It continues to be a quiet offseason for the Cubs, though president of baseball operations Theo Epstein tells Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune that the team remains active in exploring various options for upgrades. “There are times to be aggressive and times to be patient, and there are times when you can be aggressive and times where you have to be patient,” Epstein said. “Every offseason is unique. We’re working hard, and there are a lot of things we’re trying to do behind to the scenes to make sure we have a successful season next year. I know thus far we haven’t added the big names that get the fans excited. I understand that’s part of the expectations in the offseason.” Trades, moreso than free agents, have taken up much of Epstein’s time as of late, he said. This could potentially tie into the biggest recent item concerning the Cubs, namely the possibility that they could make a play for Bryce Harper if they can carve out enough payroll room.
More from around the Senior Circuit…
- Even with Cory Spangenberg now officially in the fold, the Brewers continue to be open for business in looking for infield help, general manager David Stearns told MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy and other reporters. A “wide variety” of free agent infielders are under consideration, as well as trade possibilities, and the option of acquiring a third baseman and then shifting Travis Shaw back to second base.
- MLB.com’s Steve Gilbert doesn’t see the Diamondbacks trading Archie Bradley or Jake Lamb this offseason, though in Lamb’s case, that could be due in part for his injury-shortened down year in 2018. Arizona’s trade of Paul Goldschmidt is the defining move of its offseason, and while the team may still be weighing trades of Zack Greinke, David Peralta, or others, the D’Backs have resisted going into a full rebuild. Bradley is only arbitration-eligible for the first time this winter, so he’s still a long-term piece for the D’Backs who could factor into the team’s plans when it again makes a full-on push for contention.
- The Reds announced a series of organizational hires yesterday, including a familiar name joining the coaching staff. Former Reds right-hander Caleb Cotham has been hired as assistant pitching coach, working under pitching coach (and Cotham’s former coach at Vanderbilt) Derek Johnson. Cotham pitched in parts of seven seasons as professional ballplayer, including 35 games and 34 innings for the Yankees and Reds in 2015-16, before retiring prior to the 2017 campaign.
The Cubs will not get Bryce Harper.
Christmas = December 25th
Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Christmas is not 12/25 on the orthodox calendar….
How about a reason or just they won’t get Harper. You have said nothing to back that statement up. So really you have accomplished nothing other than being the first to comment. Yup you won
They won’t pay him what he wants.
They won’t give him the years he wants.
They have too many outfielders.
They won’t be able to move Heyward.
Pick one.
Most importantly 95% of real Cubs fans dont want him.
Amen to that
Yeah that’s the most important reason the Cubs won’t sign Harper is because 95% of real cubs fans don’t want him. Make sure to text Theo to ensure he knows
Thank you
ThatBallwasBryzzoed-Believe me, if signing Bryce Harper means that Jason Heyward is traded then 95% of Cubs fans will be thrilled. They should also be happy knowing that this could make Kris Bryant more likely to agree to a contract extension before he can become a free agent three offseason’s from now.
I’m a 5 percenter
The ball was what?
Donger need food
Lake big lake
They won’t get Harper….because they don’t need him.
I will not marry Olivia Wilde.
Bummer dude.
Yes, she is taken and we are very happy.
Jason?
if the cubs get harper i hope he can start because that rotation is mediocre at best
Lester Hendricks Hamels darvish and Quintana? You call that mediocre? Cubs won 95 games without darvish and Hamels for most of season .
Logic is only applied to teams you don’t hate.
Hamels hasn’t been good in years. Quintana has always been a mid rotation at best guy, darvish is old and not the same guy. Lester has lost a step or two or three… The only decent one is Hendricks. Yeah. Mediocre at best.
Mikel, that rotation is not that impressive actually.
That whizzing sound you just heard was your credibility going right out the window
Hamels temained goid outside of Texas.
Lester still putches well.
Q is used as a mid to back guy
Hendricks is very good.
Yu is undetermined
That impressive and mediocre at best are two different things
Apparently you didn’t see Hamels with the Cubs last year. Since saying he hasn’t been good in years makes you look clueless.
“Hamels hasn’t been good in years.” Thanks for spouting this idiotic nonsense. He was absolutely great for the Cubs, last year. I’ll know to skip right over your comments, in the future.
Tell me a better starting 5……????
Dodgers have Kershaw hill and bueller. Ryu is nonexistent since he went to LA
I’ll take the Cubs “mediocre” rotation over a team like the card who have one good starter.
Brewers dont even have 1,2 or 3 starter. When wade miley is your ace you have major issues.
The pirates are not very good outside or Jameson Taillon. Chris Archer is not the same as he was in Tampa.
Ryu is nonexistent? He has a hard time staying healthy, but the dude had a 1.97 era in 82 innings this year. That’s Josh Hader type numbers. Yes Hader pitches in probably more high leverage situations, but at the end of the day, an Out is an Out. Ryu was one of the more valuable pitchers in 2019.
