Stratos
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Everything posted by Stratos
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I think they'll keep Canario as long as he fills a role they need, including as bench/depth/DH. You're right that longterm he's blocked and will likely be traded. If someone else they like better like Caissie looks to be able to fill his role then they'll probably trade Canario. Similar to what they did with Velazquez and Soler.
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In another post yes I said I wanted them to trade some guys for good mlb players with control. Other prospects they can play. There's a lot they can do. I've said before that the only 2 ways this team can get better is by increasing surplus or increasing the total payroll.
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Canario is an asset on this team in 2024 though. He can be in the mix at DH, he's a solid backup for Happ and Suzuki in case of injury, and a general bench option, similar to Velazquez or what Soler was. I don't think Velazquez hurt his trade value getting a couple hundred PA's in the MLB. His tools didn't change and I don't think teams are going to make significant sways in judgement on a young player based on a couple hundred PA's. There can be some potential reduction in value but I think actually using a player in a depth role has value as well, and the Cubs have the potential to discover additional surprise value from some players by playing them, like what happened with Morel and Steele. Over the last 6 months, the Cubs have traded Hertz, Made, Velazquez, and Ferris for MLB or MLB-ready assets and more will happen. I don't think they're going to let a whole bunch of their prospects rot on a vine.
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Happ is a good asset on a good contract and young enough to be unlikely to depreciate in value much over the course of the contract. Like Darvish, he can likely be traded for prospects or whomever even with a NTC. I don't see much downside or risk compared to any FA they may have signed instead with that money.
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They can make a trade before OD and probably will. But depending on the 40-man situation they can also wait and use these guys as depth pieces who can help them this year. They have at least one good prospect in AAA or AA at every position on the diamond. They probably also want to have expendable prospects to deal at the trade deadline to fill MLB holes. But they will have to start making some trades eventually. If guys in AA like Shaw, Alcantara, Triantos etc are ready for a promotion to AAA mid-season then there's likely going to be a roster crunch in Iowa and playing time issues. The Cubs are in a great situation. Sign Bellinger and someone like Happ or Suzuki can be dealt over the next couple of seasons to acquire an upgrade elsewhere or to reload the farm. If Caissie or Alcantara eventually come up and hit well then potentially both Happ/Suzuki could be traded. Nico may also be traded near the end of his extension. We're starting to have a lot of assets now. I'd like to see them eventually use some of it to acquire some controllable pre-FA all-star quality players from smaller market teams. I'd much rather have those kinds of assets in their primes that can be later flipped or extended than signing these longterm FA mega-deals and watching those assets age & depreciate into someone worthless.
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They could just agree to pay for some of the contract like Rockies and Arenado.
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Well they save 15m on Burnes, 11m on Woodruff, and would save 12m on Adames. That's 38m, and Hoskins costs 17m AAV. They have 21m to spend on someone. Might not be 1 of the Boras 4 but they might still spend most of that.
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Pirates signed Aroldis Chapman.
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Pirates signed Aroldis Chapman.
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Could make Brewers more of a Chapman suitor, or Montgomery etc. They saved money dealing Burnes. They saved money dumping Woodruff and then signed Hoskins.
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Cubs sign Hector Neris to 1yr /$9m with options
Stratos replied to Jason Ross's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
I said earlier in the offseason that this team has failed if Rucker ends up on the 26 man at any point this season. So we're going in the right direction lol -
And then there's Bryant and Baez playing on bad teams for the money. How much you pay to be on a winning team? Would you give up millions of dollars for it?
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I dunno, Cameron seemed to be stronger and bigger physically. PCA isn't a big dude, but he does have the swing lift. That comp would definitely be on the high end in upside for PCA for me. I could see fewer HR but potential for more SB than Cameron. I'm thinking Jackie Bradley Jr with more SB on the low end and Cameron on the high end with probably not as much SLG or BB%. So most likely somewhere between those 2 guys. PCA has a lot of Corey Patterson in him. A bit raw in terms of baseball skills, but very athletic dudes. I'm thinking PCA isn't as bad as Patterson with the BB% but he's a very aggressive player.
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PCA's K% jumped pretty high to almost 30% in AAA and in his very short MLB stint. AAA was a bit of a small sample so we'll see, hopefully that comes down, He's still quite young for that league. i'd like to see him spend almost a full season in Iowa this year. I think he might be MLB average in the AVG and power department, and that's where the tool graders show him. Hitters in the minors are notorious for having inflated BABIP and looks like PCA is no different. I'd be satisfied if he can put up a 100 wRC+ annually, and hopefully a bit more, with his speed/SB and glove he can still be a good player, even a 4 WAR player. I don't think he's a .500 SLG guy unless in an outlier year, more like .430-.450 with .255 AVG and hopefully lots of SB.
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How about prospect + Almonte for Nardi?
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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=80_39eAx3z8&pp=ygUgVGhlcmUncyBzb21ldGhpbmcgaGFwcGVuaW5nIGhlcmU%3D
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And that's not even close to a full season of work. He was on a gold glove caliber pace. Maybe he doesn't do that again, but it still looks like a very good glove there.
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I think it's a pretty safe bet the Cubs are done with the rotation this offseason, unless someone comes on a 1-year or Montgomery or Snell fall into their lap at a good price. But I doubt they're actively looking for a key SP piece.
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Can't ever count them out. But again, they also just received 2 MLB-ready players and might have a very good pen again, and added Hoskins + just saved 15m to use in FA. Not sure the status of their finances at the moment, but maybe they could turn around and sign Chapman or Montgomery, who knows, especially if they decide to trade Adames.
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Ortiz and Hall are MLB ready players. They didn't get Hoskins to start losing, and Chourio is pretty much ready. Brewers looking for a quick turnaround. Wish Jed was able to secure some prospects closer to the MLB when Cubs sold off in 2021
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We only got some lottery tickets for 3 years of control of Yu Darvish, who wasn't quite Burnes but still. At the time of both deals I'd much prefer the package the Brewers got.
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Unless Bellinger hasn't lived in Chicago long enough to know traffic patterns. They'd just be looking anyways, it's just a follow. Bellinger and his wife would by now have an idea of who the top suitors are for a longterm deal. If it's down to a few teams the wife might be starting to look for a house in these cities in prep when a deal happens. It's not like she needs a real job to fill her day haha.
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Yeah. We don't really have any ideal 3B on the roster. We got 2.7 WAR out of 3B last season, and the MLB median for teams was 2.3. We were ranked 11th out of 30 teams at 3B, so we did pretty well. Madrigal hit 95 wRC+ (which is what he's projected to hit in 2024 by ZiPS), with elite defense while playing 3B. He had 1.3 WAR in 67 games at 3B. At a 134 game pace that's 2.6 WAR, which is above average for the position. He may not be healthy enough to play 130 games, but i'll take his projected 95 wRC+ if he continues to play excellent defense. We know from his hitting that he has elite hand speed, so that seems to be a big asset for him at 3B where reaction time & good hands are probably the most important things, not arm strength. It would be even better if Morel can play an average defense there and put up more good offensive numbers. Busch is also an outside candidate to play there, though probably as a 3rd option at best, but he played there for the Dodgers last year.
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Cubs sign Hector Neris to 1yr /$9m with options
Stratos replied to Jason Ross's topic in Chicago Cubs Talk
Sounds like they just don't want to bring back a pitcher if they're injured. I don't think it means anything. He could have a great year and blow out his arm in the last few weeks and still gets the option without that caveat. -
I'd wager the Cubs don't care if it's a run added with the bat or a run saved with the glove. If Madrigal can even manage a 100 wRC+ he'll probably be in the lineup this year.
