Stratos
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Everything posted by Stratos
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That's the most likely scenario. If they can find a 4 WAR player at a position we need that's ready to play next year then sure, but it probably doesn't happen. Why is a win-now team trading. Mlb-ready assets? Doesn't matter because they very likely aren't going to trade him because it makes little sense at this point.
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Far better than the other FA SS though. I would take offers and trade him for basically nothing and be happy moving Hoerner to SS simply based on the fact that Swanson is only going to get older. Not terrible to keep him though for the next year or 2. Try Morel at 2b.
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If the Cubs want to compete next year you keep Nico. He can always be traded next deadline or 2025/26 offseason if Shaw/Triantos show they can hit in the MLB. We also still need a 3b, which they would provide.
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Lefty righty platoon
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On pace for about -3 war. That's 5 wins difference at catcher alone. I doubt they'll be that bad in the 2nd half though. Amaya isn't good but he's not this bad most likely. At best he's probably a backup catcher. His defense and throwing came better advertised.
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Yes. There will be lots of SP on the FA market in Dec
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Taillon has some control left which will help us. Not expecting a ton, we see
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I'm not saying the Cubs are the 98 Yankees. But 98 Yanks didn't have a single 30 HR hitter on that team or a traditional middle of the order star slugger even in that HR era. They had a lineup filled with good productive hitters and few if any black holes, sort of in the vein of the Cubs in the 2nd half of last year. Yanks did have guys who had high averages which helped raise the slug and OBP. Not going to have a team of guys hitting for that high average any more. Having a league average 3b and catcher would nab us another 3-4 wins alone at this point in the season, and 6-7 wins over a full season, that's how bad catching and 3b has been, catching is on pace for -3 WAR, and an effective pen would add more wins. Maybe enough for a playoff birth. Prospects like Caissie, PCA, Shaw, Horton etc reaching the MLB full-time would add surplus and free up cash for us to upgrade at other positions,, including someone like Soto. Trading one of Happ/Suzuki, Taillon, maybe Nico in a year or will nab more prospects to the system.
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Bernie Williams, Jorge Posada, Jeter, Paul O'Neil, Tino Martinez, Scott Brosius, Chuck Knoblauch, etc Who was the star slugger in the middle of that lineup? End of the day the team totals are the only thing that matter. How you skin the cat can vary. A team filled with good hitters with a lack of glaring holes can still win.
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Some things are Jed's fault, but I agree some things aren't. No FO exec has a crystal ball to predict every unpredictable bad season. from his players Sometimes stuff just happens. Run this season back 10 times and we'd get 10 different results.
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Absolutely. 3b, catcher, and the pen are massive problems. Morel has negative WAR. Catcher is around -1.5 right now. Everyone would love to have Soto but he doesn't fix our other fundamental problems and isn't a magic bullet. The difference between Soto and e.g. Happ is will be around 3-4 WAR. At this pace the difference between our catchers and league average catching over a full season is 5 WAR.
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We traded for prospect Michael Busch and he contributed immediately. May not be possible on all trades but it's possible. We don't know the offers Jed had from 2021. If we're selling then Taillon absolutely needs to be on the block since he's very replaceable any winter. By Opening Day 2025 we need to acquire at least 2 SP to replace Taillon (if traded), Hendricks, and Smyly, we need a catcher and probably a 3B if Morel doesn't improve dramatically from his crappy replacement level performance, we need multiple quality BP arms including someone good enough to close. They could use a quality bat somewhere. It's maddening this franchise continues to throw so many millions every year at talent with pretty obvious mostly fringe tools like Smyly, Hendricks, Mancini etc.
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And then pitchers adjusted lol
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Agree. I'm sure they'll be talking to teams and scouting systems
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This is a logical stance for them at this point. No reason to jump the market
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Hendricks IL?
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Yeah i agree.
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Cool idea
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I really like the Phillies post-hit celebration routine.
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Can't hit, can't throw, can't field, can't run
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Only if the Cubs decline a more expensive team option after 2025. The way the contract is written, even if he's really bad or really good, it seems there's a pretty low chance he leaves before end of 2027. I think it protects the Cubs by giving him a lower minimum, but if he proves he's good they can unlock an extra year through 2028 plus it gives him a raise on all his years. Here's the contract terms. It's complicated and hurts my brain: https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/player/_/id/86203/shōta-imanaga
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Wonder how the Cubs will hit against an actual good SP if they can't hit the mediocre ones.
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Not sure Jed would bother trading a guy with the Cubs history and loyalty of Hendricks for some mediocre prospect. Maybe they'd ask Hendricks if he'd prefer to stay or potentially play for a contender the rest of the year.
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It's the pitchers getting hurt. Are they teaching them all screwballs or something? Position regulars are all healthy but Tauchman and they still suck.
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It's hard for me to see Nico traded at this point. Next year I could see it with Shaw and/or Triantos potentially knocking on the door. Maybe Nico is moved not this offseason but next. Taillon and Happ could potentially be traded. Ideally they'd hold on to Happ until Caissie or other corner OF are a bit closer, but Bellinger can always play a corner if PCA & him stick next year. IMO there's some potential for an overreaction in dealing guys just to deal them. I'm more worried about improving 3B and catcher for next year. We're still in the early stages of this rebuild. With the prospects and players we have I think the state of the infield and OF look somewhat promising. Catcher is unknown because we don't know how the Cubs see Bellosteros' catching defense. We still need more HR power from somewhere.