Josh hader is exactly what his name suggests. Hes a hater on anyone who is not white. Even as a Cubs fans. People digging up stuff like that when the dude was 15 is petty af. Hader won’t have a repeat year. I think the brewers trade him in July to maybe Anaheim, Oakland, Mets.
Pirates aren’t very good outside of Taillon?
Here’s the truth Cub fan, Pirates were #2 in team ERA in NL after All-Star break last season. Plus, unlike your old, trending down, starting staff, the Pirates Pitchers are young and improving!
I call that a staff that is trending the wrong way. All have seen their best days pass them by. Each and every one of these Pitchers have age/injury concerns.
This truth combined with the poor state of Cubs farm system makes it likely Theo will look hard at trading Bryant or Rizzo next winter to rebuild the farm system.
Hamels hasn’t been good in years?? I guess the 12 starts with the Cubs last year with a 2.36 ERA is bad? Not to mention, in 2016, in the AL, he was 15-5 with a 3.32 ERA and 200 IP..
Lester was 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA. Yeah….he’s lost a step or two or three lol
Lester lost a step or three. Were you in a coma last year? Darvish is old. Ever hear of math? Hendricks is mediocre. Were you dropped as a baby? Yikes!
Hamels was pretty good for the Cubs..
This comment section really devolved into Cub trolls vs Cub fans. Boring af. “Ever hear of math?”. Really grade school stuff in here
Chris Archer was not the same in Tampa as he once was in Tampa.
Did you not watch baseball last year? Hamels pitched very well for the cubs last year. He had a good year as a whole and a great one with the Cubs. Gotta love all the bandwagon Dodgers “fans” coming out after 2 World Series appearances (and losses) showing they know nothing about baseball
You can tell you are a cubs homer saying the cards only have one good starter. Your rotation is going to be worse than last year merely because Darvish will be healthy. Heck Reyes, Hudson, Gomber, Poncedeleon are all better than Darvish and probably better than Quintana as well. Yet none of them are projected to be in the cards rotation next year. At least be accurate if you are going to talk trash about the cards. Mikolas, Flaherty and Martinez are as good as anyone in your rotation. Wacha was pitching great until he got hurt and missed the last 3 months of the season. So 3 very good pitchers, 1 good pitcher, and the number 5 will be weak simply because it will be Waino until he is hurt and then it will be a good young pitcher. Too bad the cubs don’t actually know how to develop pitching. If you have an injury your rotation gets worse. If the cards have an injury their rotation either gets better, or doesn’t even lose a step. By the way how does having a bottom 3 farm system feel? Your window is closing fast there in Wrigleyville!
@davieboy742 lifelong cubs fan here and i don’t think they’re in the top 10. Cleveland, Washington, Dodgers, Yankees, Boston, Houston, and Mets are definitely better starting rotations. I’d put the Cubs in the next tier with St Louis, Rockies, Phillies, and DBacks.
The Cubs’rotation may outperform their true talent level (again) because of their top 3 team defense, but yeah, I’d prob rank them 10th or 11th.
@raiders wins are no way to judge a pitcher. That’s a team stat. The 6 other pitchers who pitched most like Lester last year had a cumulative record of 53-75. How similar were they? Lester had a K-BB% of 11.2%, this group outperformed him at 11.9%. This group had a groundball rate of 37.5%, Lester had a 37.7% GB rate. Lester induced a lower rate of pop ups (8.8% to 9.8%), and gave up basically the same amount of home runs (12.4% for Lester, 12.7% for the group). Lester might be a bit better at inducing weak contact through sequencing and iq, and his team’s defense is top shelf, so his ERA will appear better than this group, who posted an ERA of 4.41, but That’s really close to his 2017 ERA. I expect him to be in the low to mid 4s ERA this year. His K rate dropped under 20% for the first time since his rookie season. He has definitely lost a few steps. Sorry.
Same situation with Milwaukee w/ three guys just entering the rotation in Burnes, Woodruff and Peralta. I like the stability of the Cubs rotation but Milwaukee’s has more upside.
Hader just had his second good season. He has been nothing but lights out since he picked up a baseball in the bullpen. He’s about as safe of a bet in mlb as there is for 2019.
