The Cubs traded away their core rather than extend them, and now the club is light on financial commitments as well as good MLB players. Is this winter the time to strike?
Guaranteed Contracts
- Jason Heyward, RF: $44MM through 2023
- Kyle Hendricks, SP: $29.5MM through 2023. Includes $16MM club option for 2024
- Wade Miley, SP: $10MM through 2022
- David Bote, 2B/3B: $13MM through 2024. Includes $7MM club option for 2025 and $7.6MM club option for ’26
Arbitration-Eligible Players (projections from MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz)
- Willson Contreras, C: $8.7MM
- Ian Happ, LF/CF: $6.5MM
Option Decisions
- Wade Miley, SP: exercised $10MM club option after claiming off waivers from Reds
Free Agents
When the dust had settled after the July deadline, the Cubs had completed eight trades. Of the nine players sent packing, seven are currently free agents, Trevor Williams might be non-tendered by the Mets, and the White Sox picked up Craig Kimbrel’s option. Seeing Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant, and Javier Baez in different uniforms marked the end of an era, and now the Cubs have a bunch of extra prospects and a clean financial slate. They’ve also got a new second-in command in the front office behind Jed Hoyer in Carter Hawkins, hired from Cleveland. The Cubs went on to hire Ehsan Bokhari from the Astros as assistant GM and Greg Brown from the Rays as the new hitting coach. Furthermore, longtime executive Jason McLeod is leaving, and Randy Bush is moving into an advisory role.
Hoyer said in late September, “We plan to be really active in free agency.” Trying to decode GM-speak is always difficult, but Hoyer elaborated a few weeks later, saying, “We have money to spend this winter. But it’s really important that we do that in an intelligent way.” Furthermore, “We need to be active in a way that we feel like we’re getting the right value for the dollars we’re spending, and we’re also making sure that we’re not hindering ourselves going forward with expenditures for right now.” Hoyer went on to caution against “winning the offseason.”
MLBTR projected its top 12 free agents to each receive contracts of at least five years, with the exception of record-setting three-year deal for Max Scherzer. When I try to translate spending money “intelligently” and “not hindering ourselves going forward,” I take it to mean that the Cubs won’t sign any of those top dozen or so free agents. Hoyer has stated that the Cubs “have a lot of holes to fill on this roster,” which is a euphemism for a lack of present MLB talent. The Cubs will shop at the top end of the free agent market again, but I don’t think it will be this winter.
So what will the Cubs do? Hoyer made it clear that adding pitchers, particularly those with strikeout ability, is the team’s top priority. So why, then, did the club commit $10MM to 35-year-old lefty Wade Miley, who the payroll-cutting Reds cast off after a fine season? Miley possesses a 90 mile per hour fastball and the sixth-worst strikeout rate in baseball this year among those with at least 160 innings. The answer is that Miley is still a solid pitcher, the only cost was his salary, and it’s a one-year commitment. For a team with no rotation locks beyond fellow soft-tosser Kyle Hendricks, the Cubs took the opportunity that fell into their lap. Miley’s best attribute is his ability to generate weak contact, as he ranked fourth in baseball in average exit velocity.
The Cubs may yet add two or three starting pitchers to the rotation. As far as potential free agent targets, let’s cross off those seeking five-plus years or an immediate shot at a championship. We’re left with Carlos Rodon, Eduardo Rodriguez, Alex Wood, Yusei Kikuchi, and Jon Gray atop the strikeout leaderboard. We believe Rodriguez may require a four-year deal, plus Boston’s qualifying offer means the Cubs would sacrifice their second-round draft pick. Noah Syndergaard comes with that same draft pick problem, if he even reaches the open market. Rolling the dice on Rodon makes some level of sense, in that the Cubs wouldn’t be hampered by a deal anywhere from one to three years, and he offers possible ace-like pitching without a $100MM commitment if the club rolls the dice on his health. Rodon is the moon shot option, while Wood, Kikuchi, Gray, and James Paxton are safer choices. Free agency also offers pitchers with decent velocity if not the strikeout rate, like Steven Matz, Garrett Richards, and Anthony DeSclafani.
