Matt W

Would you prefer Cabrera to Alcantara taking everything into account(contract, injury risks, projectability)?

Boy, it must’ve been ESPN and it’s been ages since I’ve posted there. You’ve always brought great insights.

@TryptamineAm I remembering you from the old Den message board? To your point, I think Jed goes pot in on controllable SP.

You have to figure one of both of Caissie & Kevin A plus some back-end of Top 10 guys, no?

Over/under on number of top 10 Cub prospects who get shipped at this deadline-4.5?

Here is another thought- with Horton likely approaching some sort of “soft” innings limit, you have to question his utility for Aug/Sep + potential playoff run. Would you include him for Gore, with the thought that you could keep Wiggins and ride Gore a bit like an ace for this run? I love Horton but they’ll need to be thoughtful about how they think they’re going to get the ‘25 innings required to really press in. Caissie/Horton/Cristian- is that in ballpark for Gore?

Any deal that involves two of those tier 1 assets that doesn’t bring back someone like Ryan would give me some real pause. I just think there the questions are too significant for Cabrera(health) and Alcantara(performance?) to warrant headlining with say Caissie and Wiggins or Rojas. Also, as it relates to Rojas, I think he is flirting with a significant ascendancy in prospect rankings. Trading him could be a case of missing a big jump in value creation. I’d be more inclined to include Wiggins in a deal than him.

I think one of Caissie or Alcántara is pretty much a lick to get moved. Tryptamime, I remember your name from other board(s)-old Cubs Den? You always had great insights.

I was listening to the interview yesterday and felt like I was in bizarro land. “I mismanaged the “24 plan where I’ll just break first level with nothing to show for it , outside of a tough decision to reset or take on more penalties for a less-than-perfect roster. So , basically , this year has sucked but at least you can’t call us cheap….” Matt, I’d agree that with organic ‘26 reset coming, they should be all over the high AAV pillow contract market this offseason. I think we all know that the Soto and Byrnes markets aren’t viable for them….

Matt, how do you feel about Busch’s underlying batted-ball data? How do you see things trending over next couple seasons?

Matt, does Paredes make any sense as an acquisition target or do you see him as another “half-measure”-type move for an org that needs more of a bona-fide star bat? I know there is also a part effect to consider with him.

Matt, do you advocate an approach where Morel would get an opportunity to establish himself at keystone, while also giving Shaw a bit more time in minors?

You’r spot on. I’ve crawled down that rabbit hole and come up empty-handed. If the 3B & C options end up being less robust, offensively, than hoped for, may be forced to shoot the moon at other positions ( 2B?) and just shoot for a reasonably high floor at *all* positions. At C , could it hurt to try to poach someone like Cartaya and see if you can get him back on track?

If you told me that, I’d honestly be a bit shocked. That is definitely not what eye test is telling me…

Great piece, Randy. This is is something to at I’ve been giving a good deal of thought to , lately. Keeping both of these guys on roster is increasingly untenable. It’s important to remember that , as good as the SP has been, it’s still a pitch-to-contact type group and will require a stout D. The other factor(s) to think about which weren’t covered here at Matt Shaw and Moises Ballesteros. Ballesteros, in particular , is really coming for it and will, undoubtedly, require some significant DH reps. Shaw, on the other hand, is also coming for it and appears to be likely honing on 3B reps, unless Hoerner is realistic trade chip(whole other discussion that I’d love for you & Matt to explore).