Brock Beauchamp

True, if you just barely stay over the threshold, I guess it doesn't matter much.

Oh, it's tiny but once you start the clock on the luxury tax, it escalates year over year. I find it interesting the Cubs aren't thinking about getting back under it so that the clock doesn't begin this season.

Oversight on my part. I post these from a different section of the website and forgot to check here first.

That is correct. Strange.

In the latest roundup over at The Athletic, a significant chunk of the trade deadline news was Cubs-centered. Here are some notes on the current state of the team and their thinking: They've resigned themselves to the expectation they will not buy at the trade deadline. Given the complicated contractual situation of players like Cody Bellinger, they're also unsure how many players will be appealing trade candidates to contenders. While they haven't completely ruled out trading top-tier players like Justin Steele and Nico Hoerner - who would bring an absolute haul in trade - they're not willing to punt on the 2025 season, either. Perhaps most interesting is that they do not appear to care whether they drop back under the first luxury tax threshold. If they make trades to bolster the farm, they're not particularly interested in bringing back lower-level prospects just to save some money. View full rumor

Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reported that the Cubs are considering trading starting pitcher Jameson Taillon before next week's trade deadline. Taillon, 32 years old, signed a four-year deal with the Cubs prior to the 2023 season. He is making $18 million this season and is also signed through the 2026 season at $18 million per year. The righty pitcher stumbled badly in the first year of his contract (4.84 ERA) but has rebounded nicely in 2024, posting a 3.10 ERA in 93 innings pitched. Taillon certainly has value to contending teams but given his age and a contract that goes through his age 34 season, it's hard to predict what kind of value teams will put on the additional years that will pay him $36 million in the final two years of the deal. Additionally, Bob Nightengale of USA Today added some weight to this report, mentioning the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have inquired on Taillon. View full rumor

Well, those two innings were uninspiring.

Back then, real men just powered themselves with True Grit™

My job is pretty awesome but after a long enough time, even the best job becomes "a job".

Thank you for starting this thread. I totally forgot baseball resumed today. I've been living in blissful ignorance of the world for the past 72 hours.

And as someone who works on baseball horsefeathers literally every day there are games, I have to say that closing my laptop for four days and reading a book has been a welcome change of pace.

Weird hill to die on but you do you.

