Backtobanks

Morel's athleticism has been mentioned before, but it sounds like he struggles at 3B and they experimented at 1B (apparently unsuccessfully). Apparently he's an extremely athletic DH.

If they sign Bellinger and Hoskins, then I would think one of PCA or Morel should be traded because of their trade value. Getting a young, controlled, TOR would make this the team we have been hoping for. The trade would put 5 good starters with whoever is left of Assad, Wesneski, or Wicks providing depth. I don't think we can seriously offer the kind of package necessary to obtain that young, controlled TOR pitcher without including PCA or Morel.

Trading for Busch does kind of make Morel expendable. I've been saying all a long that Morel and/or PCA have a ton of trade value to get someone like Luzardo. A young, TOR puts the Cubs in a great position for the next 3-4 years assuming they sign Bellinger.

I like the trade, but he still has done much to impress me for the 2024 Cubs. If they put Busch @ 1B, you still haven't addressed 3B. I'm assuming they will sign Bellinger, but I still would like to see a trade/signing for a solid SP. Obviously Busch @ 1B is still a question mark.

Rumor has it that the Cubs are going to try Busch at 1B.

Who? And why? I think the answer to the second question is that he's cheap.

Saw this trade proposal on MLB trade values: Wesneski + PCA + Brown for Santander + Westburg + Mayo. Now there's a trade that I would love to see happen.

Jed's best days were when he was getting coffee for Theo.

Using your definition of turds, let's trade the king of turds based on current mlb performances and trade PCA + for Luzardo.

He's got 1 year @ $16.5 million, Alonzo makes over $20 million (and will cost $30 to extend) but he's not available, and Hoskins will probably cost $30 million over 2 years. If Jed really wants to go cheap, there's Garrett Cooper for probably $4 million per year.

How about Josh Bell as a trade candidate. He has a negative trade value because of the final year of his contract. Maybe something like Cabrera + Bell for Mervis + Killian? The Marlins would love to get rid of Bell's salary.

1/2 of #4 seems pretty unlikely to happen. Morel has a chance at 40HRs, but probably won't be adequate at 3B and will get most of the HRs as DH.

I'm tired of naysayers cherry-picking certain stats to dismiss what Bellinger has done. His .307/.356/.525/.881 with 26HR, 97RBI, and an OPS of 133 not only shows that he has recovered from a devasting injury, but that he should be mentioned offensively with or ahead of other top CFs like Mullins, Buxton, Robert, Nimmo, etc.

Bellinger is the perfect fit for the Cubs: power hitter, LH, plays CF, good defense, and certainly can fill all of those roles for probably 4 more years. I'm too old to worry about the 2028 Cubs.

2019 27 NYY AL 132 476 442 73 139 34 0 21 74 1 1 25 87 .314 .355 .534 .889 133 236 13 5 0 4 1 *5H/D37 2020 28 NYY AL 43 174 151 24 45 11 0 6 30 1 0 18 25 .298 .368 .490 .858 137 74 6 1 0 4 0 *5/H 2021 29 NYY AL 116 442 420 42 112 18 2 14 49 1 0 20 109 .267 .301 .419 .720 96 176 16 1 0 1 0 56/H 2022 30 MIN AL 144 551 501 61 143 27 3 13 64 1 0 41 96 .285 .338 .429 .767 119 215 21 2 0 7 2 *5/DH6 2023 31 L Injured

Pretty cheap, but not Cub cheap.

How about taking a chance on Urshela for 3B? If he's fully recovered from the injury he could be a solid fit at a reasonable price.

First Santander would be great if he could play 1B, According to MLBTV he has very little trade value, so he shouldn't cost too much. Westburg is another story though, his trade value is higher than PCA.

But does Jed really have the leverage when much of the discussion is based on Jed not wanting to risk trading prospects. Outside of PCA, Horton, and Shaw, the prospects are secondary pieces in a trade.

From MLBTR: Red Sox In Agreement With Lucas Giolito Meanwhile: Cubs Sign Joe Hudson To Minor League Deal. Jed is hopeless.

I am so tired of waiting for Jed to do something. waiting for Bellinger and/or Hoskins to lower their asking price is one thing but moves like Bieber and Naylor have been sitting there for quite a while and seem rather affordable (prospect wise) and would make great additions to the team without adding too much to the payroll.

We won't give up a decent prospect because we want to make sure they're completely worthless before giving up on them.

I certainly would the Cubs be like the Dodgers and be annual contenders and not the "fiscally responsible" annual pretenders that they are. When the Cubs finally get close to really spending and possibly contending, they go back into "tank mode" so that Ricketts can recoup some of his money. It's not like Ricketts is doing anything for the fans while he's being "fiscally responsible".

How about a different trade proposal: Kim + Cosgrove for Mervis + Brown + Little. Mervis would move Cronenworth back to 2B, where he has much more value. The deal helps the Padres bloated payroll and they get a decent pitching prospect in Brown and a flyer on Little. Cubs get a solid 3B and a lefty reliever.

I didn't say straight up, but PCA would greatly reduce any other prospects that might need to be added to complete the deal.