Named After Maddux

Admittedly “bony stomach” is the one injury a Mets pitcher hasn’t been DL’d with yet.

[tweet] [/tweet] Significant return in those four.

[tweet] [/tweet] Wow. Interesting to see the return. Also I bet Brewersfan MB must be going insane.

Sure, but were they carrying a Cubs [grocery] bag?

I think I’d look on going the other way if we were going to expand the deal. Happ and Montgomery along with a couple desirable prospects for Cole and Rivero. I didn’t think Rivero would be available, but he’s about to get more expensive in arbitration. A few of the Bucs blogs have mentioned he could be one to be moved.

It does have the Maddon-Hickey connection. Guess he’s going to the Rangers. I wouldn’t have minded it as a BOR flier, but good luck with him in the Ballpark of Arlington.

I haven’t heard much about OAK this offseason, but I’m starting to warm to the idea of a Graveman/Trienen package. Graveman has some shoulder tendinitis last year so that’s a concern, but otherwise interesting. OAK has enough depth that it’s not a full rebuild and our plug and play assets would definitely appeal.

Submariner Makita was posted yesterday so he’ll be another option. I’d be very interested to bring him in on a 2 year plus an option contract since I don’t imagine the posting fee will be too high. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2017/12/11/baseball/japanese-baseball/seibu-submits-application-kazuhisa-makita-use-posting-system/#.Wi9ga2iIaEc I’d still like to bring in Reed. There was some discussion that it was viewed that Morrow set the market for non Closers. If there’s a way to bring in Addison Reed for less than Morrow, that’s a nice security blanket in case Morrow has any issues/setbacks.

Welp guess the only one who benefits from this in Chicago is the company that supplies Theo with office furniture.

Also interesting that you haven't seen the Cubs attached to too many of the big names in the next IFA period: [tweet] [/tweet] Could be really promising for the organization. I know Maitan has lost a few supporters, but that is an incredible talent and would be an enormous add to the system.

Stanton to the Cards has some big implications, but a ton of hurdles. He's obviously a huge offensive force and a huge contract, not to mention he will likely be limited defensively in the latter years of his contract. It's definitely an interesting risk/reward. But the team I'm actually scared of seeing connected to the Cards is the Blue Jays. Kelly, Kolten Wong, Weaver, Reyes, Alcantara would all be very appealing targets if Toronto decides to deal Stroman/Sanchez, Osuna, and/or Donaldson. They seem like a disturbingly perfect set of trade partners. I do not want to see Stroman or Sanchez in a Cardinals uniform.

Here's another mock offseason to chew on. I'll caveat this as it wouldn't necessarily be what I'd do. Sign Alex Cobb 4 years/$56 million Sign Wade Miley 1 year/$8 million Trade Ian Happ and Victor Caratini for Roberto Osuna and Thomas Pannone Sign Rene Rivera 1 year/$4 million Sign Alain Tamayo 5 years/$30 Million with $10 million club option Sign Jarrod Dyson 2 years/$15 million Sign Addison Reed 3 years/$30 million Trade Erling Moreno for Brad Ziegler (Marlins will cover $4 million) Willson Contreras signs extension for 5 years/$28 million with one $16 million club option (2018-2022, 2023 option) C: Willson Contreres 1B: Anthony Rizzo 2B: Javy Baez SS: Addison Russell 3B: Kris Bryant LF: Kyle Schwarber CF: Albert Almora RF: Jason Heyward Bench: La Stella, Zobrist, Dyson, Rivera SP: Hendricks, Quintana, Lester, Cobb, Miley RP: Osuna, Reed, Edwards, Strop, Montgomery, Wilson, Ziegler, Maples/Carasiti (8th spot with options to be Iowa Shuttle) Approximate 2018 Payroll: ~$182 million after factoring in rest of 40 man SP depth is expanded, bullpen addressed, and our position player depth stays strong. We have plenty of room to make additional moves. When I was making this mock at the beginning of the offseason, I originally had Happ to OAK for Manaea. That's still how I would go about utilizing Happ's value if it would work out. But we have two seasons' experience with how this FO values elite RP. With Chapman, Davis, and even Wilson, resources that could otherwise have gone towards controllable SP went to late inning arms. Whether they have data that justifies the need to obtain an elite RP or if it's just a must from Maddon, they have prioritized these types of acquisitions. And I didn't include Ohtani. If it works out, amazing. Ditch Miley/Chatwood/Chacin, etc for 5th starter, but just can't even think it's much of a possibility until it hopefully happens.

Since Cobb has a decent chance of being brought in and Chatwood, Miley, Chacin all available as BOR fliers, I’d be interested in seeing Happ used to bring in late inning pen arms. If possible, JA Happ would be excellent as well, but Osuna is interesting from Toronto. Does Ian Happ for Roberto Osuna make sense? Blue Jays do need help at 2B and they keep their SP intact. Cubs get a RP with excellent peripherals and a low walk rate. Not sure if the value equals out, but seems to make sense. And off topic, but thank goodness we go Quintana. Imagine if we had to fill three SP slots this offseason.