I agree that people are vastly underrating the young pitchers in the Cardinals rotation but I disagree that the Cubs don’t know how to develop pitching. They have stated that they make drafting hitters a priority, and their hitting reflects that. Epstein prefers to trade/sign pitchers
You make a very good point. Our teams are pretty much opposites in that aspect. The cards focus heavily on drafting pitcher, and with the exception of Gorman almost never draft hitters early. The Cubs do basically focus on drafting hitters. I think the cubs might have to adjust their strategy just a bit though. One reason the cards never go for hitting is the fact that the best hitters are taken in the top 10, and the cards never draft anywhere near there. It’s easier to choose a good pitcher late first round, and other pitchers with the size and upside in the subsequent rounds and at least have a couple of them pan out into decent bullpen arms if not starters. The cubs are in the same boat as the cards since they are winning and are going to be hard pressed to draft the Rizzo, Bryant, Baez type bats. It might become more viable to draft pitching and trade for hitting in the immediate future. Idk if that’s a philosophical switch Epstein will consider, but it’s interesting to ponder
@scott Kliesen
I’m a Cubs fan, and I agree with you on the Pirates rotation. I think it has potential to be really good in 2019 (and beyond).
what?
Dude seriously? You say it’s petty but you brought it up for no reason here. I usually like your posts cause you’re a Cub fan, but that was low. And no they won’t be trading him this year.
Spoken like a true cubs fan.
Can you ever comment intelligently on any team that competes with the Cubs?
There is a much higher chance that Hader will once again make the All Star team than that he plays anywhere other than Milwaukee.
How do you figure? The guy is one of the best relief pitchers in the game. If his numbers are what they were last year or even kind of close he’ll be an all star in Milwaukee
The strongest aspect of the Cubs is their rotation of seasoned veteran pitching. It should be their biggest concern in the near future. They’ve all peaked long ago.
Falling velocities, injuries, poor command for stretches of the season are signs that father time are catching up to them. Darvish might never be able to pitch a full season ago, and who knows how effective he’ll be when/if he returns. Hamels and Quintana had a few great starts, but struggled with their command in others. Aside from Lester, none of the are lights out.
Apologies for misspelled words, iPhone owns me.
Wasn’t the starting rotation supposed to be the Cubs down fall prior to winning the world series because Theo never drafted any pitchers? Can’t teams win championships by making trades and acquiring guys like Verlander and Arrieta when needed?
Sure they can, but the Cubs farm system is so weak they don’t have the resources to acquire an Ace like Verlander unless they trade from their major league roster. Better pray either Theo finds another diamond in the rough like Jake, or Father Time turns a blind eye to Lester, Hamels, Darvish, et al.
ChiSoxCity-With a shortage of southpaw SP’s aside from an erratic Carlos Rodon, we’d both be thrilled to have “Q” in the White Sox rotation in 2019 and beyond. I’m also a big fan of Kyle Hendricks and hope that Dane Dunning can approach his excellence in the next year or two on the South Side.
Agreed on Hendricks, enjoy watching him play cat and mouse with hitters. I’ll pass on Q though. I admire his toughness, but he lacks command past 4 innings. Gives up too many homers. I think the Sox have a good track record with starting pitching; not the least bit worried about their rotation in a few years.
And you’re never wrong…
I hope Harper goes to the Dodgers, or better yet any American League team. Just not the Cubs.
Based on logic and evidence, this would certainly seem to be the case; and it probably is. But HoyerStein don’t always operate based upon logic and evidence.
I’m not saying that there’s a good chance, or even a fair chance. Just that there’s a chance. A very, very, very, slight chance.
Hi
Xabial knows nothing
^
This
Then why are you giving him attention? Seriously can’t we just talk baseball?
Cannot rule out the Cubs on Harper.
Or the Orioles
The cubs will get Bruce Harper
Is that immediately after they trade for Bryce Hurper?
He is going to the angles
Acute, Right, or Obtuse?
He is going to the Angels, and the Angels are coming to Vegas
K.
Angeles
I like that Harper and Trout to Las Vegas Angles
Angeles? Like Los Angeles? As in Dodgers??
You must be drunk in Vegas
Smile.
Nope, once again for the cheap seats.. HARPER TO THE DODGERS, MACHADO TO THE PHILLIES. That said…. again. The Cubs will be very good, legit contenders once again. Their rotation will be very good… next year. Beyond 2019, I have no idea what that rotation will look like.
The young, proven championship core will still be intact for years to come, many of whom haven’t even hit their peak years yet. Next year will be their 5th consecutive playoff appearance. Once they get in, as we’ve all seen, anything can happen. Theo’s goal was “sustained success and competitiveness” that’s exactly what he’s delivered to the North side. I’m not worried.
You’re assuming the Cubs make the playoffs next year. The Brewers and Cardinals might have something to say about that. I wouldn’t sleep on the Reds either. I’m not seeing 90 wins from the Cubs unless Bryant returns to form and they find a reliable closer.
One wildcard team will cone from the NL East (Braves, Nats, Phills, Mets).
Reds?!!! Color me a skeptic, but if I were a Reds fan I’d be more than a bit worried perennial head cases Puig and Kemp will turn into clubhouse cancers once they start losing. And trust me, with that pitching staff, they will start losing early.
