolutely needs to happen.

Down by 42 at the half to a .500 team. lol.

I didn't say it directly, but I think my point is that signing Turner now might be more sensible than playing out a Bregman deal that may never happen, and then you potentially lose out on a decent backup 1b option as well.

Seems there would still be a gaping hole at backup 1b if they did sign Bregman. Who are the current candidates? Workman, Berti, Brujan, Shaw, Happ, Suzuki? You have about 10 professional games at 1b between them. I would certainly hate to see one of Suzuki or Hoerner moved for a backup 1b. I suppose if you could get a mid rotation starter and a good backup 1b, it might be worth considering. I'm just not fond of this weird Bregman love, which seems to require some other move to make it work.