Jason Ross

It may sell out, but depending on which day in the week, the time...you can always wait it out through the day. A mid-season game, while a nice rivalry, won't have that "must have" ticket feel regardless, so people will always be selling on one of our third markets (ticketmaster, etc)

Recent reports are that teams are meeting with Shohei tomorrow in LA for final stuff. So doubt tonight. *Maybe* tomorrow night. I feel Sunday but before GM meetings.

I still don't think they get Counsell with a "maybe Ohtani, maybe a nothing fun" offseason. The money matters, but the Mets I'm sure would have also offered lots of money. If there's a light for me, it's that.

That contract in general feels a bit weird for me. I'm both happy for Chourio but feel a bit on the sketchy side on how baseball can leverage these kids. Good for him, though. Generational wealth. Dude's going to be a pain in the ass for the Cubs in the next 8-10 years.

Per Heyman and Martino of the Post: Padres and Yankees far off. Yankees want Grishom as well as Soto. Padres asking for "Michael King and as many as 6 more prospects" as well as cash. Yankees may walk away for the time being.

Haha, what I meant was nonsense rumors. He's already broken an Auburn transfer flip and mentioned that he's still working on the MLB thing. Sounds like that'll come shortly.

Sounds like something decently big is about to go down. Zumach has given a good sign that it's unlikely Cubs related, but that this guy is legit and doesn't post nonsense.

Oh, entirely. Missing on Ohtani with an earnest full court effort is an acceptable loss, but not an excuse to pack in the offseason, either. I'm fine at this stage if they just aren't the right fit in Ohtani's mind. What I am not fine with is throwing their hands up and saying "well that was the only plan we had, guess we'll just continue to be mediocre!"

Yeah, when it comes down to it, sometimes you can do the best sales pitch on the planet, but it's just not what someone wants to hear. It sounds like the Cubs are really, honestly, and earnestly in this. You don't make the final-4 over teams like the Yankees, Mets, Rangers, and Red Sox if you're not in it to legitimately win it. It means you're clearly offering the right amount of money to get a seat at that table, and the right amount of everything else. I won't blame anyone if the Cubs lose out now. If they were playing poverty franchise, if they couldn't even get a seat at the table, if they tried one of the "we know you want a 12 year deal, but what about a 5 year deal with opt outs!" type thing...I think legitimately questioning them would be fair. But I think they've at least earned the benefit of the doubt this time on their effort. None of this is to say I'll be happy if they lose and are a bridesmaid, that they can pack in the rest of the offseason and say "well we tried" only that I'd understand that at least this time they did their best.

I'm pretty much in full-agreement with @Transmogrified Tigerand @Bertzhere. I don't think Montgomery is the worst player, or the worst outcome, but represents much of what I hope the Cubs stop doing; which is targeting the safer, less impactful market (regardless of his price tag) nearly exclusively. What the Cubs need, even if it comes with a bit of risk, are some upper echelon, impact talents on the team.

I don't think anyone here wants Juan Soto because they can "get a great player for cheap", and I certainly don't want that. I want the Cubs to get great players and Juan Soto is one. I would also very much advocate the Cubs to engage Juan Soto in legitimate extension talks during the season, and after the season if he is dead set on making his way to the free agent market in any event the Cubs acquire him. This isn't a case of "hey, it'd be great to get a good player for less" but "this great player is available and I think the Cubs should be acquiring those types". I also don't think the Cubs would have "one foot out" of the Shohei Ohtani door by also working on secondary avenues to acquire high impact players. I would not expect the Ohtani camp being offended if the Cubs were, simultaneously engaged with the Padres (a team who almost assuredly won't sell Soto until Ohtani makes a decision) nor would I expect the Cubs should be just sitting there and ho-humming until Ohtani makes a choice.

I think it's likely. The Cubs basically pulled the wool over everyone's eyes on Counsell. Did the same with Seiya Suzuki. I loved Seiya that offseason and I had gotten pretty pessimistic that the Cubs weren't in at all (with how little they were even mentioned) only to be incredibly shocked to see them having locked him up. When the Cubs move quietly, they move quietly.

I'd say his slight pessimism should be considered more than other's. But it really, to me, feels like even Rogers right now is likely being left out in the lurch (thus the hemming of probably and felt, in the tweet). I think if the Cubs are super serious here, they're not even telling Rogers.

He's a blowhard. But he's been on it since the Epstein regime took over. He was, for example, all over Jason Heyward too. In terms of connections, he's probably been the most consistently connected Cub beat reporter since like, 2013. I also feel like he can be a bit of a mouthpiece for the team, as well (likely why he's connected), and that, in turn, makes him a blowhard.

