Post Count Padder

LMAO

Also the domino effect here is we've seen the last of Daily Wisdom. He's a good dude with real power. Hoping he lands somewhere where he can still rake a little.

I've low-key loved Morgan the past few years. His peripherals were great and then last year was a weird year with him also battling an injury but at his best he's a solid back end of the pen option who won't strike out a ton of guys but like it's been said, has gotten better at limited hard contact. I don't LOVE giving up Rosario but we're well stocked with OF prospects and he's still several years away.

Yeah several times when we weren't playing well I was hoping for a token call up so he could make his debut with us but then like a bad joke, he got hurt again.

Caissie and Cowles added. Adbert and Brennen Davis DFA'd. Hoping both come back. I love Adbert and hoping Davis can finally stay healthy but I can't fault him if he goes to someone like the Angels or A's or White Sox with open competitions at several positions.

Ah forgot about Adbert. I know he's out for all of 2025 and probably some of 2026 but I really hope they bring him back on a minors deal to keep him around during and after his rehab.

So today is a big 40 man roster shuffle around the league. Our 40 man is full but one or several of these guys are probably gone: Madrigal, Wisdom, Davis, Wingenter, Hollowell, Zastryszny (I missed us getting him back apparently).

Oooooooo our first real interesting trade of the offseason (if it happens):

I wouldn't be shocked if Ricketts doesn't care that much. The team makes him money. They won a World Series already. He doesn't strike me as an owner that lives and dies by his team as a fan.

I was waiting to see a list like that. Caissie is an obvious choice. I had though he'd get added before the season ended. I have a feeling they'd protect Cowles considering they just traded for him. What's Aliendo's projection at this point? I'd hate to lose him but I don't know if a team would take a gamble on a catcher who hasn't hit AAA yet. And I like Christian Franklin but I could see him used in a prospect swap. As a guy who also roots for the Phillies, no way all those guys are getting added to their 40 man. I have to think they'll trade one or just risk losing a few guys. McGowen and McGarry throw hard but have run into trouble in the upper minors. De La Cruz has a lot of potential but looked awful in his first go at AAA.

Woof Burl Carraway. Now that's a guy who couldn't throw strikes. Is he still in the system or just gone forever?

I like Wiggins a lot and am excited to see if he can continue to build with a strong 2025. I like all the info and thought 1908 put into this report and the follow-up comments. There's real bullpen risk, but he has a lot of the pieces in place to take the next step. And like TT said, I don't know if there's anyone behind him that's easily worthy of taking this spot in the rankings. Once you get past the top 5, it's kind of a crapshoot based on personal preference. I too like Birdsell a lot but he has warts. I like Derniche but he's so young and far away it's hard to predict what he'll be.

I like Buehler a lot but there is soooooo much risk involved. A one year prove it deal coupled with another SP add would be pretty good but I can't get behind giving him big money.

Also Ezequiel Pagan has been in the system forever and I keep forgetting about him.

I have to pretend all the white athletes I follow are non political or I'll just end up not following sports anymore.

