Jason Ross

I think that's very hopeful. The Cubs have had a lot of opportunity to get a look at Morel previously in the minors and basically, ignored him at the position last year. Morel's DR winter ball team isn't teeming with MLB talent in the infield; there are a lot of former MLB stars, but most of them are long since passed; Morel is probably their best player at multiple positions across the diamond considering he put up a 119 wRC+ in the MLB last year while guys like Luis Valenzuela, Starlin Castro and Jonathon Villar...didn't (those are players on his team). It also appears the Cubs had been working Morel at 1b last season, as well. "Morel took reps at first base throughout the season before games, in addition to his work at other spots around the diamond. But doing so consistently, along with game reps in a high-intensity setting, could allow him to grow into the role." Link to article from Marquee Much like with Matt Mervis, while I can't tell you exactly how the team feels, there are plenty of tea leaves to read that make it pretty likely that the Cubs don't trust Christopher Morel at 3b for whatever reason (just as though the team seems not very high on Matt Mervis). They've had opportunities, but it always seems to come back to "anything but". I don't mean to suggest they're all knowing or even correct, but I'm pretty confident when I take a step back that the Cubs just don't think Morel is an MLB option as a 3b. And as much as I wish they'd give Mervis more of chance, I think I just have to accept the Cubs aren't on team-Merv.

While accurate, as stated, I fully believe the Cubs have a significant power advantage in these relationships. It's not a practice league, the DR teams want to win, but I cannot imagine his DR team is looking around right now saying "Hey, you know what gives us the best chance to win right now? Playing Christopher Morel at a new position he's literally never played before!" In the same vein I think MLB teams would have a literal conniption if a DR team decided someone was their best catcher (who wasn't really a catcher) or over threw a pitcher, I think MLB teams have the ability to..."gently" inform a DR team that Christopher Morel is going to learn a new position this winter and it's on them to help. For example if it wasn't brought on by Hoyer, I believe his comments would have been "Despite Morel's DR team having him play some first base, we as a team still view him as..." Instead it was "we want to find him new opportunities". Hoyer's own words make it clear; this isn't random.

GM meetings will conclude early, as there is apparently a virus going around. Everyone is heading home today.

Signing for a hefty $1 million signing bonus in 2022 told you everything you needed to know about how the Cubs thought of Jefferson Rojas. Expectations for Rojas are soaring after his aggressive assignment and his line in 2023. What do we think of Jefferson Rojas here at North Side Baseball? 2023 Season Review At the outset of the 2023 year, Jefferson Rojas got his (predictable) assignment in the Arizona Complex League. As an 18-year-old with only 45 games in the Dominican Summer League, it would have been expected to have Rojas settle into Arizona for his first season and then head off to Myrtle Beach at age 19. Instead, after only three plate appearances in the Arizona Complex League proper, Jefferson Rojas was sent to Myrtle Beach in what is possibly the most aggressive assignment of any prospect in the entire system. Upon arriving at Myrtle Beach, all Jefferson did was hit, starting his low-A career with a 2-4 performance on June 7th and having five multi-hit games out of his first seven. End-capping his season, Rojas picked up three more hits. In between the impressive starts and finishes, Jefferson Rojas would finish the season with an impressive 115 wRC+, a sub-20 K%, and a walk rate of 7.5%. These would be fine numbers for anyone in Myrtle Beach, a veritable haven for pitching, but even more impressive for a player who was barely 18 when he arrived, Helping Rojas was his excellent swing mechanics for someone his age. He has control of his body that others don't have at that age. There is a feel for the barrel already there, which is also helped by a mature plate approach. He's capable of hitting pitches across the zone, both high and low, suggesting that as is, his swing has very few holes while also having quick action. While I'd love to spend the entirety of this article gushing on Rojas, it wouldn't be fair to him, as there are still a few places to polish up. First off, offensively, the power, while impressive for an 18-year-old, is a place to watch as we move forward. A .130 ISO is entirely forgivable for his age, promotion, and where he was hitting, but it's something the young player can look to improve. Seven home runs in 300 PAs isn't terrible, but for Rojas to reach his full potential, he probably needs to get a few more up and out as he matures. Secondly, while it appears fine, his defense doesn't scream plus yet. But these things can grow with age and maturity, so think of this less as a critique/complaint and more of just "he's 18 and imperfect as all 18-year-old prospects are". 2024 Season Outlook and ETA It's shocking, but Jefferson Rojas will almost certainly make his debut in South Bend before turning 19. For all of the talk about the aggressive nature of Owen Caissie and his promotions, Jefferson Rojas is making those promotions look like child's play. The nice thing is that the Cubs have the ability (due to organizational depth) to be aggressive with Rojas while patient at the same time. For example, Rojas should spend the entire season at South Bend regardless of the outcome and with no real reason to feel the need to rush him further. As we enter 2024, the name of the game is "growth" for Jefferson. Growing as a player, rounding out the corners, and improving. He'll be 19 and probably the youngest player in South Bend, so it's okay to expect some bumps. Watching how he adapts to his power and defense will be important. He'll also be 19, and we can likely expect a little growth still, as well. Listed at an out-of-date 5'10", 150 lbs, Rojas must mature into his body. The Cubs have a potential star here. 18-year-olds don't usually look this good right away. The Cubs identified this immediately in Arizona, and all Rojas did was succeed. If Jefferson has another successful season, expect his name to populate top-100 lists as soon as mid-season. View full article

