Last month, the Boston Globe’s Nick Cafardo reported that Trevor Cahill had offers from the Pirates and Orioles to sign as a starting pitcher, but he turned them down in favor of a relief role with the Cubs. Cafardo noted that Cahill’s preference was to start, but that he preferred to remain in Chicago. Today, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets that, according to Cubs pitching coach Chris Bosio, the Pirates’ offer was for two years. The deal he accepted from the Cubs was only for one year and $4.25MM. It sounds, then, like Cahill’s preference to stay with the Cubs was strong indeed. Here’s more from the NL Central.
- This offseason hasn’t gone the way the Cardinals had planned, with Jason Heyward and John Lackey heading elsewhere and David Price rejecting them for the Red Sox. But GM John Mozeliak is confident the team has what it needs to succeed, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. “I feel like the answer for us is still we feel we have the right pieces,” he says. “If we go out and add an outfielder – where are they going to play? Who is not playing? How does that affect us? What does the short-term view look like vs. the long-term commitment? Honestly, we feel very comfortable with what we have.” Mozeliak says the team likes the idea of giving Randal Grichuk the opportunity to start in center field. The club also likes the idea of giving playing time to Stephen Piscotty and Brandon Moss.
- Mozeliak says there has lately been “more momentum” for bringing the designated hitter to the National League, according to Goold (on Twitter). Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein also addressed the possibility of the DH coming to the NL today, according to Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald (also on Twitter). “We have so many good hitters coming that we wouldn’t mind the DH,” Epstein says. Against most NL competitors, the DH likely would be an advantage for the Cubs, given their strong group of young hitters and the presence of a defensively-challenged slugger in Kyle Schwarber on their roster. Epstein adds, though, that he doesn’t feel any change to NL rules is imminent.
My grandfather hated the DH but he’s in heaven my Father liked it more than some after about five years in.He is now dead I. Love the DH in both leagues and pray it happens but my kid who is a White Sox fan like my self knows both leagues need it .I pray I see it before my death I’m 57 and a Cub fan we needed it for over 10years now.
Out of all the things someone would genuinely pray to see in their lifetime, the DH, or lack thereof, seems really unimportant
It is a figure of speech, meaning in terms of baseball he just really wants to see the DH come to the NL…C’mon man lol
True. Lol
i’m sure he probably covets those prayers
Nathaniel… This is MLBTR, not Facebook. Please leave those kinds of snarky responses off this page.
When the only joy people get from watching pitchers hit comes from Bartolo Colon, you know it’s time for a change. Bullpens have made pinch hitting a pitcher for a utility bench player even more irrelevant.
To each his own, but I derive the same amount of joy (not much) from watching fat old sluggers waddle up to the plate and either walk or hit a home run. Keep real baseball.
Its not real baseball, its a mockery of it, because pitchers never learn the trade – its no different to letting someone in the crowd hit. I shouldnt pay good money to watch someone not know what they’re doing.
Pitchers never learn the trade the same way DH’s never learn the trade of defense? I’m not gonna have a fit if the NL gets a DH, but it most certainly is not real baseball
I’m not a fan of the DH, but I’m less a fan of having year-round interleague play where the rules change for a team depending on the stadium they’re playing in. I’m also a realist that understands the MLBPA will never allow the DH to go away because of the money attached to it. The DH needs to come to the NL to eliminate the travesty that occurs when an AL team is forced to sit a $20 million player in the final weekend of a penant race because the schedule put them in An NL park.
I agree with a lot of what you said.
However, I think the bigger travesty is a guy getting paid $20mil and sitting in a pennant race because he hasn’t touched a glove in 5 years.
If a multi-million dollar earning athlete cannot stand at first base and catch a ball without being considered such a huge liability, I am not saddened by the rules not changing to gloss it over.
Yeah.. Real baseball is watching thos NL sluggers, such as Daniel Cabrera come to the plate, or AL pitcher’s get hurt and have to miss starts running the bases. Careers ruined, like that of Chien Wang from injuring initially the bases, then his arm adjusting to it.