True, if Bryant plays with a bum shoulder all year, Yu is hurt, Morrow is hurt, their back up closer (Strop) is also hurt down and if Chatwood is in the rotation the first half of the year the Cubs won’t win 90…. wait, that just happened and they still ended up with the second best record in the NL and it took game 163 for them to lose the division. Hmmmm, so in spite of all that happening they still won 95. How many do they win without all that happening? Haha, again, not worried.
There is the potential for plenty of fireworks in Cincinnati this year both on and off the field. Their lineup is strong while their pitching still remains suspect which should lead to many high scoring games in hitter-friendly Great American Ball Park.
I don’t see Matt Kemp being a problem but Yasiel Puig is another matter altogether. However, with a change of scenery and this being Puig’s walk year I’m guessing that he will be on his best behaviour, at least until he becomes a likely flip candidate later this summer with the Reds not likely to contend for long in a tough NL Central.
The Reds lineup has been tough on the Cubs the last few years. If they signed Keuchel, and traded for a quality starter, who knows?
Well, we know they won’t sign Keuchel, that’s for sure. Lord only knows how much more they’d have to pay then anyone else to let that park destroy his stat line…
Dallas Keuchel has pitched the entirety of his 7 year MLB career in a HR haven home ballpark in Houston with great results because he is annually among the leaders in inducing ground balls and soft contact. His problem with signing a desired 5-6 year contract this offseason has been a recent history of injury during the past 3 seasons following his Cy Young Award in 2015. In his corner is the fact that he just turned 31 and his arm injury was in 2016, one that required no surgery. The last two seasons his innings were somewhat limited due to a pinched nerve in his neck and a foot sprain.
The Reds are also in a better position now than they were beginning this offseason after adding some pitching and more offense. They won’t have to overpay Keuchel, only come close to matching his demands which now appear to be a 4-year contract, perhaps with a vesting option or two based on IP’s or time off the DL.
My best hope for the Cubs this offseason barring a change of heart regarding their payroll inflexibility is that “Genius” Joe Maddon has been put on notice for the upcoming season. If the Cubs don’t perform to the expectations of the front office then Maddon will be taking the fall this time instead of most of his coaching staff.
I think you’re right, Maddon will be out before August. Maddon will have the last laugh, though.
I pray to God that his last laugh won’t be on the South Side of Chicago. That would be cruel and unusual punishment for Rick Renteria being replaced twice by the most overrated manager in baseball, in the same city no less while he was overseeing a rebuild.
I like Renteria. He didn’t deserve to be fired following the 2014 season with the Cubs after correcting the mess that Dale Sveum left in the first two years of their rebuild. Renteria also deserves a chance to see this rebuild through with the White Sox after replacing the disaster that helped jump start it, the ill-advised signing of Robin Ventura back in 2012.
Would love a package of Peralta & Bradley for the Braves.
Throw in Greinke and his ugly contract too. Braves could use all three guys.
Would Pache, Allard, and Tehran get it done? If so, do it.
Atlanta isn’t giving up Pache
They should trade Pache though, especially if AZ eats a hefty chunk of Grienke’s salary. Pache, Bryse Wilson, and Teheran for Grienke, Peralta, and Hirano would probably do the trick.
The only way Atlanta is taking on that contract is for little to no prospect. Not Pache. Not Wilson.
Pache is the top prospect. I’d only give him up for a TOR arm. Still, pache Julio and a lesser arm would not get us Greinke and Peralta. Maaaybe if we took more of his salary but definitely not with them eating Greinke salary.
Them eating a lot of Grienke’s salary and taking Julio’s contract is why it would take a top prospect and another mid prospect. A top 15 pitcher, a solid OF, and a solid bullpen arm, plus taking on a lot of money isn’t gonna happen without giving something reasonable in return.
They won’t, but they probably should. If anything as karmic payback for the many times they ripped off Arizona.
We may be doing something we may not be doing something but were working hard. Sometimes you spend sometimes you dont. Thanks Mr Obvious…
And sometimes you get asked the same questions with obvious answers
Next question….
Cotham will be great at advising pitchers when to give up.
At least with him coaching new pitchers, the Reds might eventually get SOMETHING out of the Aroldis Chapman deal.
Kind of wish I could be a fly on the wall in Arizona’s front office when they discussed their plans for the future. You might have expected them to start a rebuild when they traded Goldschmidt but that hasn’t happened. Maybe in their view they got so much major league ready talent that they are going to roll the dice on upside and try to contend?
I can assure you the talent they got for Goldschmidt will not make the competitive any time soon.
See I don’t think so either. I’m just trying to think like a DBack GM. If they didn’t think they were going to compete then the only other thought I can think up is that not only do they think they can replace Goldschmidt’s production but exceed it with the players they acquired or do so with future acquisitions/promotions.
But otherwise WITH Goldy they we’re
fringe competitors so it seems if you trade him you rebuild or replace but you certainly don’t do nothing.
