Bertz

Cooooooool

I'm not a type to stomp my feet that the Cubs aren't doing anything, but between this and Scherzer we're maybe a few hours from the pitching market being Stroman, Ray, Gray, and a bunch of guys you don't actually want on amulti-year deal.

:shock: Edit: This is why (but probably more tomorrow than today)

Correa is for sure getting his $300M now

7 years!

Thinking about this more. Sounds like there is going to be a 13 pitcher limit next year. So you're limited to 5 "real" relievers. That said, everyone but Wieck in the current pen, plus Adbert/Steele/Thompson, all have minor league options. So if you limit yourself to one veteran reliever signing, you can probably do enough streaming between Chicago and Iowa to make it work? It's A LOT of moving parts, but the Cubs might have the personnel to make it work. I'd want to see some real money thrown at the lineup though if the plan with the pitching staff is to cosplay as the Rays.

I still don't love this for us unless we're doing something pretty radical with the pitching staff. With Adbert, Mills, Steele, and Thompson there's already enough promising but questionable SP options in house. That said, adding one sure fire bulk inning SP like Stroman and then going wild with piggybacks might be prudent. Something like this? Stroman Hendricks Miley/Thompson Adbert/Steele Lorenzen/Mills

Along with Erod, the guys I wanted the most amongst the realistic targets. He's a finesse arm at this point. Averaged 90.3 on the fastball last year. Jed was pretty clear about adding velo to the rotation this winter, and the team already pulled the trigger on Miley.

I guess, before half of them get signed, this is my crack at an offseason. This is using Tim's assumptions from a few days ago and treating the MLBTR contract estimates as gospel. For guys who don't have a projected contract (so they're outside the top 50 free agents), I'll assume they get 1/10 if they're ostensibly a starter or 1/5 if they're a bench guy or reliever. Signings: Trevor Story 6/126 Jon Gray 4/56 Kyle Seager 2/24 Danny Duffy 1/10 Tommy Pham 1/10 Brad Miller 1/5 I know we're supposed to avoid the QO, but this gets all of the team's shopping done at budget and without trades. And honestly I think burning a 2nd rounder is more prudent than trading 3 guys out of our top 30. If the QO is an absolute deal breaker, let's go with Rodon (1/25) and Iglesias (1/10) instead of Story and Duffy (and you have to skimp a bit more on the 'pen reinforcements). Lineup: RF - Pham LF - Happ 1B - Schwindel SS - Story 3B - Seager C - Contreras DH - Miller 2B - Madrigal CF - Ortega BN - Hoerner, Wisdom, Hermosillo/Ramirez, Heyward, Backup C It's a pretty tepid middle of the order, but it's a deep lineup overall. Everyone but Ortega projects via Steamer as an average or better hitter, and he likely gets there via platooning. The bench is good, and gets even better when Brennen Davis comes up and pushes Ortega to the bench (and Heyward to the phantom IL?). Rotation: Jon Gray Kyle Hendricks Danny Duffy Wade Miley Adbert Alzolay Like the lineup, this group is deep. All five guys project (a smidge) north of 2 WAR. Unlike the lineup, I think there's actual upside here. I'd also plan on keeping Thompson and Steele stretched out, as this group generally had a large 3rd time through problem last year (even compared to to what's typical). Some of that's likely noise, but some of it (Miley for sure) isn't so having a couple dedicated bulk inning guys in the pen is still prudent. The team probably projects to ~85 wins, paired with what is actually a good Iowa team for the first time in ages. It's a very latter-day Oakland type of roster that's going to try and depth other teams to death. I don't think it's the best team you can build this offseason, but it has largely kept the powder dry moving forward. The farm is fully in tact, and at this point a contract with a low 9 figures outlay is hardly onerous when it's pretty much all you have on the books long term.

And Javy?

Basically all of the rumor guys have chimed in on the Baez-Tigers thing, feels like it's either going to happen or this is a ploy right before one of the parties moves onto their real option. Meanwhile I feel like Wacha is probably a smart signing. I wouldn't be surprised if he outperforms the 2nd starter we end up signing. That said there's a ton of bust potential there.

FWIW Morosi is extremely plugged in with the Tigers

Yeah I feel like he might be the one non-uniformed person in the org I still like I'm not sure what there is for you like so much, but I blame him for the defenses struggles closing out games. Maybe that's unfair, but he doesn't stile me as someone I'd hang onto if Nagy and Co go. I think most of the problems are personnel honestly. I think, given the injuries especially, the Bears having an average defense (based on DVOA) is damn near a miracle.

Why? Yeah I feel like he might be the one non-uniformed person in the org I still like

I'm pretty sure if he found a spider in his bathroom he'd just buy a new house

Is the goal line fumble really more likely than missing a ~20 yard field goal?

I really enjoy Grant celebrating after getting to the 19, emblematic of the lack of brainpower all throughout this org

Feels like the middle class of the starting pitching market is going to be fully resolved before the lockout

Asked and received What was it in his profile that drew you to him? There's A LOT of red on his Baseball Savant page. He's fast and he hits the ball really hard, and doesn't strike out much. His plate discipline is a wreck so I don't think he's a star waiting to happen, but I like him a lot for the RH OFer role. Like TT said there's a lot of redundancy with Hermosillo, but pending what we add in the OF having two guys like this is probably a good thing. We're hopefully adding a starting caliber outfielder this winter. Having both a Hermosillo and a Ramirez makes me a lot more comfortable with that guy being left handed (e.g. Conforto).