Yeah, there seems to be a very good amount of control teams have here. Why I remain pretty optimistic on the Cubs shots. The less we hear connecting them, the more they're remaining involved.

Sounds like that's the case. Seems like there's some truth to him not wanting the media circus at the winter meetings. So teams meet with him in LA on Saturday, Ohtani can make his choice at home on Sunday or Monday and then he can continue to stay away from the WM madness. Hopefully while he's making his choice he can call a few great moving companies to help him box things up to find a cool place in Chicago...

It's high time for the Cubs to be in on good players regardless of their control. Soto is under control for one year, but again, this is reflective in the cost of acquisition as well. I think the Cubs should be interested in other players who have one year of control as well. I would also argue Juan Soto is clearly available. The only people saying he's not has basically been San Diego (and likely to retain control). Most in the industry are firmly on the "he'll be traded" camp. And do we know we have at least talked to the Padres? Levine and Cermani said we were interested, but Rogers seems to have a different opinion. If anything, Rogers is pretty connected to the Cubs, while Cermani has broken a trade or two, and Levine, who has fallen off over the last decade, likely lag behind in terms of "current connections". Regardless a lot of this is up for interpretation, and none of it is fact. So if the Cubs have engaged with the Padres on Soto, I'd be happy. I think the Cubs are in a situation where they need to be more aggressive in acquiring the top talents available. If the Cubs are not involved in Soto, in the way that Brett Taylor interpreted Rogers words, then I would be concerned to a degree on their offseason plans. That doesn't mean I think the offseason is dead, but that perhaps the Cubs won't be acquiring the type of player I believe they should be targeting. I'm not in any way suggesting the Cubs must sell the farm for a single year of Juan Soto, but it's the type of a trade I firmly believe the Cubs should be very much around. I'm happy the Cubs seemingly are doing the right things to attempt to acquire Shohei Ohtani. That's the right thing to do. But sometimes you do everything you can (realistically) and in the end and have it not work out. They should be prepared for that, and I think part of that is making sure you're involved in Juan Soto as well.

My concern is not the Plan A vs Plan B but that Rogers made it seem (at least per Taylor) was that Soto wasn't Plan anything. Soto wasn't going to be dealt before Ohtani, but it'd likely be better for the Cubs to be engaging here the entire time instead of coming in hot if they miss Ohtani. I'm all for Ohtani as the first option (all in on it), but hearing the Cubs may not be interested on the Soto front at all (if, again, Taylor's interpretation is correct) would not be the best thing to hear coming from the Cubs, either.

I'm not even sure he's worried about being wrong. I think this entire process is really that secretive. The feeling I get here is that everyone is really that in the dark. Every team is being that quiet and leaks are that impossible. It's all "feelings" and "probablys" because they have such little actual information. Obviously I don't know myself anything, but I really think everyone is going to be surprised to some degree (either the timing, the announcement, the team, the number...) in some way when it finally hits. Including people who usually have a line on these things.

Feels like the type of speculation we've seen. "Probably" and "felt". Seems cut from the same cloth as the Olney stuff before. Fair assumptions that the Dodgers are the easy choice, but without concrete knowledge of it.

I think that's a fair response. But I also think there's a lot of latitude between high and zero. Like, medium would fit both criteria. I do think it would be a bit of a surprise, as I think many have assumed "Ohtani + Dodgers" is a clear and forgone conclusion. I also think the Angels being a choice originally was a surprise. I certainly don't expect Ohtani to come to the Cubs. But I'll remain optimistic that it's realistic until he doesn't, as well.

I'd normally agree with this, and while I didn't hear the interview, Taylor certainly made it seem like it wasn't a "Well we'll just cycle back to Soto" thing. It very well may end up that way, Taylor could be interpreting things wrong...who knows. But still, I'd rather not be hearing it's like that, than hearing the Cubs are on all fronts looking to add truly impactful talents.

I would say we know very little about what Ohtani wants. It seems clear he wants to win. It seems like a four team race, maybe five if San Francisco is in. And it's reportedly not necessarily just a geographical decision. Past that...lots of speculation. It's a weird free agent experience.

Jeff Passan on Yamamoto: "the 25-year-old right-hander will decide among a who's who of teams interested in him: The Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Red Sox and Cubs are among the favorites, with the Giants, Blue Jays and Phillies also expected to be in the mix."

Jeff Passan on Ohtani this AM: "The Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and New York Mets, who were among the initial group of suitors, have turned their attention to other players, sources said.” "Among those confirmed by sources to be still in the bidding: the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Toronto Blue Jays and Angels. The San Francisco Giants have long had a fondness for Ohtani, though where they stand in these sweepstakes is unknown."