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Stratos

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Everything posted by Stratos

  1. Stratos
    14.5m AAV for a Smyly pen/spot starter makes no sense.
  2. Stratos
    I'm getting 2018 Tyler Chatwood/Brandon Morrow vibes. Lol. Trying to be too cute for their own good. Geez Richie Rich Ricketts just spend 10m over the tax so we can get some quality FFS. Matthew Boyd??? So tired of this org.
  3. Stratos
    Yeah maybe 4-5 innings and piggy back a few innings with the young SP in the pen. The young guys aren't going to give 170 IP either. 2/29 for an injury guy with little success track record who isn't going to throw a ton of innings still seems like an overpay.
  4. Stratos
    Why do they give players a big signing bonus? What is the purpose? Do they get that money up front?
  5. Stratos
    For bench they already have 4 OF. If they want a 5th they can use Canario or invite some guys on minor league ST invite contracts. Middle INF bench they have Mastrob plus Cowles and Vazquez. I think the only MLB guy they might go after is a RH corner bat to replace Wisdom, but that guy could also be a minor league ST invite.
  6. Stratos
    It's possible they sign another 3rd-rate SP with upside, or trade for one. That would make it 6 SP for 2 rotation spots if you count Wesneski too, and just let them all duke it out and put the others in the pen, Guys will get hurt inevitably too. I'm not particularly optimistic at this point.
  7. Stratos
    Even as the depth 2nd starter acquired this winter this is a bit of an overpay for a guy who hasn't pitched many innings in forever. Hopefully he's better than Hendricks was last year lol
  8. Stratos
    Agreed. Interesting arm but how do you give him 2/29 as THE rotation pickup? Just an odd move, trying to be too cute here IMO, kinda like the Chatwood signing. Just go pay a bit more and get proven quality without the injury history. He's Cade Horton without the stuff lol. If they want to ride the guy for 140 ip this year after not doing that in many years they're just setting him up for more injuries.
  9. Stratos
    Shaw isn't better than a 4 WAR player right now, and probably never will be, we have no idea. A hit prevented with the glove is worth exactly the same as a hit added with the bat. Nico improves the ERAs of our pitchers. If Dansby or Nico added most of their value with the bat instead of glove most fans would feel differently about them because fans are biased towards hitting.
  10. Stratos
    Guys we only need to improve the hitting, starting pitching, and bullpen. Everything's going to be fine.
  11. Stratos
    I enjoy their podcast. Part 1 of that mailbag from a few days ago they dispel the fears of the Cubs cutting payroll. They think Bellinger opting in has just limited them on payroll space so they're trying to maximize payroll room to add. That seems most likely.
  12. Stratos
    I agree rotation is the most obvious place to add wins. Walker Buehler is multiple steps and multiple wins down from the top tier FA SP, but i don't think they go that low. Unless they trade for an SP, I think the Cubs as always will likely check in on all the quality FA SP they could be interested in and sign the one that's the best bang for the buck.
  13. Stratos
    Cubs signing just a solid mid-tier SP like a Taillon-type would feel like a letdown i agree, but it would depend on how they spend the money saved between that player and a top tier SP. The difference in WAR between between them would likely be around 1.0 to 1.5. If they save 6-10m on their main FA SP and spend that to upgrade elsewhere, like the pen or catcher or a 2nd SP, and that upgrade is worth another 1.0 to 1.5 WAR, then it evens out and the point is moot. If they pocket that cash or spend it on the next Trey Mancini contract then it's a letdown. My main hope this winter like every offseason is they take whatever payroll Ricketts gives them and they maximize the potential WAR added with that money. How it shakes out it doesn't matter a lot at the end of the day. We all like having/watching top-tier players but wins are the important thing, the rest is just emotion, and investing based on emotion is very unwise. (not saying you support that).
  14. Stratos
    True. In 5 years they might suck though when some of these guys get old, unless they just spend wads more. In the meantime they're going to dominate. The next CBA needs to clean some of this up.
  15. Stratos
    So we find out its not as much an overpay, just includes deferrals. They don't call them the Dodgers for nothing! https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/11/dodgers-blake-snell-agree-to-five-year-deal.html 52m signing bonus? What does that accomplish accounting-wise?
  16. Stratos
    That seems like an overpay, but Dodgers keep getting better damn.
  17. Stratos
    Anybody on this forum could have written an article saying "Cubs probably out on the high end FAs" and have an 80% chance of being correct every year. Don't see how Bob is breaking any news here, but using the word "probably" sounds more like speculation.
  18. Stratos
    Glad we didn't sign Bellinger to a 5+ year deal.
  19. Stratos
    If you're 21 and hit like he did including the power #s as his first season in AAA i think that's an achievement for him. Much more experienced and craftier league with pitchers who have competed in the MLB. I can't see how opinions about him would change much if at all based on 2024. With his power, nice swing & approach, and selectivity i think he has a solid chance to hit with success in the MLB even with the Ks, which often just comes with power guys. The fielding, Ks, and gangly running are what may hold back his upside potential, not the power.
  20. Stratos
    They couldn't really look to add Soto if they couldn't find interest to move Bellinger. I'm not really concerned about the tight purse strings of Jed ....yet. Could be just trying to maximize dollars towards actual good players, which I've been clamoring for years for. But then we've already dropped a million+ for a negative WAR catcher who's out of options that another team DFA'd. We'll see at the end of Jan. No need to panic on every move or non-move. We're not going to sign every SP so Kikuchi is just one of many. Reducing payroll after a 83 win season isn't good business.
  21. Stratos
    Tauchman non-tendered was interesting. I agree its odd they couldn't even get a bit of cash in a trade for him, but age isn't on his side. To be honest, it makes some sense they ditched Tauchman since they have 4 starting OF already with Bellinger and one of the Iowa OF prospects probably comes up if there's any injuries, or at the very least have a good chance to be in the majors by mid-season. That would leave Tauchman the odd man out and he has no options left, so there's a decent chance they would have cut him and eat his salary at some point in the year if he couldn't be traded. Canario or a minor-league invite could make the team as a 5th OF out of ST, if they even need one. We have lots of CF depth already. If Suzuki has to move back to RF because of an OF injury there's lots of options in the minors to start or platoon at DH. Even Shaw could do it. With Cowles, Shaw, Vazquez, Mastro on INF and Bellinger/Mervis/Ballesteros as 1B backup there's a chance the Cubs could fill out their whole bench with whomever is in the org right now and just rely on minor-league ST invites to add depth. This saves several million towards actual good acquisitions this winter. I'd bet they find a cheaper/better RH bench corner bat to replace Wisdom in case Busch struggles vs LHP, but i'd prefer they dumpster dive for that. Belli can start at 1B if Busch gets hurt, no need to spend lots.
  22. Stratos
    Also sorry but the above doesn't deserve it's own thread, no idea where to put it
  23. Stratos
    No Soto, no TOR, no nobody. https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/11/cubs-rumors-unlikely-sign-top-starting-pitchers-max-fried-corbin-burnes-blake-snell.html
  24. Stratos
    He's projected for some SB, negative defensive value, and following slash-line: .235 .313 .352 That comes out to a 98 wRC+ projection. Amazing that a line like that is considered "average" hitting these days and by some miracle a projected 1.7 WAR.
  25. Stratos
    His injuries were elbow-related so not exactly good, but would otherwise love to acquire him if he's a solid bounce-back candidate. He was due about 7m in arbitration so obviously the Jays don't think he's likely to hit that value. No idea what he'll get as FA, yeah he could go back to the Jays, he's a Toronto-native also.
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