I think it's important to point out: an extension should not change Juan Soto's trade value. The reason why is due to the nature of the MLB; there are no sign and trades. Juan Soto's trade value and his extension will be mutually exclusive. Any trade with SD will only acquire a single year of Juan Soto at $33m (or so). If the acquiring team then goes on to sign Soto to an extension, that will not involve San Diego in any way. Basically, whether or not someone extends Soto, his value in a trade remains static.

Where I'm most impressed with Caissie, and I'll expand on this more when we get to him on our top-prospect-lists (still working on that article currently), but it's with the improvement on K's. Southern League saw a ~3% strike out rate increase with that whiffleball of a pre-tacked baseball and saw it drop right off when it was gone. Caissie saw the same ~3% change; down to a pretty solid 27% rate himself. That's the goldilocks zone for him. If he can stay around 27%...he's going to be a great hitter.

If it were up to me, it would have been Caissie, not Ballesteros who won hitter of the year. Caissie has the profile of an elite power hitter. Also has improving defense in RF. Big, big fan.

I mean, I would say the report isn't false; these winter teams, in theory, are independent. They have autonomy. They set the batting order. They choose who plays, pitching rotation, etc... And I'm sure MLB teams stay out of their horsefeathers most of the time. But there's a clear power dynamic in play as well. Approved leagues are in the CBA. The MLB banned the Venezuelan league in 2019. Limits on who can play (for example, there are limits on pitchers who have thrown X amount of innings and hitters who have X amount of PAs in the regular season on how much they can play) are in there. And the MLB puts resources into the leagues as well. So in the end, there's an unfair relationship between the two. So while in theory these teams are competitive, autonomous leagues, they're not really. I'm very sure that if a team like the Cubs wanted a player to learn a position, it would be pretty easy to make a DR winter ball team do just that. Just as though if a team was "misusing" a player (for example, if the team had Morel playing positions they feared would be bad for a player) I'm sure a quick phone call would clear that up. I'm just reading tea leaves here and I can't prove it, but I'd be very surprised to hear this isn't how it actually works.

Well, the MLB, MLBPA and the various winter leagues do have an agreement within the CBA which specifies many things. There are restrictions on how teams are allowed to use position players and pitchers and which leagues are involved. The MLB also puts resources into many of these leagues. I fully believe if the Chicago Cubs, or any MLB team were to...highly suggest something, these teams would almost assuredly cowtail to them to ensure these types of agreements remain in place. Hoyer is talking like this is coming from the Cubs. It wasn't "they're giving him some work" it's "we are giving him some work". That entirely sounds like a Cubs choice, not some random winter ball team's choice.

Not in that specific quote, but Levine said that. He's playing 1b, directed by the Cubs, on his winter team. Yes.

It could give the Cubs a place to keep Morel if they brought in a DH like Soto or Ohtani. It could be a negotiation tactic for teams who are worried the Cubs don't need Morel if they bring in Soto/Ohtani. It could be the end for Mervis. I'm not entirely sure yet. It has lots of implications.

The Cubs are moving Morel to 1b per Levine. So I think we know how they feel about him at 3b moving forward. Credit to @Transmogrified Tigerfor suggesting this like 1.5 weeks ago and me shitting all over it because I'm a big idiot.

Per Levine: Christopher Morel is playing 1b in Winter Ball. And he's staying there. EDIT: Someone take away Bruce's twitter. He just meant he's staying in winter ball. He's the worst. This happens three times an offseason with him. He's still playing 1b, but the Cubs are just trying to find a home for him. Hoyer's statement makes it more clear.

Yeah, that's an incredibly click-batiy title backed up by not a single word uttered by Boras. Just sounded like normal, Boras stuff. Hell, the only odd part was that he didn't add any of his Boras-ism goofiness (like his like about the Polar Bear in hibernation in New York or the Cubs having a "full belly" last year).

Okay, I heard the quote. It's entirely meaningless. When asked about Juan Soto, this was his response "Met with the Padres, laid out their plan for next year...which obviously included, a lineup that, uh, definitively includes Juan Soto, he's their one .900 OPS player. Ya know, they're obviously, uh, looking for more left handed bats, not less" Exactly that you'd expect him to say. Nothing about him not being traded, and frankly, Boras doesn't run the Padres, so his opinion on it wouldn't matter anyways.

