Victor Reichman

PCA has been terrific and no Q. he's the MVP of the league. He needs 3 SB to hit 40/40. But why do they put the slowest runners in front of him, either Kelly or Amaya. If they walk or single and PCA singles, he has no option to steal a base. I would put Ramirez Shaw or Taylor in the 9 hole. Their speed wouldn't slow him down.

Suzuki has been a far better fielder this year. However, he often fails to hit the best pitch that he will see, the 1st pitch. Normally, a strike, he is automatically in the hole and getting worse pitches to hit. I am not advocating that he swing at every 1st pitch, but more often than not, it will lead to better results.

I think Happ has overall been great for the Cubs. Gold Glove defense and some power. But, this year he has fallen back esp. against LHP. Both Shaw and Taylor present better choices when a LHP is on the mound. Busch has been really good on defense, but he too has struggled. I believe that Ramirez or Shaw could spell him from time to time. At the least both Happ, Busch and maybe even Suzuki should bat lower in the order. PCA, 1st, Hoerner 2nd and Bregman 3rd should be standard. And Carson Kelly is hitting well. When he is in perhaps slot him at 4th. Not a good idea to have Carson hitting 9th as if he gets on and PCA gets a hit, PCA can't run to get an extra base.

Lineup IMO needs to change. PCA, Nico, Bregman, Suzuki, Kelly, (Conforto, Ramirez or Shaw) then Busch and Happ until they start hitting regularly.

Sorry, it is off topic, but IMO important. Why is Hoerner not hitting 2nd? With the speed duo of PCA and Nico, even double steals would be in order. Hoerner has more hits than anyone in NL since All Star Break. Bregman 3rd and Suzuki 4th. No reason in the world why Nico should bat behind Busch, Happ or others.

Excellent article. Discussing both pro and con and then coming to a conclusion. Thanks.

Assad has come to the rescue for the Cubs with their injured pitching. He never should have been sent down again. Cabrera is a total bust and a worthless pickup at least so far.

Article undervalues what Ramirez' offense can gain, esp. with playing almost everyday.

I am totally against giving up good prospects for rental players. I like the reliever, but all the rest are rentals. How did we do with Tucker, not that anybody really wants him now with his mad money

Glad we didn't fall into the Skubal trap. A 2 month rental in exchange for several top prospects. He will pig up a payroll when he hits free agency.

It appears that the Cubs are unlikely to win the division. This puts them squarely with many other teams in the Wild Card position, where they now sit comfortably. However, I wouldn't give up any top prospect for a rental. We made that mistake with Tucker. If it's someone with club control, that's a different scenario. If they were on top of their division, it could have been different.

Bregman has changed from being a strictly pull hitter to using the entire field. His home run to right proved this point. He had the comfort of the short porch at Houston and the LF wall in Boston. The Cubs down the line are 353 and 355, actually more than most parks. It is wise that he will expand to RF, much as Hoerner does.

Hard NO on Soler. We have better bench players in Ramirez, Shaw, Triantos and whomever isn't catching.

Dean Kremer of Baltimore as Balt won't make playoffs and he won't be expensive. Not a top tier pitcher but has good stuff.

I still like Dean Kremer of Baltimore. Baltimore is a very long shot to get a playoff slot. Not a frontline starter, but really good stuff.