Rcal10
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I wonder if Steele was pulled after 70 pitches so that if he needed to he can throw an inning or two on Sunday. He has time off after that.
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Let me be clear, I am not married to the idea of Busch at 3rd. Just looking to see how they add offense if Bellinger stays. Sure they can go total defense. Chapman would be the FA to sign if they did that. But that doesn’t do much for the offense. And if Bellinger stayed the only way they can aim extremely big and go after Soto is if they either traded one of the other outfielders or moved Bellinger to first. And if they did the Bellinger move to first they would have to move Busch. And I want Soto. To me the least likely of my scenario is them actually getting Soto, not Busch playing 3rd. Other options for 3rd alone would be Parades and maybe McMahon. I think Parades would cost a lot. McMahon wouldn’t be cheap either.
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Yes, probably the best scenario. But now, who? Who plays 3rd and is a big offensive force?
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Well I believe Busch did actually play 3rd a bit in the minors and with the Dodgers. He wasn’t a previous failed experiment. He was put at 1st because the Cubs had hole there. And if Bellinger is still in the team next year, how do the Cubs add a big bat what isn’t either an outfielder, a DH or a first baseman. If he is an outfielder or DH, Bellinger has to move to first. So Busch has to move to 2rd. If he is a 1st baseman, Busch has to move to 3rd. They can also look at Paredes as some have suggested. Maybe another bat that can play 3rd. But having to have the big bat a 3rd baseman does limit them.
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If he is staying next year they might need to do something a little unusual. Move him to first and Busch to third. I think instantly Busch is better at third than Morel. Then sign Soto. Fill in whatever else is needed with trades. Happ/PCA/Soto/Suzuki fill OF and DH. Maybe Morel and some minor league assets gets them a nice TOR youngish, controlled starter. Maybe they can add either Brown, Wicks or Assad if they need to upgrade the starter. Maybe they move Taillon to free some salary if they get Soto. If that are adding a young solid controlled starter they can move Taillon. They can win, even if Bellinger stays. But they need to add a big bat. If not Soto, I hope they trade for Tucker or Vlad or even Robert. They need a star. If they for Blad then Bellinger can stay in the outfield. Busch still to third. If all else fails I would go with JD Martinez over Alonso. Just let him DH. That is the cheapest route. So probably the most likely for the Cubs. And with him Bellinger to 1st and Busch to 3rd. If they do trade Taillon, they ca also probably sign Jansen if they want.
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And I am fine with that. Mastrobuoni settled down the defense at 3rd and now Mirel can DH. I couldn’t care less if Canario plays or not. He wasn’t even very good in Iowa.
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You lost me at McGeary and Mervis.
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Because the guy answering the question doesn’t know what he is talking about. Beside suggesting they wouldn’t get much back he was also wrong on the Cubs prospects. My 7 yr old grandson could have answered that question better.
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So what you are saying is spend little and get lucky the guy produces. Sure, great idea. Now they just need to get lucky. They have done that for years.That got them Lieter, Merryweather and Tauchman. Again, what you want is basically what I would like to see too. But for it to happen they have to get lucky. No team has a great bench unless an unexpected guy has a good year. As an example, Mastrobuoni gets ripped here constantly. But in reality he is no different than Short or Clemens, guys the Braves and Phillies use. Clemens is just happening to have a good year, but if people were being honest, no one would have said going into the year that Clemens is a great utility guy.
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Couldn’t they eat salary this year? Then next year he is the O’s payroll? I am not in agreement they should trade him, still on the fence with that. But if they do, they can’t also pay some of next years salary. That just doesn’t make sense.
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Not sure if that helps or hurts offense, but I am all for getting rid of the home plate umpire. If I had to guess, I would agree with you on eventual results. But doesn’t matter, they have to go!
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I’m not disagreeing with anything you are saying you want. I completely understand. But the Cubs aren’t spending $15M for a “bench guy” guy like Zobrist. No team is doing that. Be happy they have Tauchman. In a world of baseball today, he is a solid bench player. They also are not spending on a closer. It has been proven year in and year out that they won’t do that. Maybe the best you will see is a Jansen trade with the Red Sox to have him for one year. And I doubt they do that. That is why I am focusing on catcher and 3rd base mainly. And if Bellinger is gone, (and I hope he is) DH. Add a reliable veteran pen arm and IF they do want to package some young talent with one of those young talents being Brown, Assad or Wicks, sure they can try for a solid TOR starter.
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Ok, fine. If you can’t acknowledge low budget teams do get advantages so that they can put a good team the field for less money them I don’t know what to say. They do get more players to build a system around. Sure the draft is a crapshooot, but getting an extra pick and the money allocated to that pick every year does give them more opportunity. Again, I am not saying Jed is doing a good job. He isn’t. I just don’t think it is fair to compare the Cubs payroll to the others in the division.