Toss the pitcher’s hitting, or interleague play if the NL can’t figure out that it’s in their own best interest. They will be the ones missing out on gate receipt loss if it happens anyway.
What happens if you find a great defensive center fielder or shortstop that cannot hit at all? Do we change the rules to allow someone to hit for him as well? Why not just make it like the NFL and have separate offenses and defenses? 9 players field and those same 9 players should hit. If the pitchers can’t hit, then take they should more batting practice. Pitchers should not be pitching machines, they are baseball players and part of playing baseball is hitting.
I love this comment.
I also love this comment.
The NL remains the only league on the planet where untrained pitchers hit.
As opposed to the AL where guys that can’t bend over to field ground balls get to call themselves professional athletes.
Well said Ray Ray, I’d much rather watch the NL, more strategy involved.
the nfl, where some teams get a first round bye in the playoffs. ehat other sport does that? zero. make them play.
Rather watch some of those large boddied players you mention than ANY pitcher hit.. Some may be inducted into the HOF even for their bat alone.
If the NL teams and their fan’s can’t get over the fact that dumping pitcher’s coming to the plate is boring? Dump interleague play. Like said above.. NL teams are the ones who will come out on the short end anyway.
Just go back to playing with that farce of a rule with pitcher’s picking up a stick between NL team’s only and during the WS when in a NL park..
Wrong, central league in the KBO allows pitchers to hit
My dad, and his dad, both despised the DH. They didn’t like it when it came to the AL and my dad doesn’t like it now, as my grandpa has been passed away for close to 15 years now. I personally love watching pitchers hit.
Moz is full of it! This team couldn’t hit for sh*t last year and we lost Heyward and just offered him $200 mill so how’s he gonna say where would the current guys play?? If Heyward accepted was he gonna play SS or pitch?? Cmon man go feed that bull somewhere else!
If JHey did sign, they could have gone after someone to fill the holes with the extra OF. Considering MIA is dangling Ozuna for gold, STL’s OF would get something nice from someone in need of additional help that couldn’t afford a FA upgrade.
That would have been a dumb move. I will bet Piscotty and/or Grichuk will outhit Heyward and for no money!! Cards need a big bat should have went after Davis. They also need help in starting staff and bullpen! But according to Mo were set! Smfh
Mo has blown it this year with aging stars. Cliff Lee and a Rockies outfielder is what’s needed. Cargo is a great fit for two years.
I personally like watching both leagues how they are. Watching pitchers like Bumgarner and Greinke hit is preferable to Adam LaRoche (for example). And I love me some smallball.
Would be interesting to see how KC would do in the National League, allowing the pitcher to hit.
They had that chance. KC was the first choice to switch leagues in 1997, but they declined and Milwaukee was picked instead.
Me too. Back before the Astros were switched to the AL, there was serious discussion of moving the Rockies to the AL instead. Even though I have been a serious Rockies fan since they started in 1993, I would have found a new team to root for.
DH in Coors Field would be great pretty fun to watch.
Not for me.
should have made the brewers go back to the al
The Astros shouldn’t have been the team to switch. There are only 2 teams in Texas and they are both in the AL. The Rockies or Diamondbacks should have been moved instead.
Epstein’s comments could also be read that they don’t want their presumed DH playing the field – which is understandable if he means Schwarber.
The B.S. About the DH is having inter league play year round. Gives the AL team who preps an additional power hitter as a DH a huge advantage. Either big bat in lineup or big bat on bench. NL team does not invest in a bigger bat
Hopefully the DH in the N.L. will be adopted as part of the next CBA, which expires following the upcoming season. it’s about time that some sort of resolution comes about concerning the DH. It’s ludicrous to have two different sets of rules governing each league, especially with in season inter-league play.