Since Ron Santo was unceremoniously jettisoned crosstown to the White Sox, third base became a bit of a black hole for the North Siders. Following the December 1973 trade of Santo, the Cubs used 12 different starters over 24 years. Madlock and Cey had some decent seasons. But the rest was mostly dreck. Sandberg played one season at 3rd (1982) before moving full-time to 2nd. Moreland was a utility player who stood in as a passable third baseman in 1987. A notable thing all 12 had in common? None were homegrown. Each player was acquired via free agency or trade. It appeared there was a curse at third base. Then, in 1993, the Cubs used their first-round pick on Kevin Orie out of Indiana University Bloomington. The West Chester, Penn. native came into the organization with high expectations, given the state of the hot corner. He worked through the system quickly and reached Triple-A in 1996 after torching Double-A, pitching to the tune of an .883 OPS. This was good enough to rank him 42nd on Baseball America's Top 100 prospects list ahead of the 1997 season. He opened the year as the Cubs' starting third baseman and held his own but still scuffled to a .239 average into May. A wrist injury sent him to the disabled list, and his first major league season was not off to a spectacular start. However, the resulting rehab stint did wonders for his bat. He hit an obscene .375/.460/.594/1.053 in 9 games in Triple-A before returning to the big league club. From May 30 through the end of the season, Orie posted a solid .283/.348/.448/.796 slash with a .309 BABIP. His 2.3 fWAR was third on the team behind Sammy Sosa and Mark Grace, and his 101 wRC+ was fourth among Cubs with at least 100 games. The performance earned Orie some down-ballot Rookie of the Year votes and seemed to cement him as part of the next core. That, unfortunately, did not happen. He opened the 1998 season with a dreadful .181/.241/.282/.523 batting line and was demoted to Triple-A. He also earned some notoriety amongst fans for his play in a May 6 game. Orie could not cleanly field a ground ball by future Cub Ricky Gutierrez during Kerry Wood's historic 20-strikeout performance. The play was ruled a hit rather than an error, ending the no-hit bid for Wood, and it would be the only hit surrendered in the game. Orie once again posted incredible numbers in the minors and earned a call-back but didn't fare much better against big-league pitching. At the trade deadline, the Cubs gave up on their former top pick and prospect, sending him to the Marlins for pitcher Felix Heredia. My note here is that I was reading the newspaper's agate/sports stats page the following morning while on vacation with my family, and I was quite unhappy when I saw the news. This was not the first, nor would it be the last, time the Cubs disappointed me. Orie would hold his own with a .739 OPS in 125 games with Florida but was granted free agency following the 1999 season so the Marlins could make room for top prospect Mike Lowell. Orie would bounce around the minor leagues, playing in the Royals, Yankees, and Phillies organizations before returning to the majors with the Cubs for a brief 13-game run in 2002. He played several more seasons in the minors with the Guardians, Astros, Brewers, and Nationals before retiring after 2006. He finished with a .709 OPS in 316 MLB games against a .926 OPS in 498 Triple-A games and a 3.1 fWAR. Following his retirement, Orie moved to Pittsburgh and worked in real estate before landing a gig as a commentator for 93.7 The Fan. Orie was supposed to be the future at third base for the Cubs but became a mere footnote in a long dry spell at the hot corner. The Cubs would not have a steady presence there until a 2003 lopsided trade brought Aramis Ramirez into town. He would man the position until 2012. The Cubs' draft selection of Kris Bryant in 2013 and the quick promotion of the future World Series champion gave the club a homegrown asset at third. For a time, at least. View full player

I could get behind that. I've also decided I really want Jeff Hoffman.

I mean I LOVE Kyle Schwarber. And he'd crank some bombs at Wrigley again. But is the 7 ish mil in savings worth the loss on positional depth? Bellinger is a great fielding OF and 1B and Schwarber cannot play the field. He's a full-time DH. And the Phillies needs (pitching, power, etc) match our own so I don't know that there's an expanded version of the deal to be made.

I had apparently not paid attention and didn't realize he basically went hitless the final month of the season. I was banking on passable bat with the ability to catch and play multiple positions. I also was thinking of him as a possible 26th man/Iowa shuttle guy vs. a regular contributor. Having said that, his numbers are dismal and he was just DFA'd.

I mean, Matt Thaiss isn't a bad bench bat. But we're not talking about possible fits, we're playing #PTR roulette.

