As the Cubs head into the offseason, the team is expected to look at reviving many of the summer trade deadline talks that never came to fruition, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. As president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said yesterday, Chicago is after pitching. The team could rejoin its pursuit of pitchers such as Tyson Ross of the Padres, Julio Teheran of the Braves, and Carlos Carrasco of the Indians, per Wittenmyer. Interestingly, he adds that the Cubs are rather enamored of Indians converted outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall, who rather suddenly became an outstanding right fielder last year after moving off of third base. Wittenmyer says it wouldn’t be surprising to see Javier Baez, Starlin Castro, or Jorge Soler (or any two of them) moved for pitching this winter, adding that Atlanta is “especially high on Soler.”
Here are some more notes out of the NL Central:
- The Cardinals could see some turnover this winter, and MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch takes a look at the overall roster situation. She notes that the organization may not be able to strike as quickly as it has in past offseasons if it makes Jason Heyward a priority, as his market may take a bit longer to come into focus. New reserve options at catcher and the middle infield could be pursued, and bullpen additions — possibly including a re-signing of Carlos Villanueva — appear likely.
- Meanwhile, the Cardinals will maintain the same coaching staff for 2016, Langosch reports. The whole group had been invited back, and reached new agreements in short order. Serving under manager Mike Matheny once again will be bench coach David Bell, first base coach Chris Maloney, third base coach Jose Oquendo, pitching coach Derek Lilliquist, hitting coach John Mabry, assistant hitting coach Bill Mueller, and bullpen coach Blaise Ilsley.
- The Reds have announced some coaching staff changes for 2016, with Mark Riggins taking over as the pitching coach and Tony Jaramillo joining the staff as assistant hitting coach. Per the club, Jim Riggleman will remain the bench coach under skipper Bryan Price, while Don Long (hitting), Billy Hatcher (third base), Freddie Benavides (first base), Mack Jenkins (bullpen), and Mike Stefanski (catching) all return.
- In an inter-division switch, the Brewers have hired away Derek Johnson from the Cubs to serve as their pitching coach, David Kaplan of CSN Chicago and ESPN Chicago reports on Twitter. Johnson had served as the minor league pitching coordinator in Chicago after a lengthy stint at Vanderbilt University’s outstanding baseball program.
Does anyone see the Cubs going after Greinke?
Two problems with that. The Dodgers want Greinke to stay and the Cubs want to extend Arrieta, which will be very expensive if he even agrees to it at all. I’d imagine the Cubs will go after a middle tier starter over one of the really pricey guys, though Zimmerman wouldn’t be too surprising.
Right on. Their rotation depth was challenged in the playoffs for sure.
Somewhat surprised they would think of trading Soler.
if Gordon Wittenmyer says they are it means they’re not
the Cubs have 5 more years of control over him so i doubt they’re looking to move him after 1 injury plagued year.
No.
The Cubs aren’t trading Soler. Sorry Atlanta.
Teheran is worth more than Soler anyway. The Cubs would have to throw in more for him.
because every pitcher sees his value skyrocket after posting a 4.40 FIP…
i don’t know why the Cubs would want Teheran, honestly. there were a lot of red flags about him this year and the trade price would be ridiculous.
Does a poor defensive RF who also hit below average have a ton of value? I’m not a big fan of Teheran, but at least he has had several seasons of success at the MLB level. At this point Soler is only potential.
Haha, right. He has 600+ innings on his arm…Soler is a big bat and a cannon in the outfield. How can any team validate trading more players for the quality of pitcher Teheran has proven? He will have TJ surgery in ’16 or ’17. You’ll see.
Teheran is worth more than Soler. The Cubs would have to throw in more to get him.
I don’t think the Cubs have the next OF prospect ready to plug in in RF. With Fowler heading out the door I think they will hold onto Soler for upside depth if nothing else.
Homerun production in ’16
Rizzo 40
Bryant 35
Soler 32
Schwarber 30
If Soler and Schwarber are everyday players that # will go up.
Trade soler for shelby miller and bring up the outfield prospect
I like the Miller idea. However, if the Braves do that it would mean they essentially traded Hayward for Soler. Heyward for Miller was a huge steal for the Braves despite Miller’s record in 2015. Braves get a stud pitcher and Cardinals get one year of Heyward. They might resign him but they would have been able to do that now anyways if they hadn’t traded Miller.
I feel like the Cubs would be stupid to resign Fowler. He’ll be expensive and they have a viable alternative in Almora. While many think Fowlers presence atop the lineup is irreplaceable, I would like to believe Addison Russel or Starlin Castro could fill the void if Almora couldn’t. Either way, I feel the Cubs would be smart to pass on Fowler and put those funds towards the likes of Price, Greinke, Cueto, or Zimmermann.
I have to agree. If the Cubs added a big-time arm they would be pretty scary in ’16.
If the Cubs have to choose between Fowler or a TOR arm, I agree that they would be better off spending money on a top SP than Fowler. However, it’s a stretch to call Almora a viable alternative. His bat would be a huge downgrade over Fowler. Almora’s bat has been unimpressive the last two years playing in A+ and AA.
As a Cubs fan, I would much rather see Fowler brought back and a mid-level starter (i.e. Mike Leake) than a 210MM David Price. I’m not sold on Almora, and neither Castro or Russell is close to Fowler as a table setter at the top of the lineup.
I liked your thoughts until you said sign another big name picture. I’m more of a fan of picking up a young controlled arm via trade. Also, what’s the likelihood that Pierce Johnson or another minor league arm is ready for MLB sometime in 2016?
The Leake suggestion was only if they have money to spend, then I would rather than use it on Fowler than Price, and sign a mid-level guy instead. I think everyone is more a fan of picking up a controllable arm via trade, but a guy like Carrasco, Quintana, or Ross would all come at a steep prospect price.
As for Johnson, I believe he is Rule 5 eligible, so if he’s added to the 40 man to protect him from that, he’ll likely be in the majors at some point next year
Castro drew what 20 bb all season?
Never will be a lead off hitter. Nor will Russell
Fowler was the best leadoff man Cubs have had in years.
Re Reds Coaching Staff
Riggleman doesn’t remain the bench coach, he was the third base coach last season and Jay Bell was the bench coach. That appears to mean that Hatcher is moving across the diamond to replace him, Benavides is taking over at first base and Bell is out of a job along with pitching coach Jeff Pico.
Big market blues…