ToolDRT

What is going on with Chicago sports tonight?! Hawks win with a shutout. Bregman signs. Bears win. Let’s never let tonight end!

“Chicago will consider trading either Gold Glove-winning second baseman Nico Hoerner or third baseman Matt Shaw -- Hoerner is a free agent after this season, while Shaw likelier would bring a larger return package because of his six years of club control -- to make room for Bregman's arrival. The Cubs also could keep both in addition to Bregman. The Cubs' fascination with Bregman had as much to do with his leadership traits as it does his pull-happy offensive approach that should fit well at Wrigley Field. As the Cubs try to remain competitive in a loaded NL this season and beyond, they'll turn to Bregman -- who is renowned for his baseball IQ, interpersonal skills and work ethic -- to help shepherd them.” espn.

That’s where I’m at. I’m glad we’re spending. But I was hoping it would be Tucker or Bichette. Oh well, hopefully he produces and it all works out.

Someone convince me to like this. Tucker is just so much better.

Yeah, I’m all in on Bichette. I wanted him before, but now? Even more. I don’t think Bellinger is a great idea, I like Bregman but not for 6 years, and I’m a “no” on Suarez. Still think they should just resign Tucker, though.

That’s the quality Theo had that Jed never will. He understands when to throw value away and get the player. Not saying he’s always right. But he adapts to the market. I’d rather take that over someone who seems to set a market and never deviate.

I hope this is more accurate. To me, I’m not really sure what the plan is though. The rumor was they won’t offer years to Bregman either. So the opt out deals weren’t to their liking, and long term doesn’t seem to be…As you mentioned, with what we have coming off the books next year, this seemed like a good time to go over the first threshold and at least have some pieces locked down next year. I guess we can still get there with Gallen and a trade. But I’ll be honest, my aim was higher than Gallen when the offseason started.

Oh, I agree completely. The cubs as an organization already have a different meaning to long term compared to other teams. So not only would they be benching themselves compared to those organizations, but also compared to their own previous standards. However, this is just my theory.

I might be completely wrong here, but there were rumblings last year of Ricketts not wanting payroll too high with the work stoppage looming. My guess is they want to wait on any deals of substance until we see what the new cba looks like. I think we grab a pitcher in a trade and call it a day.

I’m honestly a bit surprised that people care this much anymore. The tom-Jed combo has me completely apathetic towrds baseball at this point. The two of them have pushed me right back into the arms of the bears and Blackhawks. I think once we refuse to offer Tucker 250-300 million I’ll just be done with baseball. Ricketts and Hoyer have strangled any passion I had left for the game. I was sad at first, but have become completely content. Join me, my brothers!

I think they’re just going to play it conservative this year due to the lockout. Which, to me, makes a trade much more likely than a big signing.

I’m honestly at the point where I wish they would skip Imai, trade for a pitcher and resign Tucker.

Behind a paywall, but mlbtr claims it says the cubs and Red Sox aren’t offering a long term deal to Bregman. https://www.freep.com/story/sports/mlb/tigers/2025/12/27/alex-bregman-free-agency-boston-red-sox-detroit-tigers/87898888007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=false&gca-epti=z114840p119550c119550u001240d00----v114840&gca-ft=218&gca-ds=sophi&gnt-djm=1

Merry Christmas @The Cubs Dude Hope you have a great Christmas and an amazing new year as well!

This is why I always smell something when reading your posts.

I think Shaw probably gets us more back in a trade though. It’s not a politics thing, his leg kick spooked me a bit this year and I want a controlled young pitcher to pair with Horton.

Sorry, I meant I’d also look to extend Hoerner in that scenario where Shaw is traded for pitching.

I think I’d rather just move Shaw for pitching.

Hopefully the game next week is as good as the last packers-bears game!

Really enjoyed the game today. Wanted to see them just come out and dominate from beginning to end and they did that. Really liked Caleb’s throws today, as well.

Jed is garbage at his job, but he doesn’t set the budget. The “rich, greedy” dude is Ricketts, in this scenario.

I don’t feel the need to post much anymore, you type exactly what I’m gonna say. Our mentality is borderline foolish at this point. Glad others see it.

That’s fair, and I think you’re framing the debate correctly in terms of process over outcome. When I mention bat-missing, I’m less concerned with raw strikeout totals and more with how those strikeouts are generated — specifically whether the velocity and pitch shape combination produces sustainable whiff profiles rather than situational spikes. On the contact side, I agree that metrics like IFFB can be misleading if they aren’t contextualized with velocity bands and vertical approach angle. Fly-ball suppression alone doesn’t really solve the bullpen volatility issue if hitters aren’t being consistently put into defensive counts. That’s where velo becomes more than just an aesthetic upgrade — it compresses decision time and raises the margin for error. Injury risk is probably the unavoidable tradeoff here. High-velo arms with splitter-heavy usage almost always carry fragility flags, but that’s where I think the Cubs’ risk tolerance comes into play. If they’re treating this as a variance-management move rather than a durability bet, the calculus shifts. You accept elevated injury probability in exchange for short-term stabilization and matchup leverage. The Carter comparison is interesting too. Extremes can work, but they tend to amplify downside if the underlying command wobbles. Someone sitting in that middle ground — not purely reactive, not purely speculative — might actually fit the Cubs’ current window better than people expect. As for your last question, my background’s more economics-adjacent than baseball-specific, but I’ve always gravitated toward roster construction questions because they sit right at the intersection of risk modeling and constrained resources. Econ/PolSci is a solid combo if you’re interested in that space.