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Stratos

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Everything posted by Stratos

  1. Stratos
    He does have upside if he has a season where his walks are on the low/average side. Otherwise he's pretty average. Lefties hit him better the last few seasons so a bit strange. With Yates looks like they're bargain-hunting again instead of paying for top talent. But i assume they'll check in on everyone interesting regardless. This smells like the Neris deal.
  2. Stratos
    Hard to say on the former. They would have payroll room to add a bat. Per Soto, I don't believe any reports with a Boras negotiation, he could be dropping that to journalists to drive up bidding.
  3. Stratos
    If Nico goes for Crochet it frees up some money as well. It wouldn't be hard to replace Bellinger's offense if Seiya plays RF and DH is open. We have to remember that Nico is only slightly above average with wRC+ but provides a bunch of SB too. Probably harder to replace his offense at 2B than Bellinger. But we have Shaw/Triantos/Cowles to try.
  4. Stratos
    White Sox would probably prefer prospects in the lower minors, which works for us, would be nice to keep our main AAA guys plus Cam Smith. Maybe they'd get someone like Cruz, Rojas, Mathis, or Valdez or someone else from us. Mariners have to give up a bunch to get Nico. Between Shaw, Triantos, and Cowles (with Busch in the back pocket) you could imagine we should be able to get maybe 2 WAR a year the next 2 years out of 2B without Nico. If you can extend Crochet this is a no-brainer trade you make, he's projected one of the best SP in baseball next year.
  5. Stratos
    I was thinking about it and the situation isn't any any different than last year. We have Imanaga and they seemed to want to keep a slot open for Wicks/Brown/Assad and longterm Horton but they needed another SP so they went with Hendricks. Boyd replaces Hendricks here, leaves a spot for one of the young guys plus injuries always happen. Unfortunately doesn't move the needle much but they do have some money left to spend to stack some upgrades at pen, catcher etc
  6. Stratos
    Blue Jays could also be interested.
  7. Stratos
    I feel like Crochet seems like a better match for the Cubs than the Mariners since the Sox would want prospects rather than an MLB guy. I think any prospect is on the table for the Cubs especially if you can get an extension from Crochet. He's projected at 4.9 WAR next year, he's a stud.
  8. Stratos
    https://images.app.goo.gl/XTxB7ZvSBcZRxk6D9
  9. Stratos
    Boyd had TJS on his UCL, a separate surgery on his forearm flexor tendon, and 60 day IL for tricep issue all in the last 4 seasons. Let's hope he's better now.
  10. Stratos
    Mariners would be dumb to trade Kirby or Gilbert, it's not happening. They're trying to contend not rebuild
  11. Stratos
    What does "viable candidates" mean though? That they seem to match up well? He doesn't say "are interested in...."
  12. Stratos
    I've lived in the city. Toronto has fickle fans (and the ballpark sucks) but when the team is winning the fans come out in droves and can pay for substantial payroll. In 2016 and 2017 (their last ALCS appearance and Bautista bat-flip era) they had the highest attendance in the AL. The stadium seats 50k fans. They're also Canada's only team and all their games are nationally broadcast (the tv channel owns the team) so they can get a lot of TV viewers. They'd be smart to invest in a star player, especially with Vlad/Bichette on their way out). Most Jays fans are casual baseball fans. Ohtani would have been huge for them.
  13. Stratos
    I watched the below recent interview with Cubs Minor League hitting coordinator Rachel Folden where they talk about his hitting. She admits she doesn't have catching expertise but she also says "he can catch" and doesn't have any clear deficiencies as a catcher. He's also in better shape, and from recent AFL footage you can see he's slimmer than in Spring Training. She praises his intelligence as a hitter and ability to pick up on pitcher patterns, tipping pitches etc (which would translate well at catcher). She's obviously not going to say anything negative about the guy, but just got me thinking that the Cubs may actually think Ballesteros is a real future option at catcher and we shouldn't write him off. In the minors he's started 236 games at catcher and only 41 at 1B and 42 at DH. They haven't moved him off catcher at all yet and hasn't played much 1B, so that's a good sign. Usually they move guys off catcher lower in the minors if they don't think its a fit. Seems like he still has work to do on this throwing (not mentioned) based on last year, but if they can get his bat in the lineup at C that would be nice. Based on his youth I could see him spending virtually all of 2025 in the minors though.
  14. Stratos
    How much do the Cubs have left to spend under the tax cap after the Boyd signing? Did someone here mention about 40m? With the guess that they'll probably leave about 8 - 10m in space so around 30m left? 30m would be enough for a FA catcher, one of the better pen arms, and about 7m left for other needs (another reliever or SP, maybe a bench bat).
  15. Stratos
    Yup this is the dumbest rule change I've ever heard. People suggesting it are morons.
  16. Stratos
    I don't dislike Boyd the player, I dislike the contract. He's not good enough to be our #1 SP acquisition this winter and not cheap enough to be our 2nd SP. Even regardless, the contract isn't good. Also, Snell got $180m because the Dodgers deferred some of that contract, in today money he's making around 160m, which is still a tad high for a guy who misses as many starts as he does, but I guess the Dodgers FO has the luxury of throwing money around like candy.
  17. Stratos
    He's too old for me especially at catcher. They got him fairly cheap though. The only catcher FA I even remotely like is Jansen. Kelly if he came cheap. I wouldn't be shocked if Thaiss ends up our 2nd catcher.
  18. Stratos
    I've tried to give the benefit of the doubt on Hoyer transactions i was iffy about in past off-seasons, but my instincts have usually turned out to be correct on them. I can't give him the benefit of the doubt here anymore. End of the day he's got solid stuff but only putting up reliever innings with a career 4.85 ERA at age 34, so not sure what kind of late-career miracle they're looking for here. The contract isn't particularly good even if they acquire someone else. Maybe Lance Brozdowski will do a piece on him or something. If he can manage something like a 3.85 ERA over 110 IP then at least he's better than Hendricks was last year, so there's that LOL
  19. Stratos
    Hoyers done lots of good deals. Virtually all his smaller guaranteed FA signings are trash. Literally nobody on this forum would have signed Boyd on that contract because its stupid.
  20. Stratos
    It's not based on 1 deal if you read my post. It's a pattern of incompetence, every offseason. They overpay for mediocre players instead of investing in quality players.
  21. Stratos
    No, the contract isnt good. 2/24 is already a lot for this guy and well above the predictions. I don't think flushing 5-10m dollars early in the offseason for an intelligent spending GM is "silly" and i don't appreciate the condescension of your comment
  22. Stratos
    2/24 is understandable based on what guys have been getting so far. 2/29 is just nuts.
  23. Stratos
    Good to hear they're in on pen arms, not surprising. There's a few names there I'd have no issues cutting.
  24. Stratos
    Yeah maybe like 1/9m deal with team option. 2/29 is a joke. I've defended Jed on a lot of things and have been rooting for him, but I'm tired of these types of signings instead of signing quality players. It's so easy for this deal to turn out bad. He's 34 y/o on top of it. I've never said i wanted Jed fired but If I owned the Cubs I'd fire Jed ASAP based on this move because its a pattern of low-level waste on fringe players. Enough is enough.
  25. Stratos
    14.5m AAV for a Smyly pen/spot starter makes no sense.
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