Jump to content
Join us for a livestream as we discuss the red-hot Cubs, starting at 4pm Central time! ×
North Side Baseball

Bertz

Old-Timey Member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    12,403

  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    29

 Content Type 

Profiles

Joomla Posts 1

Chicago Cubs Videos

Chicago Cubs Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits

2026 Chicago Cubs Top Prospects Ranking

News

2023 Chicago Cubs Draft Picks

Guides & Resources

2024 Chicago Cubs Draft Picks

The Chicago Cubs Players Project

2025 Chicago Cubs Draft Pick Tracker

Blogs

Events

Forums

Store

Gallery

Everything posted by Bertz

  1. Bertz
    Among 410 pitchers with 40+ IP last year, he was 55th in Stuff+ per Fangraphs. Command is pretty iffy but he's a guy, and that's before any pitch lab tweaks the team might have cooked up. If he's clearly the lesser of two RPs we acquire I feel pretty good about him.
  2. Bertz
    Really good call from Brett here. The Cubs actually know Busch as well as anyone because of Kelly.
  3. Bertz
    Let's assume the plan is still Bellinger and Hoskins. You'd have a lineup of something like Happ (LF) Hoskins (1B) Seiya (RF) Bellinger (CF) Swanson (SS) Hoerner (2B) Morel (DH) Busch (3B) Gomes (C) No superstar bat, but every spot in that lineup projects north of league average except catcher, and Gomes/Amaya are likely above average offensively by catcher standards.
  4. Bertz
    ZiPS projects Busch to a 109 OPS+, -2 runs on defense, and 2.5 WAR. There's not a ton left in the tank IMO but you absolutely trade any teenage arm in A ball for that. 100 times out of 100. Great trade from Jed, even though I like Ferris more as a prospect.
  5. Bertz
    WOW! There's a LHH power hitter and a 3B all in one go. I did not expect an option like this to be on the market, very very cool. I do think Busch is overrated but he absolutely fills a need here.
  6. Bertz
    Sinker/slider guy with good extension, Tommy will love him
  7. Bertz
    I think the expectation is two bats and two relievers. With the smoke around Bellinger and Hoskins, combined with the fact that it's pretty tough to see a lot of alternatives for either of them them (Giants for Hoskins...and who the heck knows for Bellinger), I'm starting to chalk them up as more or less inevitable. The relievers it would be foolhardy to anchor onto one or two. Robert Stephenson and Matt Moore have each gotten mentions, and they're the approximate level of cost and impact I expect so they're the placeholders in my head right now. Chris Morel and the trade market are where I think there's some opportunity for wiggle room. My expectation at this point is they're just going to try and make Morel at 3B work. If it doesn't, Madrigal can step in and be adequate until one of the youths or the trade deadline can address the position more satisfactorily. If he doesn't get run at 3B, he would seem to be a trade chip. We know from all the local writers Jed's been working the phones with other teams pretty hard. I expect a couple of trades, even if they're minor ones around the bullpen or bench.
  8. Bertz
    Why would they decline the option if he's good? We live in a world where Sean Manaea got 2/26 after showing a new pitch and some brief strong performance. If Shota's putting up 3 WAR seasons no one's going to flinch about holding onto him at 3/50. He'll be 32 not 42.
  9. Bertz
    This is a pretty good deal for both sides and I wonder if we see this sort of thing more often for high variance guys. If I read this right, then basically: - If Shota's good or great it's 5/80 - If Shota's average-ish it's 2/30 - If Shota's bad/hurt it's 4/53
  10. Bertz
    Again keep in mind that Heyman is usually quite plugged in with Boras
  11. Bertz
    Yeah based on when I looked at future payroll, I expect that over the next three offseasons Jed is only going to make 2-3 more long term contracts of substance. He is absolutely not going to use two of those limited bullets right away this offseason. Smart money for the rest of this winter is one of Bellinger/Chapman, a 1B/DH of the opposite handedness (lets say Hoskins and Belt respectively), and two setup caliber relievers. Maybe another pre-FA SP like is being discussed in the other thread or some fiddling with the bench.
  12. Bertz