I prefer the DH, but could have lived without it. It’s more important that the same rules apply to both leagues in MLB. Resolution of this issue also ought to help in negotiations with the MLBPA, who would undoubtedly favor it’s passage. Then MLB can begin addressing the most pressing issues involving it’s sport like more equitable revenue sharing, a salary cap, increased roster sizes, expansion (including abroad), tweaking free agency and the arbitration process and finally implementing advanced technology like laser programmed strike zones to improve the sport and rid the game of it’s biggest “judgement” call, something no other professional sport could ever hope to do.
Interleague games and even World series games benefit AL teams, when they are played on the AL’s home field. Yes, you can argue well when they play in a NL park the AL team possibly loses one of their best bats…
But it is MUCH EASIER to have an AL DH field a position, than it is to find an All-Star caliber hitting player on your bench. AL teams construct their roster around the DH, NL teams do not, and their DH is usually a back-up PH’Ing 1B, or they put in a bench player to give one of their starters some rest.
It truly is an unfair fight, and really no legitimate winning argument can be made that is isn’t…
Here’s why I’m for it:
1. It would even the playing field for interleague games and WS games played in AL parks. Cause truly the NL is fighting an uphill battle right now with an uneven playing field.
2.It would increase the longevity of some of the careers of NL catchers.
3. It would allow them to draft better hitters who they might originally shy away from due to defensive concerns. Several good hitting prospects are passed up due to defensive concerns, and this leads to the AL teams taking them knowing they can ultimately just slide them into the DH spot.
4. You would no longer have to worry about your star pitcher getting hurt batting or running the bases….
Why I’m Against it:
1. Solely for historical purposes and the nostalgia.
So my better judgement says it is more logical to just go ahead and add the DH to the NL…
A hugely OVERLOOKED aspect of this argument is my “#3 reason for the DH to the NL.”
youtube.com/watch?v=OjlHvTZq1E8
I wish the AL would give up the DH. I am and always will be against the DH in either league. I love watching pitchers hit and the strategy of the game. There is no strategy I’m the AL. There is always strategy in play in the NL.
What about a team like the Giants who actually have an advantage by having Madison Baumgartner pitch? How exciting is it to see a pitcher hit a HR?
I’d like to see a universal DH rule where the DH stays in the game only as long as the starting pitcher does. You still get the (early) added offensive opportunities, but you’d also get some strategy as to when to pull your pitcher. You might even keep a roster spot or two open for a position player to pinch-hit late in the game, as opposed to an eighth relief pitcher.
Whether the NL gets the DH or the AL loses it, I couldn’t care one way or the other. The one thing I do know is that as things stand the NL clubs are severely handicapped in their inter league match ups and that needs to end. AL teams can afford to offer bigger and longer contracts on sluggers because once their defense is gone they can just throw them in the DH slot, while the NL team would have to deal with their deteriorating defense. There’s also the matter that the current AL DH is a much better hitter than the guys that NL teams use to fill in their DH slot during interleague matchups. NL squads don’t have David Ortiz, Kendrys Morales, etc etc, instead they’ve got 4th OFers and utility infielders. It’s no wonder the AL usually wins the h2h match up totals. One way or the other, make the rules the same.
#BantheDH that is all
I don’t get how you guys say it’s not real baseball. when you get to the show its a whole different level of baseball that we all wouldn’t understand unless we have set foot in the show. real baseball is where the pitcher faces 9 mlb ready hitters not 8 and a pitcher. top 1 bases loaded the pitcher is up I want to see that pitcher face a batter not a chappy pitcher hitting. or walk the 8th batter to face the 9th batter early in a game it’s just dumb at that level
I’m willing to accept that there are many different opinions on the DH, but I can’t help but reject an argument which redefines “real baseball.” “Real baseball” most certainly is NOT the DH, which didn’t exist when the game was created, nor did it even exist with the creation of the American League. The designated hitter was first tried in 1969 and was abandoned until being picked back up as a trial run in 1973. By this time,baseball had been played for well over one hundred years.
Like it or don’t, but don’t try to redefine baseball history.