Five steps forward, two steps back? Image courtesy of © Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports Let’s get right to it: This week, we witnessed the dream-like potential of what the Cubs could be. In the same seven-day span that led us into the All-Star Break, we witnessed that old habits die hard. I hate absolutes, but one stiflingly diabolical road trip was supposed to give the Cubs, its followers, and baseball fans a true answer on whether we must wait until next year. Here’s how it went down… This past Tuesday, the Cubs kicked off their final road trip of the first half as Brandon Hyde, the Cubs’ former first base coach, welcomed his former club to Camden Yards for a three-game set in the sweltering summer heat of Baltimore. The Cubbies’ greatest strength, starting pitching, was on display in Game 1 of the series, with the increasingly consistent Jameson Taillon toeing the rubber against Dean Kremer of the O’s. Taillon was in complete control from the start, going six strong innings in which he struck out seven, allowed one walk, and only two earned runs. The Cubs used the year's most impressive offensive performance to help the cause, scoring in all but two innings. Final Score: 9-2 Cubs Game two of the series pits All-Starr versus All-Star with the Cubs’ charismatic ace, Shota Imanaga, going head-to-head with a familiar foe in Corbin Burnes. On this day, Shota Imanaga’s Cubs got the best of Burnes’ Orioles. After a scoreless first inning, the Cubbies jumped out in front in the top of the second on the strength of a solo homer from Christopher Morel and an RBI single from the surging Nico Hoerner. They’d add two more later in the game, one in the fifth and one in the ninth, as the Cubs prevailed in the hotly anticipated battle of the aces, taking the game and the series. Final Score: 4-0 Cubs With a chance to sweep one of the best teams in the American League, the Cubs handed the ball to former All-Star Justin Steele, opposite Baltimore’s veteran righty Albert Suarez. Steele is quietly becoming the most clutch pitcher in the game and spun the most shimmering gem Cubs’ fans could ask for at the most critical juncture of the squad’s season thus far. The offense, powered by Seiya Suzuki and Michael Busch, gave their starter plenty of run support throughout, but Steele stole the show. As part of a stretch that’s made him one of the most clutch pitchers in the game, Steele hurled seven innings of 3-hit baseball. The recently impressive bullpen shut things down late, giving the Cubs the series sweep. Final score: 8-0 Cubs Riding the wave of a head-turning performance in Baltimore, which saw the Cubs’ deliver efficiently their best baseball of the season, it was off to Saint Louis for a four-game tilt. Kyle Hendricks has been one of the team’s biggest question marks throughout the 2024 season; injuries to Jordan Wicks and Ben Brown thrust him out of the bullpen and back into the starter’s role. In an unexpected twist, Hendricks delighted his teammates and Cubs fans with a six-shutout inning performance. Calls for Cubs to DFA Hendricks have been deafening, and for good reason, but his resolve in this game was inspiring. It drew sighs of relief from a weary fanbase and pushed the Cubbies’ win streak to five, matching a season high. Final score: 5-1 Cubs As hopes began to rise on the North Side of Chicago, the Cubs were dealt a sobering reality check. In Game One of a day-night doubleheader, Hayden Wesneski proved why not only is he a liability as a starting pitcher, he’s probably not much of a starter at all. Sputtering through four innings, the right-hander was hit around more than a tether ball. In allowing nine runs in the Cardinals’ half of the first inning, Wesneski almost single-handedly extinguished the Cubs’ change of fortune manifested in the previous five contests. The Cardinals feasted on virtually every pitch thrown across the plate, racking up thirteen hits in total laughter. Final Score: 11-3 Cardinals The Cubs found little reprieve in game two of the doubleheader. Marking Javier Assad’s long-awaited return from the injured list, the Cubs haunted its whole organization with a one-run collapse of a loss in a winnable game. The Cubs answered a sloppy first inning with four runs in the second, including a two-run blast from catcher Miguel Amaya. The Cubs took the lead into the bottom of the eighth inning, where a banged-up though often maligned bullpen proved why it’s often maligned in giving up easy hits and allowing for Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado to deliver vital and decisive blows to the Cubs and their chances of winning this crucial series. Final Score: 5-4 Cardinals. Book-ending a steady, if not a satisfying, week of work, Jameson Taillon was tasked with washing out the foul taste left by the Cards’ doubleheader sweep from the day prior. Though he wasn’t breathtaking, Taillon was resilient, allowing his team to slam their way to a series split. From sources both familiar and unlikely, the Cubbies tallied six home runs: one from Ian Happ, one from Tomas Nido, and then two bombs from both Christopher Morel and Pete Crow-Armstrong. With flashing the lumber AND the leather, Crow-Armstrong easily enjoyed his best game in a Cubs’ uniform. His defensive hustle in center field and a suddenly hot bat provided a softer landing to the series finale. Final score: 8-3 Cubs That’s a wrap on the season’s first half, and the Cubs’ eyebrow-raising 5-2 week puts them in the clubhouse with a 47-51 record. If you’re a genuinely eagle-eyed follower, that is about where the team was this time last year. With that in mind, and the rumors of Toronto Blue Jays’ catcher Danny Jansen being dealt to the Cubs growing by the day, it appears that Jed Hoyer seems set on sneaking the Cubs into that final Wild Card spot. Though numerous quality ball clubs are ahead of them, the Cubs are only 4.5 games back of the final Wild Card for the 2024 playoffs. This week, they proved, if nothing else, that the Chicago Cubs can hang with baseball’s finest and maybe do even more. View full article

It really depends on Jansen. If he's open to an extension and avoiding free agency, it makes a lot of sense. If not, then it really depends on what the Cubs do in the next few days.

It’s a very logical move to make.

As the Cubs still sit on the fence of buying or selling at the trade deadline, it appears they're exploring what players they might pursue if they decide to buy. Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, one of those targets is Toronto Blue Jays catcher Danny Jansen. Should the Cubs decide to buy, this makes all the sense in the world. Jansen is a free agent at year's end, makes only $5 million this year, and is currently sporting a triple slash line of .223/.319/.397, good for a 103 OPS+. That's well above league average for the catching position. On the other hand, the Cubs have the worst catching corps in baseball and it's not close. They rank 30th in baseball with a -1.4 fWAR on the season, with their backstops hitting for an abysmal 39 wRC+. The two teams above them are the Chicago White Sox and Miami Marlins, truly company you do not want to keep in the year of 2024. View full rumor

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