Stratos

Per Savant in 2023 he was elite in hitters not being able to square him up (EV, barrels), over 51 IP, which would explain the low ERA vs high xFIP. Looks like he has a good sweeper. Another option for lefty RP. Was a reverse splits guy for whatever reason despite no offspeed pitch.

I dunno, hard to tell when he started to slow down, it wasn't a good throw. Feel bad for Tauchman.

The Cubs offense has 76 walks, and 2nd best team in MLB has 56 walks. They also lead MLB in stolen bases. Unfortunately Cubs are 24th in ERA. Pen has a 4.97 ERA (low K/9 and lots of walks, but good HR/9).

Steele said so in the interview below. He said tightness and pain. Also, tendonitis is what the Cubs said it was, but this was announced before he even had an MRI, so them saying "tendonitis" is more of a guess, probably because he says its the same thing he felt last Sept when he went to the IL, which they at the time diagnosed as "left elbow flexor tendinitis", but I believe that was also before he had an MRI in Sept. Key is that the UCL is a ligament, not a tendon, so a UCL could not have "tendonitis". However, note that Alzolay also was diagnosed with "right flexor strain" in May 2024 when he went to the IL but ended up having TJS a few months later, so what the Cubs say may not be 100% accurate.

1. I wasn't trying to say you were "telling lies". You said my point on the velo drop in August was "spurious" so I pointed out that I was just going by what you said on the velo drop. 2. I didn't say "put him on the 60 day IL", I said they should consider it.

1. You said a velo drop started in Aug so I was assuming what you said was factual. 2. I didn't say it's TJS, I said he's on TJS watch. Which means there's some red flags that typically occur before TJS so the Cubs should be very cautious with him. Nobody is saying he needs TJS, and it's not "panic" to be cautious about a pitcher's elbow when he's going through very similar as Alzolay did before he needed TJS. 3. The Cubs under Jed have also had SP mostly with below-average velo (besides Taillon who was average when signed), which I think is a factor in them avoiding TJS for SP. Alzolay and Steele both went down with elbow issues in early Sept and had a short IL stint, and then they brought both back later in Sept instead of shutting either of them down for the season, then they both sucked early the next season and went down early with elbow issues again. Cubs know more than any of us here, but i'm not going to assume they're infallible either. For the record I was someone who thought they should have just shut down Steele for the rest of the season last Sept while some others on here wanted him back "because he needs to build up innings to be able to throw a full season", which is an insane reason to bring back a guy who is having elbow issues. But whatever, i guess i was just "panicking" LOL.

Who knows. None of us are experts including me so I guess we'll just hope and stay tuned.

Explain.

I didn't say they should put him on the 60 day IL. I said they should consider it. There's no reason to put him on yet before an MRI, or even before his 15 day stint is done. They need to be very cautious, which they are so far. Saying it's "panic" to be very cautious when there's red flags everywhere is ridiculous.

Well they haven't done an MRI on Steele yet so they don't know the exact issue, all he's said is he had tightness and pain in the elbow during his last start and the day after. Steele did say it felt the same as the discomfort last Sept

Velo drop could be anything, including just age, but it starting right before he went on the IL last Sept isn't exactly a good.

Not nearly as dumb as that response.

I'm just saying out of an abundance of caution they should consider it. Yes they have to do the MRI first. This is very similar to what happened before Alzolay was sent off for TJS last year. Elbow problems in Sept the season before, oddly poor performance early the next season, then shut down with more elbow problems. The doctors and the MRIs didn't save him from that either.

That first injury last year was hamstring not elbow. He has all the red flags: velo down, unusually poor performance, elbow discomfort/inflammation, multiple IL stints. They need to tread carefully.

He had the offseason to rest this but it still flared up again. Given the struggling performance all spring and early season IMO he's officially on Tommy John watch.

His velo has been down a tick too, plus his performance has been terrible besides last start, which was helped by the wind/cold and a struggling Texas lineup. I'm no doctor but they should really consider a 60-day IL stint and just shut him down. If he's not throwing for a month then gears up + Iowa rehab that should cover the 60 days easily. Also whoever is scheduling these early April night games is an idiot.

If it makes us feel any better, Tanner Scott has been sucky so far and his velo is down. I would have liked if they signed Robertson or someone else and not left a ton of money on the table. Merryweather's velo hasn't been near his 2023 velo yet so I'm not counting on a 2023 return but maybe he can be not sucky as a middle reliever. Maybe Keller can be the 2025 Mayweather. If Pressly can have a good year that's 3 solid relievers hopefully. Brown is also a pen candidate when Assad is back.

Price for Workman from Tigers just went down a bit LOL

Cubs have the best run differential in the MLB as of right now, even with the 2 extra games in Tokyo and losing them.

He looks pretty bad on secondaries. Plus he's been chasing them. Hard to be a bench rookie though.

YYYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!

Unfortunately Luke Little and Palencia can't hit the broad side of a barn. Which would put them on par with the rest of the Cubs staff. HA!

Night games this early in April is cruel for players and fans.

35m x 12 years = 420m

I wonder if he gets paid in US dollars. The exchange rate would make it far more expensive for the Jays. Fantastic hitter. Hopefully he keeps managing the weight well. If I were the Jays i'd put that into the contract since big guys tend to break down when they age. Playing 1B should save his joints a bit, but not sure about that turf. Obviously better than the old turf.