I think that’s in the ballpark, if they really are that poor/desperate to lower payroll. I like that framework. Ramos was traded to the Mets so we'd probably have to take Ziegler (interesting bounceback candidate on a one year deal) instead. We'd still be looking to add two starters since Chen's elbow is unreliable so most likely a trade of Schwarber or Happ follows right away.

There has been a lot of talk that they were replacing Bosio because of the Thames suspension or just to bring in Hickey, but this is the first thing I thought of when I heard the news. https://www.google.com/amp/www.nbcsports.com/chicago/chicago-cubs/jon-lester-and-chris-bosio-have-confrontation-cubs-dugout%3famp Im not saying it’s just because of that isolated incident, but I’d be shocked if that type of attitude didn’t rub the pitchers the wrong way. I do find it interesting and not surprising that in the year of the juiced ball that we see a ton of quality pitching coaches fired. I don’t think that’s the reason that Bosio is gone, but I wouldn’t be surprised if there were other teams overreacting.

Had the good fortune to sit about right behind home plate last night in the 2nd row. Much like the final line shows, Little was incredibly inconsistent. His mechanics were all out of whack. He did manage to drift back into his proper form with men on base. He flashed some pretty impressive pitches, but also spent much of the first two innings (including warm-up pitches) spiking balls 10 feet in front of the plate. Obviously a work in progress. Can't wait to hear reports out of instructs. Assad was a completely different story. The stadium gun was out of commission so I can't give you velocity readings, but there was no other pitcher in the game that had the glove pop that he did. His stuff was as impressive as the line showed. Looking forward to seeing him in full season ball. Filiere and Jered Young swung the bat well. Amaya was incredibly spry behind the plate. He received the ball a lot better than I thought he would. He's another standout that will take time to develop, but he's exciting. He looked sluggish at the plate, however. Also as a complete aside, my wife and I competed in the Carl's Jr burger making contest on the field. We had to wear the bun and run back and forth with "toppings" before belly flopping. Walked out of there with a free burger so we had that going for us, which is nice. Classic minor league fun.

Sigh... Justin Steele set for TJS tomorrow. He was really putting together a nice year. [tweet] [/tweet]

FWIW, both are marked in red at CCDT. Certainly not an official team designation with no announcements as of yet. 14th round prep SS Luis Vazquez would be the most likely recipient of any left over cash, but who knows... Here's the official list of signings: [tweet] [/tweet]Unfortunately no major surprises. We did get Vazquez. Hopefully we can bring Rasmussen and/or Conlon

I hope it doesn't kill off Velázquez and Estrada as well. That's a big chunk of draft talent. Velazquez has already signed so they made that work without Lange. Can't see Estrada coming without Lange's money, but I agree with KingCubsFan on taking the comp pick. With pitchers' health already so iffy, I'd rather start from scratch with a first rounder next year than take damaged goods this year just to try to sign Estrada. Pending what Velazquez received, that's not a bad offer: [tweet]https://twitter.com/Savermetrics/status/883400384512835585[/tweet]

Starlin Castro in 2012, I believe.

Don't believe this has been mentioned yet, but the Cubs are the favorites to sign one of the MLB.com's top 30 international prospects, SS Luis Verdugo. Not a huge surprise to see he's from Mexico and rankings for 16 year olds always need to be taken with a grain of salt, but nice to see the Cubs the favorites to snag a top 30 in a year in which they are held to $300k to a player ($1.2 total deal if a Mexican player). He is considered the top position player from Mexico. Here's his scouting report: There was a huge interest in Mendoza during spring training. Any word on if he'd been signed by any club? Didn't see anything when searching.

Cubs must have been really down on Dewees. Mills wasn't a top 15 guy in their system, a bottom tier system, but has decent stuff. Consensus is that he's bound for the pen, where he's more a depth guy than a set up guy. I honestly don't see where we have room for him on the 25 man. Chris Crawford seems to really like Mills. From his AL Central prospect guide: The Royals aren't a great system, but I like adding him to the depth we're building in AAA

Rockies are an interesting trade partner. There's been a lot of discussion about them adding more bullpen arms and they're obviously trying to compete now. Plus, based on their recent decision-making, it's an good opportunity to have our FO run circles around theirs. Kyle Freeland and maybe Jeff Hoffman could be available. Both are fairly well regarded, however both have lost a bit of luster. Freeland is more likely and its split on whether he's in the pen or rotation long-term. That being said, he has a deceptive arm angle and a four pitches so there's something to work with.

With the solid relationship between this front office and Billy Beane, I have been thinking a lot about the potential for a deal centered around Candelario for Doolittle. It just feels like the type of deal this FO is looking into as it provides affordable stability from the left-hand side, while also adding to the list of former closers to serve in set-up roles which they have been shown to accumulate. I really believe had Doolittle not gotten hurt last year we would have acquired him. Also, he's hilarious and I want his antics on this team. I keep coming back to the Diamondbacks and Royals as interesting trade partners. I'd love Bradley and Pollock on this team. Ray and Corbin would be interesting as well. Perhaps there is an opportunity to pull in the Royals as a third team with the Diamondbacks or Phillies.

Just gut wrenching news this morning, Jose Fernandez dies in boating accident.http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/09/jose-fernandez-dies-in-boating-accident.html