Backtobanks

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.

That's been exactly what I've been saying all along. Signing Bellinger to CF money makes no sense if you're going to turn the job over to PCA. Bellinger in CF is fine for at least 4-5 years leaving PCA for trade bait in a major deal to improve the starting rotation.

I don't understand all of this discussion about Bellinger and his worth as a 1B. I don't think anyone has suggested that we go after Bellinger to play 1B. If we want a 1B, there are cheaper options available. Bellinger is being sought as a CF and his asking price is based on playing CF. Of course, he is probably the only FA versatile enough to excel offensively and defensively at two prime positions.

Especially management of mediocre and bad teams.

I prefer players with a solid ML track record over ml prospects. Prospects are just that until they prove their worth in the ML. That's the reason I'm into signing Bellinger and trading PCA. IMO, now is the time to sign the right FA or 2 and make the trade or 2 to put us in contention for the next 4-5 years.

I saw something from Rosenthal that said The Reds were trying to get Bieber, but the Guardians want to include Clase and the Reds didn't want to expand the deal. Wake Up Jed!

I mention trading PCA because to get the real quality young TOR, you're going to have to include PCA or Morel. Signing Bellinger makes PCA available.

He could, but then there's a good chance PCA turns into Brennan Davis after crashing into too many walls too.

Bellinger is young enough and plays excellent CF and I don't see any reason to move him to a different position for at least 5 years.

Bellinger's floor was because of an injury and last year proved to me that he's overcome the problems he's had. We've seen Bellinger's ceiling too and with the total track record, I think the gamble is better than betting on PCA being a good ML hitter.

If you sign Bellinger, you don't need PCA. PCA has tremendous trade value in acquiring a young, controlled TOR which would really help the team for many years. It's not the going hitless in 14 ABs, but if he continues to struggle, he will lose most/all of his trade value.

Using MLBTV to piece together a deal for Luzardo looks something like this: PCA + Wesneski + Mervis + Madrigal + Rojas for Luzardo. Just goes to show you how valuable a 25-year-old TOR pitcher with 4 years of control really is.

I wonder why people are worried about Bellinger offensively and yet think nothing of giving a totally unproven PCA the CF job. Bellinger has a proven ML track record of solid offensive production (except for the injury years). My worry is that PCA struggles and will lose all of his peak trade value. If we can get someone like Luzardo for PCA+, I think it's a no brainer.