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Stratos

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Everything posted by Stratos

  1. Stratos
    Maybe. His interpreter's name is Shingo.
  2. Stratos
    Can't argue with most of those projections. Suzuki/Happ are hopefully a bit low
  3. Stratos
    If he can put up around a 4.00 ERA as a SP it would be worth it. Expensive gamble though. He's a good reliever but not exactly dominant.
  4. Stratos
    Seems like a terrible contract. You may be right.
  5. Stratos
    Cubs have 3b, 1b, and DH to fill. Morel and Busch are going to be filling 2 of those most of the time.
  6. Stratos
    If Morel does get traded, which I doubt happens this offseason, it would likely be for MLB talent at some position we need anyways, so I'm not that worried it. If we don't get Chapman we at least have Madrigal in situations we prefer a glove and he might be even better defensively. Morel could surprise us with the glove too after he gets a couple of months of work there.
  7. Stratos
    Waiting out the market for more leverage to secure more money for his clients. It's just some contract negotiations, there's no Marxist conspiracy happening here. There's people living in tents, worry about them.
  8. Stratos
    delete
  9. Stratos
    The owners are responsible for numerous issues in baseball. Scott Boras waiting out the market so that he has more control of it to gain leverage for his contract negotiations isn't one of them.
  10. Stratos
    I think Morel has a better shot to be a better defender at 3B. He has better tools. He has quickness, athleticism, and arm strength, he just needs polish and consistent reps and to dial down the throws a notch. He does everything at 100% effort. But Busch also gives them LH/RH options. He can play 1B or DH, it doesn't really matter, Counsell will figure out where to play them all. It's good to have multiple options and depth at positions.
  11. Stratos
    Yes that's a possibility. They could also trade Suzuki next year. He has a NTC but so did Darvish. Guys like Caissie, McGeary etc could be ready by next season most likely and could slot in as much cheaper DH options. We could reload the farm a bit with a Suzuki trade. I see a lot of potential for Hoyer's plans to be more sustainable than Theo's if we can trade guys here and there for prospects. They can always be replaced with other free agents if needed. The Cubs are already coming up on a surplus of good talent at different positions where some will be dealt. A much better problem to have than not enough talent.
  12. Stratos
    Fun fact: Caus' slider had one of the highest whiff rates of any pitch in the MLB last season. Around 60% if I remember correctly. That and the funky angle are probably what the Cubs liked.
  13. Stratos
    I think this trade has some implications for both Chapman and Bellinger. If we include Shaw in the equation, if Chapman is signed there's a logjam at 3B going forward. If Bellinger is signed he can play CF this season but where does he play once PCA is up if we also have Morel/Busch/Mervis at 1B and Shaw probably taking 3B? Morel/Busch/Mervis can always platoon at DH, but then we also have Canario, Caissie, McGeary that may be ready next year and may DH as well. If Bellinger is signed gotta think someone is dealt at some point. It's harder to see Bellinger at 1B now longterm unless someone is traded. If he is signed we could see him slide into a corner OF spot and they do something else with e.g. Suzuki, including a trade. Really intrigued now to see what they do with CF this season. Metrics show Canario's running speed is below average so maybe he's not the best RHB pairing for Tauchman in CF if they pass on Bellinger. He played RF in winter ball.
  14. Stratos
    Just read your Mervis article, looking forward to the Busch one. Hopefully whatever changes Busch made that led to the big drop in K% in AAA last year hold. The 26% he had in AA/AAA previous wasn't great and he was an older prospect.
  15. Stratos
    Well he mainly played there when he was called to the Dodgers last year. Interesting thing is he's only played 20 games at 1B at all levels as a pro, but i'm sure he's an option there too. I think the main thing is that the Cubs have options at 3B, 1B, and DH now with Morel, Busch, Mervis, and Wisdom, plus Madrigal as a defensive option at 3B. They can platoon these guys based on the matchups. Hopefully Morel/Busch are able to hold down 3B, at least until Shaw is ready, and gotta think somebody between everyone mentioned is going to be dealt at some point when that happens, if not this offseason. 40-man is tight. Mastrobuoni might get put through waivers or dealt.
  16. Stratos
    I don't see why they wouldn't try to give Mervis more playing time this season. They aren't going to write him off based on 100 PA'.s He's got the hitting tools and hit very well AAA again, But now they have options and don't need to rely on him. They need lefty bats as well. Busch is pretty similar to Mervis but more highly regarded it seems. MLB.com just slotted Busch in as our #3 prospect under Horton. He was the Dodgers' #2 prospect on MLB.com. A bit surprised based on the lack of glove/position but I guess the bat is good.
  17. Stratos
    Ferris has good stuff but the control is very questionable, his delivery is pretty messy and long when watching him on video. That's not just a minor tweak to fix Still a good prospect but so is Busch and Busch helps us now instead of 3-4 years from now. About time we traded low minor prospects for closer talent to speed up this rebuilt.
  18. Stratos
    This likely takes Hoskins and guys like Belt etc off the table. We get a LHB which was needed. I think they're intent on keeping payroll under the cap. After Imanaga the projected payroll is at about 198m. That leaves about 35m max. Bellinger and pen arms would eat all of that up and leave no room for Hoskins. Can obviously DH, an option at 1B in case Mervis doesn't hit. Could see a few starts at 3B when they really want to go left handed. Might sit for Canario/Morel/Wisdom etc at DH vs tough LHP Maybe another trade to come to ease the 40-man
  19. Stratos
    Seems like everyone tends to overvalue what most of these Japanese players end up signing for. Senga's contract last year was also lower than expected. Seiya was somewhat cheap too. I guess teams are a bit conservative given the unknowns with the players.
  20. Stratos
    If he takes the full 5 years at 80m he's making 16m AAV. If he's pitching well they'd be very tempted to keep him another 2-3 years.
  21. Stratos
    But here's the thing, if he's good or great they can still decline the 5th year and he almost certainly becomes a FA. It's possible with this FO if they don't like the age profile for an extra 2-3 years.
  22. Stratos
    Central location?
  23. Stratos
    The 5th year option adds 27m. If he pitches well he basically either gets a 5th year with a high AAV to make up for the initial low AAV or he can opt-out if the Cubs decline. If he sucks he still gets 53m minimum. This is a pretty good deal for him, he'll earn what he's worth. Cubs are very likely only going to pay him 5/53 if he isn't very good and can't earn more than 13m AAV in FA by opting out.
  24. Stratos
    del
  25. Stratos
    Agreed. If they wanted to stay under the CBT they probably thought they needed to stay cheap in the pen, which is an argument I get, but they still needed to do better at the deadline. Both last year and arguably this year this team lacks the surplus to be as good as they need to be and still stay under the CBT. Hopefully we're a better roster when most of the best prospects are on this team in the next couple of years.
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