The hit rate on draft picks is very low in Major League Baseball. But we're going to second-guess picks from the past anyway. Isn't that what the offseason is for? Image courtesy of © Jerry Lai-Imagn Images Playing armchair quarterback (or general manager) to your team's play and transactions is easy. You also trust your organization to scout profusely and plan and discuss the best ways forward. That being said, I was dubious leading up to the 2007 MLB Draft regarding how the Cubs would proceed and immediately peeved at their first-round pick (and for years afterward). I (and several others) salivated at the thought of selecting Georgia Tech catcher Matt Wieters. He was a sound defender behind the plate with big power potential. Despite Geovany Soto's breakout in the minors in 2007 (which was just months old at this point), there was not much in the cupboard regarding catching and Wieters would have been a very nice addition to the system. Instead, the Cubs used the No. 3 pick in the draft to select high school third baseman Josh Vitters. Vitters was a smooth hitter with raw power who was seen as a slight reach but still had potential. The concerns were if his power would ever fully develop and how much time his transition to wood bats would require. Fast forward, and Vitters hit well enough in the minor leagues. He would be a top 100 prospect for the next three seasons, though he never reached 20 home runs in a season and continued to face concerns about his long-term power potential in the majors. Vitters posted impressive numbers as a 22-year-old in Triple-A in 2012, with an .870 OPS. This was good enough for a cup of coffee in what would be his only call-up to the majors. He hit just .121 in 36 games and returned to Iowa. After that, Vitters battled injury and ineffectiveness and was out of the Cubs system by 2015. He spent a few years toiling in independent ball before hanging up his cleats. He is somehow still just 35 years old as of this writing. Wieters never became a superstar but tallied four All-Star Game appearances and two Gold Gloves for the Orioles and helped them reach the playoffs four times. Injuries played a role in his sharp decline in his 30s, not uncommon for catchers. But he still was one of the better catchers in the majors during this time and averaged a 3.5 bWAR per 162 games during his time with the Orioles. It's easy to imagine what would have been possible if the roles had been reversed. Maybe Wieters stabilizes the catcher position for the Cubs and hits better when playing in a weaker division than the AL East. Maybe Soto is used as a trade chip, or the two form an impressive hitting tandem behind the dish. We can also look at the bigger picture and see a butterfly effect. The Cubs' next pick in the draft was, in fact, used on a catcher: future MVP third baseman Josh Donaldson. Donaldson was used in the 2008 trade with the Athletics to acquire Rich Harden, and then the Athletics converted him to third base. Maybe that deal never happens. Maybe the Cubs opt to make that position change, and Donaldson becomes entrenched at the hot corner. Or maybe the Cubs never picked Donaldson in the draft after selecting Wieters. Maybe instead, the Cubs gambled on one of two players who went in the second round, Mike (Giancarlo) Stanton or Freddie Freeman. Maybe this will lead to the Cubs never acquiring Anthony Rizzo, with Freeman holding down first base. Maybe the drafting of Wieters leads to the Cubs continuing to contend in the early 2010s instead of struggling to stay above water before tanking and bringing Theo Epstein aboard. Or maybe Wieters flames out, never reaching his potential, and/or the Cubs' coaching and instructors fail him in his growth. This was not uncommon for Cubs hitting prospects in the 2000s in what is likely an indictment of our system at the time (see Felix Pie, Brian Dopirak, Nic Jackson, Ryan Harvey, Tyler Colvin, etc.). Then, we could wonder if Wieters was the correct choice. And just maybe Vitters became what we imagined, and Kris Bryant will not be taken in 2013, or the next few drafts will be impacted. It is all a series of "maybes," and you could play this game with virtually anything. It is somewhat ludicrous to suggest a simple draft choice could have changed the Cubs' fortunes in the near future. Or is it? Imagining various "what might've been" scenarios is still fun. What other draft picks could we second-guess? View full article

Hmmm that's an odd one for sure. Luzardo's stock is down because he was bad and injured. I'm not sure I'd part with Alcantara for him at this point. McGeary as a throw in is kinda amusing because he basically has no value anymore.

I wouldn't trade Horton at this point. His stock is low and I still believe in his future. I don't mind that Crochet deal. And I do love Jeff Hoffman as a pickup. Watched him the last two years here in Philly.