You are 100% correct, should trade remaining players that have value and rebuild, otherwise not sure why Goldy, the face of the franchise, was the casualty.
Is there EVER an intelligent time to trade a star like Goldy? He’s in his prime and should be who you build around if you don’t like the rest of your team. Dump all the other salaries, not your elite player. Huge mistake. At this point, you’ve screwed your organization for at least a half dozen years!! If you sell off the rest, without a foundation, how can anyone expect quality play before 2025? This is an unrecoverable move. Stick a fork in the diamondbacks for years to come.
May be right, unless they think they can resign him or another mega star in the next year
Wrong! They traded Goldy b/c they knew he was unlikely to remain with team after next season. Dbacks organization recognized this and didn’t want to end up like Orioles and Machado.
For the extra money I’m gonna have to spend to watch the Cubs they better sign Harper Machado and Kimbrel
Nobody who actually likes the Cubs would want Craig ‘ticking time bomb’ Kimbrel
So many massive red flags after last season…
Truth. But red flags have never stopped Theo & Co. before when it came to free agent pitchers in general or relievers specifically. Jon Lester was a rare exception but the following not so much: Edwin Jackson, Brett Anderson, Tyler Chatwood, Yu Darvish and Brandon Morrow. The latter three still have a chance at redemption, particularly the last two. But all of these pitchers came with red flags including many with checkered pasts due to injuries.
That being said, this front office hasn’t been keen on signing elite FA closers in the past including their own (Aroldis Chapman, Wade Davis) so the likelihood of them inking Greg Kimbrel is pretty slim.
So many massive red flags?
I’m not seeing those. His velocity dropped from 98 to 97 might be your only valid point here
His K ratio seems right in line with his career norm. He blew 5 saves on the year (4 in 2017 when no one was complaining in his way to a 1.70 era) which isn’t abnormal. His walks weren’t outrageous or out of normal range. And he’s never had great postseason numbers, though I personally chalk this one up to small sample size and doesn’t dissuade me from wanting him for future postseason runs.
So where’s the red flag? Other than the ERA slightly higher and maybe the 98 to 97 velocity drop which is a small fluctuation anyway. The ERA is almost a non issue. That was worse in 2016 and he came back with a very strong 2017, possibly best year of his career arguably.
So your only real flag is the 1 mph drop in velocity which is likely an overreaction in the first place seeing as everything else seemed normal as far as actual results go even with the drop to 97 avg velocity
Seems like the same pitcher he’s always been to me. People looking for things because they want to find them after a bad few postseason appearances
The issue isn’t so much that Kimbrel saw a drop in effectiveness last season for me, it’s more about paying premium dollars for a Closer when there are so many examples of good, inexpensive Closers each year.
For example, take look at Pirates. Starting in about 2011 they’ve cycled through Hanrahan, Grilli, Melancon, Watson, and Velasquez as Closers. Combined they’ve received similar performance as Kimbrel has given his teams at a fraction of the cost. Plus they’ve been able to deal them away when they became expensive to help restock the organization. Currently the top power prospect in the organization is Oneil Cruz, who was acquired from Dodgers for Watson.
Kimbrel may not be descending now, but it’s almost 100% certain he will be long before his expensive contract expires. As the Pirates have shown, there’s a better way to fill this role.
This Pirates fan hopes Cubs break the bank again to sign yet another under performing “Super Star.” Cubs are starting to feel the pain of those bad Heyward, Darvish, Morrow, etc. contracts. Just wait until next winter, when these crappy contracts causes your team to trade away Bryant or Rizzo in order to restock your farm system.
I believe Hayward will be gone within 3 weeks though probably not to a West coast team. I believe the Cubs will go after him but the Dodgers will probably get him. I do not believe the Cubs have ANY interest in Machado. I do hope the Cubs attempt a trade for Wit Merrifield.
KC has an outfield logjam and no need for mlb players there. They are looking for young infielders and asking a lot for Merrifield. Realistically, conversation would involve Javier Baez but I see that as a non-starter for Chicago. Cubs do not have anybody else to offer except Bryant but that would be selling low.
What are you smoking?
I believe Theo’s circle back request before signing depends on which teams are involved. Best chance for the Cubs to get Harper is if the Cards/Brewers get active. Harper going to a division rival would impact playoff chances. That team would be front runner. Slow starting Cubs teams don’t want to start off chasing. That is the green light to break the bank. Buy now, sort out payroll later situation. Going to a coastal team doesn’t impact other than wild card chances for 2nd Central team. I think the Nats are going to do him right and Harper will start and end career in the same uniform.
That kind of spending philosophy does not work.
The Cubs do not always start slow, but will have to chade, if they do, no matter where he goes.
I don’t want the guy. He’s over rated, greatly
The Brewers active for Harper?? LMMFAO
Mke ownership has had a very bullish half decade. They quietly are very well funded.