    I think I like Assad as a starter more than most, but yeah I'd still like to dangle Morel in front of teams like the Mariners and Tigers and grab an optionable young starter like a Bryan Woo or a Reese Olson.
  13. Bertz
    Matt you've brought up a modified 6 man rotation before and I'm wondering more and more if that might be in the cards. Literally thr entire rotation has some IP questions - You laid out Imanaga’s but he's got some shoulder stuff plus generally as a Japanese import he's used to pitching once a week -Steele's huge innings jump last year would probably necessitate some extra rest - Kyle's not far removed from a major shoulder injury, plus generally he's no longer a spring chicken - Assad's the only one of the youths you'd feel comfortable going much past 150 innings It could stand to help things all around.
  14. Bertz
    Around 5ish years ago Jim Callis left BA for MLB.com and John Manuel left for a team job (Twins I think?) in pretty quick succession and yeah it's been pretty much a rag since. Really sad too I used to buy the Handbook every year.
  15. Bertz
    This is an extremely cool gif
  16. Bertz
    So at this point with Imanaga on board and indications being the team only wants to add one vet SP, it seems very unlikely that we trade Morel for a frontline guy a la Dylan Cease or Jesus Luzardo. Knowing that, which of these do we think is the plan? 1. Sign two bats for 1B/DH, e.g. Bellinger and Hoskins, and Morel's only guaranteed path to everyday playing time comes via playing an adequate 3B. A bit of a high risk high reward proposition 2. Only sign one bat for 1B/DH, Morel will play everyday at one of those spots depending on which bat we end up with. It's a waste of his athleticism but you *know* you can get his bat into the lineup every day 3. Still trade Morel. Instead of being a part of a big time trade, do something more in the challenge trade mold like to the Mariners for Bryce Miller or Bryan Woo. Even if Jed's shopping list has changed Morel's lack of fit on the roster hasn't
  17. Bertz
    We'll wait for details obviously but sounds like Kenta Maeda's first deal. Wonder if Shota's health is a little more suspect than we realize.
  18. Bertz
    I'm really excited for this move. I've been stumping for Imanaga and/or Glasnow basically all offseason. And if you had told me Imanaga was only going to get $15M per year I would have been that much more obnoxious about it. I'll also mention for like the 18th time that the projection systems actually think he's better than Yamamoto on a per-inning basis. The lack of groundballs and the resulting dongs are going to keep him from being elite, but he throws A TON of strikes and misses A TON of bats. Unless you're giving up a Lance Lynn-esque number of homers that's still going to lead to strong production. It also sounds like there might be some low-hanging fruit from a pitch design standpoint. I'm hoping that lack of familiarity gives him a strong 1st half season, and they can make whatever repertoire tweaks to keep the ball in the park in time for his second go around the league.
  19. Bertz
    I don't know if we see any more big signings, I think those are on Boras' timeline rather than Jed's. That said I wouldn't be surprised if any of the trades that Jed is apparently working on are fast follows. Or bullpen arms. It's very clear Bellinger is going to hold out til ST or just moments before, so there's not really any impotice to wait on him to do more. If anything getting everything else locked in probably pushes Boras to the table faster.
  20. Bertz
    So probably more or less exactly what Senga got? That's awesome.
  21. Bertz
  22. Bertz
    I'm most glad about this because rotation options were getting perilously thin. This winter a GM can sign two decent 1B/DH types blindfolded, so if Jed wants to wait until President's Day or whatever to do the rest of his shopping everything should still be fine. (Please Jed for our collective sanity do not wait that long to make your next move)
  23. Bertz
    There was some thought that the rush of teams saying they weren't going to get him was a sign he wasn't going to get the 9 figure deal he wanted. I'll say with the posting fee he cracks $100M but not without.
  24. Bertz
    BTW two bits of required reading/watching about Shota
  25. Bertz
    I swear to God if Bob Bob's this I'm going to lose my mind But also, yay!!!!
×
×
  • Create New...