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What does this mean. All I am saying is you can’t compare low budget teams salaries to the high revenue teams. They do have advantages to get players cheaper. They also get more international money, get a higher round draft pick if they lose a FA, lose less of a draft pick if they sign a FA. It just a fact. No one is crying about it. Just pointing out because of those advantages it is not comparing apples to apples when talking about how much is spend on a roster and what should be expected for that money.
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First off, unless the Cardinals payroll has reduced more than I think it did, the Cubs are not twice all teams in the division. But I could be wrong. Next, when comparing payroll of the Cubs and any other team in the division, it is not ever an apples to apples comparison. Those other 4 teams have built in advantages so that they don’t have to spend as much. An extra high draft pick every year, for one thing. That is incredibly valuable. Hit on even one very 3 years and they are filling a few spots by cheap guys the Cubs don’t have the same chance of getting. I am not suggesting Jed has done a good job. I am just pointing out the Cubs payroll should not be compared to the rest of the central to use in criticizing Jed. The system is out in place to make it harder for major market teams to win with a low payroll.
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If they bring it back with Bellinger they don’t need an upgrade at DH. One of the outfielders(Suzuki) would be the DH. Also, if they run back Taillon, Steele, Imanaga, Wicks, Assad, Wesneski, Brown, and maybe even Horton I’m not sure they need another starting pitcher. As for the one, they can use a established pen arm. Not sure he has to close. They have some arms in the system that might be able to handle that. I just don’t see them spending on a closer. I can see either Biggie, Hodges, or Brown closing next year. To me the main upgrade is catcher, 3rd base and one pen arm. To me those are must haves. The rest are more like “would like to have” moves. As for improving the bench, that is just not going to happen unless it happens by a fringe guy having a good year. Teams just don’t spend on the bench. Look at the Braves. Short is their back up infielder. Phillies have Clemens. Clemens has played well this year, not not someone who that was expected to do as well as he is doing. Sure, it would be awesome to have a great bench, but that is more a result of luck rather than having actual dependable good players on the bench. My last point is if they do lose Bellinger they need to add better than him. And, yes, at that point they need to add a DH or outrider. (SOTO please)!
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I agree with this. It might not be the popular opinion among guys who want to burn it down and start over or trade guys like Happ/Hoerner/Suzuki/Taillon, but I am much more in the camp the team just needs a few pieces. The problem is “who” plays 3rd? Do they spend on Chapman or Bregman? Do they sign Alonso and move Busch to 3rd? Do they trade for Bohm, McMahon or someone else to play 3rd? Do they trade for Vlad and move Busch to 3rd? I think they can upgrade at catcher without making a big splash move. Maybe sign Jansen. Maybe trade for a decent starting catcher. I think something can be done there. I also think the pen can be better next year mainly by allowing some of the young guys who are knocking at the door, pitch next year. Maybe add one veteran arm. The only thing I would say is if Bellinger is traded or opts out the Cubs then need another fairly substantial move to replace him. If he stays, ok, fine. But if he leaves the Cubs need to aim higher than him. Sign Soto or trade for Robert or Tucker. They definitely have the minor league assets to make any trade they want to make. If they went this route, Morel would be another asset in a trade.
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I don’t see how waiting matters with the Cubs. They don’t really have anything to sell anyway. They should only trade guys like Bellinger, maybe Tauchman and anyone who might interest another team from their pen, or Hendricks. And none of them will bring back much anyway. More of a salary dump. So who cares if they wait until the last minute.
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I don’t agree with people criticizing Morel either. I think he has hit in terrible luck this year and agree he had a nice offensive year last year. But you don’t have to criticize Happ to praise Morel. I was a strong advocate of giving him a chance at 3rd this past off season. I still haven’t closed the book on him. But time is running short for his glove. And like I said, that isn’t my point anyway. I am speaking strictly of Happ where you have suggested repeatedly that he isn’t very good. And that is just not true.
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Happ has had a WAR over 3 the last two years and trending over 3 again this year. Very solid everyday player. I just don’t understand the hate for this player. BTW, Morel has a negative war this year and not such a great one last year.
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Exactly. He is fine, but they need a main guy. And they need the salary relief he brings by trading him. If they don’t move him he may stay here next year. And that wouldn’t be good. I like him. Glad they had him. But now it is time to move on.
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I would make it 1.5. And I would bet the over.
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I actually thought the exact same thing.
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I mean, they can dfa wisdom too. He is a guy who supposed to hit lefties and not even doing that. Plus, does it really matter if he isn’t in the team?
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He is on it already. Can’t they put Davis in the 60 day IL? If not, I would guess, for now, Brewer dfa. But when Merryweather and maybe Alzolay and Killian come back some moves need to be made.