Wow let’s let a guy with a 7+ career ERA be a pitching coach
Many well respected pitching coaches never made it to the Majors. Bryan Price is a good example (though he was admittedly a terrible manager)
Harper’s going to Vegas’s new baseball team….the “Las Vegas Brothel Owners.”
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. Sometimes it rains.
Every time Epstein makes a move, the Cubs get worse. It’s sure sign he’s lost his mojo. The Jason Heyward and Aroldis Chapman debacles may haunt him for years.
Didn’t they win a world series with Chapman and Heyward? Even if they don’t win one for another 100 years Theos time in Chicago will go down as a success. Name the great Hendry or Mcphail free agent signings? Milton Bradley, cliff Floyd and Sorianos?
Pretty sad when winning one title every 100 years is the standard of success when MLB through their economic system gives them every possible advantage to compete for one every year.
Cubs wins since Theo showed up. 61-66-73-97-103-92-95. Yep, the Cubs are getting worse and Theo is clueless. Thanks for the great insight.
And yet the ‘curse’ is over… Somehow that makes it very, very hard to believe you…
Hahaha, ChiSox City…. troll better. At least try to be clever and make sense or at the very least make it entertaining for us. Since Theo took over, he has done EXACTLY what he vowed to do, just like he said he would do in Boston. 4 straight playoff appearances and counting, including 3 straight NLCS and a ring already in the bank. All his 1st round picks have graduated, and were key to their championship, still young, and haven’t even peaked yet. Not “prospects”, no busts, legit proven championship kids.
The one sided trades for Arrieta, Strop, Hendricks, Edwards, Russell we’re all key to their championship. Again, this is why most that actually get paid for their opinion consider him one of the top front office guys in the game, his track record speaks for itself.
You guys are obsessed with regular season wins. Keep in mind it took an unlikely MVP caliber season from Baez to earn a one-and-done wildcard spot. I love Baez, but I saw no significant improvement from the Cubs lineup. As I stated before, your rotation is in rapid decline, and your bullpen has very few reliable options. Still a good team overall, but not top 5 anymore. Epstein may have to trade his entire OF and half of the rotation by the deadline. I also don’t see Maddon sticking around past the AS break if things continue as they did the last few weeks of the season.
And you’re obsessed with making up weird things about the Cubs you claim as fact and then can’t support…
Weird claims, huh? If the Cubs “underachieve” the first 3 months of the season, significant changes are a certainty. Maddon, Heyward and Schwarber will have to go at some point. Almora might be worth a few decent prospects. Quintana and Hamels could be flipped as well. That’s what happens when the window to contention closes shut.
I accused you of making unsubstantiated claims you can’t back with facts and your response is a speculative opinion about what might be happening 6 months from now..
Thank you for making it just that easy
Why would the Reds hire Caleb Cotham as an asst pitching coach? I knew he had been bad but when I went and looked Baseball-reference They listed him as the 18,567th player to ever play in mlb.. That seems to be his crowning achievement! Like seriously his lifetime era was over 7, his HR/9 was 1.9 that being his best stat! whip 1.735 Isnt the pitching there already close to the bottom of the league? Why make it worse?
Leo Mazzone was one of the best pitching coaches ever, and he NEVER threw a pitch in The Majors. Don Cooper is a good one too. His major league record, a robust 1-6 with a 5.27 ERA. Larry Rothachild is another. Long time pitching coach with solid resume. He had a brief stint in the majors with an ERA north of 5 and 7 games total pitched. Lots of guys in all professions have great teachers who were never that good as players. Golf teachers are that way.
Have you looked at the milb numbers? This isnt even a fair comparison. Mazzone was actually good in the minors. Also early i his career he was immediately surrounded by Smoltz, Glavine and Maddux. Do you honestly see the Reds going out to accumulate 3 pitchers all that good at the same time?
I wonder if the irony of you listing 3 great pitchers who have never even interviewed for coaching jobs will ever dawn on you without outside help…
Lesser players often make better coaches because they needed more coaching themselves. Great players tend to have been born physically gifted, which cannot be taught, which is why so many of them wind up mediocre coaches.
Give the guy a chance.
That is why having Barry Bonds as a hitting coach hasn’t translated into huge success for the teams he has worked for yet. Steroids or not, he was the best overall player of his generation, but its not like he can just pass that along…
Bryan Price is another example
Those who can, do and those who can’t, teach.
D-backs are in an interesting situation. Likely look much different had they not done the Grienke thing. Obvious I know but resigning Corbin at $140mm would have been better than blowing their wad a few years ago on Grienke.
I don’t think it actually would
X can you elaborate on why the Cubs won’t get Harper? Or are you just going to leave your comment with no elaboration, and act like a child? Just asking because every time someone asks you why you say something you never back it up. Thanks.
You’re asking for substantive analysis from a Yankees fan?
