Stratos

Nice to see the market finally moving a bit again

They definitely don't need a DH for 4 years, even if the bat is pretty solid.

Manaea's mph went up a couple of MPH but his fb actually was hit slightly worse last year. The sweeper you mention was basically unhittable though, and he didn't use it much.

I'd probably take Montgomery over Imanaga.

More worried about the bat. But I don't think anyone is expecting him to be any kind of impact player. If he's able to play 100 games a year and put up 1.5 WAR or so and be just average i'll be happy.

Giants signed Lee, I forgot about that. Might be out on Bellinger then.

Who could be in on Chapman?? Tigers, Jays, AZ, Phillies but probably not, Yanks but probably not

I could see them going a bit cheaper than Bellinger/Chapman and grabbing a so-so position guy like Hoskins or Joc Pederson plus a FA MORP.

Looks like Giants probably have about 30m in payroll space left if they spend the same as last year (about 210m). So they'd likely have room for either 1 big FA SP or big FA bat like Bellinger. I think if it comes down to Giants vs Cubs for Bellinger then we have the edge if offers are equal given he liked Chicago and hit well there. Giants don't play in a good hitting park for LHB, plus the Cali income taxes factor.

I don't see Kiermaier as a 4th OF for them when they only have 1 good OF right now, and he was their starting CF last season. They could make Bellinger the LF I suppose.

Jays just signed Kiermeier or however you spell it

28 is still younger than the vast majority of FA's. If it's a 6 year deal then he's signed through age 33 (well, would turn 34 a few months before the contract ends), which isn't bad at all. Given the age and how the Cubs avoid post-prime years like the plague (and rightly so) the Cubs will want him more than a 31 y/o like Chapman unless Chapman comes on a lower AAV and only on, say, a 3 year deal, which probably doesn't happen anyways.

The Giants are the only team I could see in on Bellinger from that list.

You can watch him pitch in the WBC on youtube, his stuff is ok but nothing impressive. Command seems good though. Seems like a MORP, I like him less than Snell and Montgomery.

Why would they sign Bader if they have Nimmo? Moving Nimmo to RF/LF?

Bellinger was working with the Cubs immediately after he signed last year. Most players don't just show up on the official day pitchers and catchers report to ST, they're there working.

Bader signed with Mets.

No, i'm saying working with the coaching and catchers etc would be to their and the team's benefit. I assume they aren't on the couch eating cheetos waiting to be signed.

I think it would be better for pitchers and catchers to sign earlier so they're not waiting to prepare with their teams at the last minute before ST.

Those steamer projections suck imo. Agree Happ is healthier. But I think it's reasonable for Bellinger to put up around 115-120 wRC+

If Cubs like Bellinger, Snell, and Hoskins it's going to be a long January.

They really need to get better pen arms than last offseason. Boxberger was underwhelming even if healthy, he was a very average pen arm. Fulmer I was ok with, he had some history of success, it just didn't work out. They really need to do better than a Boxberger type. 2 solid vet arms with some kind of history of previous success, at least one being a LHP. The rest can be the typical minor league contract flyers they invite to ST.

Meh I don't think they care. It would be dumb to make a signing just for a convention. The season is a lot more important. There will be lots of current and former Cubs players/coaches there to make the fans happy.

Looks like this thread is DOA 😂

I've compiled a list of which top prospects will likely be starting the year in AAA and AA for 2024. I added some other depth pieces in AAA that could see playing time on the MLB team this season. I didn't include pen arms. This list is to show how much depth the MLB Cubs team will have going into 2024. It also shows the logjam we have developing in AAA and how many guys will be knocking on the door for MLB playing time over the next season or 2 and jumping on to the 40-man. This makes a trade pretty likely this offseason. *I might be missing someone, but I think I included all of the most substantial prospects. Cubs Prospects in upper minors in 2024: AAA: OF - Canario/PCA/Caissie/Davis 1B - Mervis/McGeary/Murray SS/2B - Vazquez/Strumpf/Bote/Mastrobuoni 3B – Murray/Slaughter/Strumpf/Bote/Mastrobuoni C - Aliendo SP – Horton, Wicks, Brown AA: OF - Alcantara/Christian Franklin SS/2B/3B - Shaw/Triantos 1B - Maldonado/Ballesteros C - Ballesteros 2025 Cubs MLB All-Prospect Team: OF – PCA/Caissie/Canario/Davis/Alcantara 1B – Mervis/McGeary/Murray/Ballesteros SS – Nico/Shaw/Vazquez/Morel 2B – Morel/Shaw/Triantos 3B – Shaw/Morel/Murray/Triantos C – Amaya/Ballesteros/Aliendo DH - McGeary/Morel/Mervis/Caissie SP - Steele/Horton/Wicks/Brown/Wesneski+Assad