Swanson got mentioned a bit at the beginning of the offseason as a player the Cubs liked, and rumors persisted. If I remember correctly, I believe Jesse Rogers had noted him specifically (I remember this because I remember, incorrectly, stating I didn't think they'd go in for Swanson - exhibit number 2,342 why I'm an idiot). There was rumors the Cubs were involved heavily in Correa, as well, and it seems as though they were. They didn't seem overly connected to Bogaerts and were never really connected to Turner. But I do remember a decent amount on Swanson, especially in the week or two leading to the final contract. Stroman was a very under the radar, quiet, signing. Swanson had decent smoke around him. With the media circus surrounding Ohtani and his free agency (this is like the MLB version of the Lebron thing a decade ago) I doubt any team could even conceive keeping that quiet.

I'm a very "analytical" person when it comes to baseball and I love using data every chance we get. I do think managers have some impact, but I don't think it's really that possible to attribute. For example, comparing the Cubs 2023 to the Cubs in 2024 seems unfair: if the Cubs get, say Shohei Ohtani and are significantly better because they added a hitter who had a 180 wRC+ last year...well that's not because of Craig Counsell. If Craig Counsell puts Luke Little into a game in the 7th, it's impossible to say if David Ross will or not. It's also really hard mid-season. Did a manager make a hitter get hot? Probably not. So when Mike Schlidt and the Cardinals got hot a few years ago, how much of that was simply...regression to the mean? How much was because Schlidt? There's so many impossible things to track, chart and note. We can't know many things. Especially as fans. What I'll say is this: I trust that the Cubs think Craig Counsell is an upgrade and will make a difference. It doesn't have to make a huge difference, but any difference is good. The Cubs know how David Ross' brain works better than any of us, if they think Counsell is more in step with what they want, that's something we can't track or have data on. MLB teams, as well, are learning new things and how they matter constantly. It may not be a revolution, but good teams win on the margins where and when they can.

I like hearing these numbers. It tends to match up with the belief that the Cubs didn't bring in Counsell just to make a move, and that they're taking this seriously.

I think the Cubs are trying to do something big this offseason, I agree. Three reports in 12 hours about the Cubs and Ohtani and all came from different places (one local not known for breaking Cub news, one who's consistently close to the Cubs and another national report). Hoyer refused to comment on Ohtani yesterday and even mentioned a bit about big moves. What I'll say is that these kinds of things probably mean one of two things; either the Cubs want this out there (pressure on the Padres? Just spitballing a reason) or there's enough smoke that three different types of reporters picked up in it. Regardless, as a fan, I find neither bad.

It's coming from Bob Nightengale, so do with it as you please, but according to Bob's most recent USA Today article, the Cubs are "serious contenders" for Shohei Ohtani and "several GM's" have told him that the Cubs have been the most aggressive team for his services thus far.

Oh, I'm not adverse to long term contracts. I would hope the Cubs made some trades for a Soto (using Morel mostly but then probably a decent but not special 2nd piece) but then some sort of controllable SP who has upside to fit in as a high #3 now and possible #2 in a bit. It's hard to float those names right now, because these types are rarely "on the market" but there's some guy like this who's always available, somewhere. I'd also entirely advocate the Cubs lock Juan Soto up for 10+ years. I think he's that kind of a guy. Or maybe trade #2 is a position player and you sign Imanaga. The Cubs have a bit of an issue with their prospects in that they almost have a few too many condensed in a similar wave. The Cubs probably have to pick and choose their favorites a bit, and I think *now* is a decent plan for that. Not so much you kill the system, I'm not saying "hey, go for it all" but I think the Cubs are very set up to go use a few prospects, use someone like Morel who I just don't think the Cubs love at the positions available to him, and start rounding out a team. I think the Cubs have a good system right now for replacing prospects via draft and IFA, as well. The FA pool is particularly craptastic right now outside of a few of the Japanese arms and, well, you know, Ohtani. Cubs have significant money coming back off in 2026. So my plan would be kind of like: use 2024 to make a splash or two in the trade market (the Cubs strength matches up with the FA weakness, so use your strength), IMO, let the prospects come up at the mid-end of 2024, and let them grow in 2025 to fill out the roster, and then 2026 you can re-add.

There's nothing like the offseason. So much hopes. So much of it shall be dashed. Hopefully inbetween a few moments like yesterday of delight and elatement.

There appears to be no "new" news here, but more smoke. Mentions the names "Ohtani and Bellinger" specifically in a response to a question about who their "main" targets are. Also "trades".

Obviously just an accidental typo, but an entire corps of Eric Hosmer is literally terrifying.