Here’s what you need to understand about Yankees fans: 1) They relatively limited understanding of baseball, and sports in general. 2) They don’t follow anything unrelated to NY.
Well, apparently he thinks he knows everything about every article on here. Just figured I’d ask him to elaborate.
I can’t take it anymore! Year after year the cubs refuse to spend money on the bullpen. This year there were lots of quality options and still here we are most of them are gone and we’ve done nothing. I will always love Theo for the World Series, but he has made a number of questionable moves and bad signings handcuffing the team from making improvements when the rest of the division is getting stronger. I mean jeez loueeze Harpers dogs name is Wrigley he and Bryant probably touch each other’s butts a respectable offer would most likely draw him in. You can count them out because we already have a 25 million dollar defensive replacement outfielder, and a handful of
.240 hitters that have been deemed untouchable. As a lifelong cubs fan I certainly know things could be worse, but open windows are precious and hard to come by. It’s hard to watch them squander it away.
Hang in there midway, it ain’t over yet. They have added big names to the bullpen for three straight seasons. Chapman in 2016, Wade Davis in 2017, and Morrow last year. I was all but certain they would be in on Britton, but I ended up eating crow on that one. It may be a painful pill to swallow, but maybe nobody will take even 1/2 of Heyward’s contract. Heyward, Zobrist, and Chatwood are blocking any potential big deal with 45M in dead contracts that can’t be moved which is sad because the Cubs don’t really need any one of them at this point. Zobrist was big in 2016 WS, but at this point he is just a backup RF and 2B.
I don’t see any of those contracts as being “dead” for 2019 with the possible exception of the Tyler Chatwood deal.
Ben Zobrist should continue to be a valuable member of the Cubs in his final contract year, perhaps even becoming their primary 2B if the Cubs wisely release public relations nightmare Addison Russell before opening day. Most Cubs fans would welcome a return of Javier Baez to his natural position. Zobrist could be spelled at 2B once or twice a week by newcomer Daniel Descalso or even David Bote who made 13 appearances there last season.
Jason Heyward has yet to live up to his contract but is still just 29 and was a 5 WAR player for 6 seasons before joining the Cubs. He provides valuable defense and base running skills and with Joe Maddon on notice for 2019 perhaps will be better utilized and recapture his former glory. Heyward has improved his triple slash in each of his past 3 seasons with his 2018 numbers approaching his norm as a Brave and Cardinal. One more comparable jump in 2019 just could return him to those solid offensive numbers he enjoyed in his first 6 years.
There’s been some hints from Theo lately that the Cubs aren’t pinned down by their perceived payroll limits for the coming season. Most of that talk revolved around the signing of Bryce Harper who would put them into deep luxury tax waters. If Harper’s contract could still be an outside possibility this offseason then adding a significant bullpen arm or two instead should be no problem.
They are “dead’ as in they can’t be moved at this point without the Cubs eating a big chunk of them. I didn’t say they didn’t have any value to the team this year. Zobrist most likely has a few big clutch hits left in him, but do they really need him when they have Descalso, Happ, and like you said even Bote itching to play 2B every day? You are definitely in the minority when it comes to your opinion of Heyward though. He is proof that the WAR stat isn’t all its cracked up to be. I actually thought he played below average in RF last season and blew a lot of plays he is paid to make. Let’s face it, without the Heyward contract this whole offseason would have been about the Cubs getting Harper.
If no other position moves are made, probable starting lineup is still decent and capable of scoring a lot of runs:
2B Descalso
SS Baez
3B Bryant
1B Rizzo
LF Schwarber
C Contreras
RF Heyward
CF Happ/Almora
Maddon just needs to chill out with the daily changes and let them get comfortable in their roles. Advanced sabermetrics are fine, but you have to manage outside of the box sometimes and improvise, instead of just doing what your laptop says. That was one of Epstein’s beefs with him last year. He also needs to let Schwarber hit full time against lefties. If he shows no improvement after two or 3 months, then they can go back to platooning him, but you just can’t take away a 100+ abs with his talent. He still got on base over .340 against lefties, so no problem letting him hit 2nd on the order on those days as well.
I agree with much of this. My differences:
I would be not hand the regular 2B job to Daniel Descalso. I prefer him in his accustomed utility role, comparable to the one that Ben Zobrist has held with the Cubs over the past few seasons. I would make Zobrist my primary starter at 2B and spell him a couple times a week with Descalso and David Bote.
I would continue to play Schwarber everyday against right-handed starting pitching which would still make him my primary LF. Albert Almora would become my regular CF while Ian Happ splits time in LF, CF and RF. Including Jason Heyward starting in RF versus all RHP there is no reason why each of those 4 OF’s shouldn’t amass between 400-600 PA’s.
