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Matt W

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Everything posted by Matt W

  1. Matt W
    Would you prefer Cabrera to Alcantara taking everything into account(contract, injury risks, projectability)?
  2. Matt W
    Boy, it must’ve been ESPN and it’s been ages since I’ve posted there. You’ve always brought great insights.
  3. Matt W
    @TryptamineAm I remembering you from the old Den message board? To your point, I think Jed goes pot in on controllable SP.
  4. Matt W
    You have to figure one of both of Caissie & Kevin A plus some back-end of Top 10 guys, no?
  5. Matt W
    Over/under on number of top 10 Cub prospects who get shipped at this deadline-4.5?
  6. Matt W
    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?
  7. Matt W
    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.
  8. Matt W
    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.
  9. Matt W
    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….
  10. Matt W
    Matt, how do you feel about Busch’s underlying batted-ball data? How do you see things trending over next couple seasons?
  11. Matt W
    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.
  12. Matt W
    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?
  13. Matt W
    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?
  14. Matt W
    If you told me that, I’d honestly be a bit shocked. That is definitely not what eye test is telling me…
  15. Matt W
    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).
  16. Matt W
    Matt, assuming the biggest macro issue remains the lack of star power:Which “valuable” assets , big-league level and farm, are you most willing to part with to acquire an elite bat?
  17. Matt W
    Brian, you’re preaching to the choir here. Matt and I have been going back and forth on this since last year. It makes too much sense. They need to do something a bit dramatic to increase their odds of getting an offensive difference maker(s). You pointed out some sound reasons to consider this but I’d add a couple. When you look at the “stuff” profiles in their rotation, there is some generic , but notable, overlap in the looks of Wicks, Shota, and Steele. What’d be a realistic package from say LAD or BAL( I realize how stupid these types of deliberations are but they’re fun…)?
  18. Matt W
    Matt…. We need to be thinking about trading Justin Steele! Let’s be ahead of the curve, FOR ONCE.
  19. Matt W
    Matt, Irrespective of performance over next several weeks, feels like Jed needs to add an impact bat, which will cost some prime farm assets. Feels like he *has* to do this because they need the big bat, now and going forward, *and* they need to cash in some of these prospect chips before one or more of these guys gets exposed & sees their value deteriorate, no?
  20. Matt W
    Matt, I think the biggest trap for fans and front office, alike, is buying into the idea that Steele is the 2nd coming of Kersh. He’s probably like a 2.5 on a very competitive team. in terms of roster construction, we’re starting to hear the annual “this team is cheap” stuff , due to inactivity in FA mkt. What concerns me more is possible prospect hugging. Jed can’t be indiscriminate in shipping these guys off but there , quite frankly, isn’t enough room for many of them , given recent contracts handed out + distinct possibility of another longer-term, positional FA deal this offseason(Chapman? Bellinger?). There are a number of things remaining to be done but biggest items seems to be a big-boy that makes Jed a little uneasy. I’m thinking something in Lazardo , Bryce M tier.
  21. Matt W
    Great stuff here , Matt. It’s very consistent with your message on this org. It’s going to be critical to keep this in mind when they look to the marketplace for a Stroman replacement. There is a great SP FA class that has a wide variety of skillsets, including power. While trying to remain in the moment, it’s hard to not be excited at the range of options available to improve this team further in the offseason. They have an increasing store of top-end farm talent closer to big-league readiness; strong farm depth from which to trade; and a good deal of financial flexibility (Stro, Hendricks, Heyward $$ coming off.)
  22. Matt W
    This rebuild, retool, or whatever the hell we want to call it is going to be in really good shape if two out of Brown, Hicks, and Wesneski are toiling regularly in the rotation but this point next season. I think they have farm talent & $$ resources to address the lineup. The biggest failing of peak Theo era was having to pay relatively(at the time) large amounts of $$ in FA to address the 3 and 4 slots in his rotation. P is obviously the most volatile position , health-wise, and you don’t want your balance sheet too levered to the health of your vets there…
  23. Matt W
    Should we add Forrest Whitely to this list or have we lost all hope for him?
  24. Matt W
    This is a really interesting concept. I’m reading a lot about upcoming 40 man crunch for CHC but not a lot about how to leverage that excess talent for interesting pieces. To your point, mgmt has leaned more toward leveraging the pitching infrastructure on relievers, as opposed to SP. That needs to change…
  25. Matt W
    I love this concept, particularly from the perspective of hedging risk around Mervis. It could be downright dangerous to throw in the towel on him , as one of your offensive solutions , going forward. However, it’d also be foolhardy to bank in that , by any means, irrespective of how well he might do in Aug/Sep. As fans , it’s easy to focus on slotting guys neatly in everyday positional roles and think pretty linearly. Right now, Jed/Carter need to be maniacally focused on gettting more offense/slug on that 26 for next year and not spend a lot of time worrying about where guys exactly are going to play-per se. Hoerner, Swanson, Happ, Suzuki, and Amaya(fingers crossed)should be slotted in for relatively regular duty at the same position. Outside of that, they’re a ton of ABs to go around . To Matt’s credit, he was all over JDM for the Cubs this past offseason. On the surface , it didn’t seem like a perfect fit , due to his extreme defensive “limitations”, but Matt’s argument was that this O needed production wherever it could find it. For all I/we know, JDM got an offer from us but preferred LAD but I think you get the point. Matt, I have another fun/crazy article for you to write in Nov: why the Cubs should acquire Yo-Yo. One year remaining at $25 mil with a team option for ‘25 that could be a golden ticket if their hitting infrastructure can “fix” him. Again, given the FA landscape coupled with the mkt for arb-level talent drying up(teams getting smarter here-ala ATL), Jed will need to be creative-not his strong suit.
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