What’s everyone’s opinion regarding the time-frame it would require to implement the DH in the NL? It’s ridiculously overdue. Could we see this in 2017? This is the first time in quite awhile that I’ve read it’s even being discussed.
I like watching Managers actually have to manage a game – not putting the game on autopilot for 9 innings.
I like players being responsible for both sides of the ball.
I like rosters having to be constructed in ways that doesn’t allow a guy who can barely tie his own shoelaces, be hidden in the DH spot.
I like to cheer for athletes – and not the kind where the longest journey of the day is the walk to first, or the walk back to the dugout after a K.
Injuries happen – that’s part of the game. If a pitcher can’t run the bases – learn to run the bases. That’s little league stuff. A lack of will or desire to improve on an entire aspect of baseball doesn’t justify changing the game even further to cover up for it.
F the DH.
Typically I think fans of AL teams are pro-DH and vice-versa.
With that said, I would like to see the pitchers bat. Makes the manager use some strategy.
Say it’s a 0-0 game in the 7th inning. Your starter is throwing a gem, but it’s his turn to bat with two outs and RISP. Do you bat for him or keep him in the game?
Besides Colon, Leake, Kershaw, Bum, and Greinke is it worth watching any pitcher hit
People keep crapping on Schwarber’s defense in the OF. Is he a great fielder? No. But is he well below average? No. If you look at the stats and sabermetrics he is about as good as Justin Upton…… maybe even a little bit better. Granted he had a small sample size in 2015, so the verdict is still out, but is he as horrible as people make him out to be? No. Also, I think people put waaaaaaaaaay to much emphasis on defense nowadays anyways. He had a -0.2 dWAR last year. Not great, again, but not this inept piece of turd people make him out to be. Justin Upton had a 0.2 dWAR last year and a -0.9 the year before that. The “amazing” fielding Alex Gordon last year in the OF had a 0.4 dWAR…… so is Schwarber really that bad? Over 9 seasons Alex Gordon has a 6.9 dWAR for his career. That’s an average of 0.8 dWAR per season. So one of the supposedly better defensive players in the game is only 1 win better than Schwarber on defense. Monumental difference…… *sarcasm*
That said, this all depends if you have faith in the WAR stat in general. I actually don’t. I just know A LOT of people do so I might as well succumb to using it.
Michael Brantley
Adam Jones
Yasmany Tomas
Nick Markakis
Melky Cabrera
Adam Eaton
Avisail Garcia…….. pretty much any White Sox outfielder
Jay Bruce
Carlos Gonzalez
Charlie Blackmon
Corey Dickerson………. pretty much the entire Rockies outfield
J.D. Martinez
Colby Rasmus
George Springer
Yasiel Puig
Joc Pederson
Giancarlo Stanton
Ryan Braun
Andrew McCutchen
Matt Kemp
Hunter Pence
Matt Holliday
Stephen Piscotty
Shin-Soo Choo
Josh Hamilton
Jose Bautista
Jayson Werth
All these notable outfielders are only slightly better than a -0.2 dWAR outfielder or way worse over the course of their careers. Yet no one says these guys are solely fit for DH duties. I mean has anyone said Andrew McCutchen, career -1.3 dWAR/average -0.2 dWAR per season, is suited for only DH duties? Or how about career -4.6 dWAR Hunter Pence? Or Ryan Braun and his career -6.4 dWAR over 9 seasons? Or why is there no talk about fellow rookie Piscotty only being suited for DH work since he had a -1.0 WAR last year? Or even Bryce Harper who I left off the list who has a career 1.1 dWAR over 4 seasons….. an average of only a hair under 0.3 dWAR a season…… half a win better than Schwarber. Point is, Schwarber is not as awful as people make him out to be. The of course there was Manny Ramirez. He played almost all of his career in the AL which had the DH. Yet in all the games he played over his long career he only DHed in 14.4% of those games…….. despite his career AWFUL dWAR of -22.5 over 19 seasons……. or -1.2 dWAR per season on average. In his 19 years as a player he never once had a season with a positive dWAR….. yet he was a mainstay in LF.