I also might prefer a different alignment in the heart of the batting order and try to avoid having two left-handed batters hit consecutively. Perhaps a R-L-R-L-R sequence of Baez-Rizzo-Bryant-Schwarber-Contreras or perhaps Bryant-Rizzo-Baez-Schwarber-Contreras. Happ is a switch-hitter but he would mostly bat right-handed when filling in for Schwarber in LF.
The big question here is who leads off? It could just be whoever plays 2B each day meaning Zobrist 4 times a week with Descalso and Bote taking turns the other two days. This would at least provide some needed stability to a batting order which has been far too chaotic under Maddon. I believe players perform better knowing their roles and have always preferred some semblance of stability in a lineup.
There was some talk recently that the Cubs had offered FA Troy Tulowitzki an opportunity to become their opening day SS while Addison Russell was serving his suspension. This would have kept Baez at 2B. Tulo wound up choosing the Yankees offer instead with their SS Didi Gregorius out until July or August recovering from TJ surgery. If the Cubs were prepared to give Tulo a chance of becoming their starting SS perhaps they might still consider adding a regular 2B this offseason, a position where one could be had fairly cheaply with a market glut there. D.J. LeMahieu would be a fine candidate for a 2-3 year deal and provide Gold Glove caliber defense at 2B to pair with Baez at SS. LeMahieu could also solve the Cubs leadoff hitting dilemma as the 2016 NL batting champ who also has a .350 career OBP metric. The Cubs lineup could also use a bat that makes more contact and with fewer SO’s. All this would put Zobrist back into a utility role along with Descalso and perhaps free up a trade for one of their “regular” OF’s which could land the Cubs a valuable late inning reliever or closer.
When the offseason began, LeMahieu was the first player that came to mind when I thought of who the Cubs should get as 2B was their second biggest need after late inning relief. I also thought Pollock would have been a good fit to take over in CF. He would be perfect leadoff hitter with this lineup and IF healthy is an upgrade over anything the Cubs have now in CF. It would have also opened a lot of trade doors with Almora and Happ. Hell, I think the Mets would trade Thor for Almora, Happ, and Quintana don’t you?
I like the idea of signing LeMahieu or even trading for Merrifield. They need professional hitters, Zobrist is a professional hitter Murphy is a professional hitter. They let Murphy walk I get it he’s awful defensively, but there is no concern with his bat. Both of those players are nearing the end of their respected careers, but for only two years for Murphy not much risk. Too many times our .OBP guys leave numerous runners on base. I hope your right about Heyward possibly making a jump, I personally won’t be holding my breath. He is a walking double play. I’ve never seen so many weakly hit balls in my whole life. He has lost the ability to square the ball up there is no reason a Mammal of his size doesn’t have any power at all. Moving to the bullpen. My main frustration lies in the fact that year after year we refuse to spend the money to properly address it, then panic at the deadline. I believe it was the 2015 offseason no money spent on bullpen then you see the cubs trade Castro for Adam Warren, then that same season we trade our #1 prospect And Adam Warren back to the Yankees for Chapman. The World Series win that we got by the skin of our teeth is the only saving grace to this deal. I would be sleeping better now had we just resigned him. The following offseason, we trade Soler for Wade Davis, this move was probably worth it even for the one season, but why didn’t we resign him? They refuse to spend the money and it is frustrating. 100 year old Morrow doesn’t satisfy me, he injured himself getting dressed…, and looks to be injured going into this season. Look what the Yankees have done with a mediocre rotation. A powerhouse bullpen is becoming a formula for success, and would greatly help our aging rotation when they can only go five or six.
Best case scenarios:
Starting Pitching:
1. Hamels pitches like he did with Cubs last year, and not how he pitched with Rangers.
2.Darvish has solid year with no injury and finally earns some fans and respect in Chicago.
3.Lester and Hendricks do not decline.
4. Quintana has a better season with ERA under 4.00.
Starting Lineup:
1.Baez becomes a bit more patient at the plate and proves last years offensive output was not an anomaly like many predict.
2. Schwarber plays up to his talent level and improves slugging against lefties.
3. Bryant and Contreras have bounce back solid seasons
Relief:
1. Morrow doesn’t sneeze and hurt himself.
2. Edwards pitches up to his talent instead of being a headcase.
3. Chatwood finds some control and actually contributes in relief appearances and fill in
starts, improving trade value.
Managing:
1. Control Maddon’s Ego
2. Pick a lead-off guy and stick with it instead of changing the lineups too much
3. Instead of Maddon’s “no coaching necessary” approach, start preaching fundamentals
and small ball, improving chances to win close and tie games late.
If ALL this happens, the Cubs MAY have a shot of regaining their status as NL central champs. BUT, they still need a closer, a clutch impact bat, and a defined lead-off guy. The Brewers, Cards, and Reds all got better, the Cubs didn’t. Unless Theo wakes up, they could actually finish at or near the bottom of this division in 2019.