G.Krisch

Love that he's getting so many at bats, and that he's hitting in the middle of the lineup. Mo Baller gets a lot of singles, hits a lot of line drives, hits the occasional home run, takes his walks and doesn't strike out a lot. He's a real gem. He better not be trade bait this offseason.

Have you actually looked to see how Lugo has pitched the last couple seasons?

If Toronto drops back a bit, I can see a trade for Bassitt or Gausman. Innings eaters as a floor, with the potential to be more.

Brujan would spell PCA, unless he needs to sit for more than a couple games. Having Alcantara rot on the bench makes no sense.

Right now, Tucker or Seiya should bat second. You want them to get as many at bats as possible. I agree that Turner is toast.

Cowles is off to a great start except for the Ks. Ouch.

I've been saying for over a year that he should be getting in time at 1B. He has the profile for it. The problem with thinking he's the next man up if Busch gets hurt is he hasn't logged an inning over there yet. I'm high on long. I love his swing. They are totally different players, but something in his swing reminds me of Kris Bryant.

Caissie still hasn't played an inning at 1B. I doubt he gets recalled to play there if Busch gets hurt.

He's still super lanky, but it looks like he's thicker in the shoulders and chest. He might not fill out completely until he 25+.

There is video of him swinging down in Arizona the other day. He looks the fittest he's ever been.

Drury has been worth 2.0 WAR in 10 seasons, when 2.0 is the measure for a starter. For one season. He was -2.0 WAR last year. No. Avoid like the plague.

I like your breakdown for his 2025. He can do all of that while still improving at the plate.

For 2026, I'd love to see an OF defense of Alcantara, PCA, and Tucker. Or, Happ, PCA, and Alcantara, if Tucker isn't resigned. This would help the pitching quite a bit. This article makes me think again about the Tucker trade. On paper, it would seem that Alcantara would've been a better fit for Houston than Smith in that trade. The Astros acquired two third basemen, even though they also need help in the OF. That probably means at least the Astros aren't very high on the Jaguar. That said, they really do have too many quality, upper-level minors/pre-arb players for 2025. Either at the trade deadline, or next offseason, they need to trade one of Happ or Seiya. Their NTCs can be overcome with the right incentives. If Happ likes a certain city, he might be on board if another year or two are added on to his current deal. Seiya might be willing if he was able to play more OF. Also, once Nico proves he's healthy, he should be packaged. I love his glove, but I don't think his bat will age well. He swings from his heels but still has one of the lower bat speeds in the league. Once he loses even a hint of his meager bat speed, his production will fall off a cliff. Once he proves he's healthy, they need to cash in that trade chip. I'm shocked Caissie hasn't gotten in reps at 1B at this point, even with his OF defense improving to "average." For his long-term career, having COF/1B on his resume will be important. The Cubs need to sort out a lot of players in the next 1-2 seasons, and a number of trades will have to happen in order to accomplish this.

What about Eli Morgan? Also, who backs up 1B?

With the Twins looking into possibly being sold, they might not want to dedicate around $15 million in catchers for 2025, with $10 million of that for Vazquez. That contract is probably unmovable, so maybe the Cubs can try to pry Jeffers away? He's solid on both sides of the ball, and would pair with Amaya for a solid 50/50 split.