The trade market is also an option for the Cubs, who could offer one year of Willson Contreras, deal away some of their prospect capital, or just take on an unwanted contract. Strikeout pitchers who could be available in trade include Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Tyler Mahle, Pablo Lopez, Sonny Gray, Frankie Montas, Zac Gallen, Sean Manaea, Chris Paddack, Chris Bassitt, Caleb Smith, and Luis Castillo. The Rays’ Tyler Glasnow makes sense for the Cubs, even though he won’t be recovered from Tommy John surgery until the 2023 season. Indeed, such a trade was considered back in July. The Tigers’ Matthew Boyd, who underwent flexor tendon surgery in September, may be non-tendered by the Tigers and also makes sense for the Cubs. Back when the Cubs had some money to burn, they signed Drew Smyly to a two-year, $10MM deal off Tommy John surgery with an eye entirely on the second season.
Three of the best trade targets are on the Reds, who may be reluctant to trade a starter to the division-rival Cubs in addition to Miley. The idea of the Cubs reacquiring Darvish one year after his trade somewhat kicked off their rebuild is too amusing not to mention. After the Cubs shipped Darvish and backup catcher Victor Caratini to San Diego for four low-minors prospects and Zach Davies, Darvish went on to post a 2.44 ERA through the season’s first half. He got blasted (mostly by home runs) in the second half to the tune of a 6.65 ERA. Darvish is owed $37MM over the next two years, and the Cubs suddenly have the payroll flexibility the Padres desire. Just saying, it’d be fun to see.
The bullpen is another clear need for the Cubs, who are left with guys like Codi Heuer and Rowan Wick atop their depth chart. A few cheap free agent investments make sense here.
The Cubs’ infield is mostly set, with Willson Contreras at catcher, Frank Schwindel at first, Nick Madrigal at second, Nico Hoerner at short, and Patrick Wisdom at third. While Schwindel (age 30) and Wisdom (29) aren’t likely long-term solutions, they’ve at least earned at-bats in 2022. The Cubs also have to see if a Madrigal-Hoerner double-play combination has staying power.
With one year of control remaining on Contreras, the Cubs enter into the familiar “extend or trade” territory that led to their July sell-off. The free agent market is weak at the position, and teams like the Yankees, Guardians, Rangers, Marlins, and Giants might be seeking catching help.
Ian Happ avoided a possible non-tender by posting a 147 wRC+ over the season’s final two months. He figures to hold down left field, while Rafael Ortega can keep center field warm until the Cubs deem top prospect Brennen Davis ready. In right, there’s Jason Heyward and the $44MM owed to him over the next two years. After a brutal 68 wRC+ in 2021, the Cubs probably can’t justify a roster spot for Heyward through all of ’22 unless he manages at least league average hitting. While the Cubs could explore a potential bad contract swap, they’re in more of a position to take on dead money as a means of accumulating yet more prospects.
One outfield addition that could make sense for the Cubs is right fielder Seiya Suzuki. It’s nearly impossible to project what level of contract Suzuki will require if he’s posted by the Hiroshima Carp, but he’s only 27 years old and is one of the best players in Japan. Signing him would be akin to the club’s $30MM deal for Jorge Soler, which occurred about eight months into Jed Hoyer’s tenure with the team.
We’re about to embark on a free agency experience unlike anything we’ve seen in recent years, with a probable lockout followed by a compressed signing period. If some players fall through the cracks in that scenario, the Cubs are well-positioned to make opportunistic strikes with one-year offers. With Heyward, Hendricks, Miley, David Bote, Contreras, and Happ, the Cubs have an estimated $63.7MM committed for six players. As a team capable of sustaining a payroll in excess of $200MM, the Cubs are a sleeping giant right now. In reference to the Giants, Hoyer said, “They certainly didn’t win the offseason last year. They won the season.” While I can say with certainty the Cubs won’t win 107 games in 2022, it’s clear that the team would prefer to avoid the top end of free agency this winter, become a surprise contender, and then look to flex its financial muscle.
Yes and no.
No for any top tier free agents.
Yes for an deals, buy lows, maybe taking on some expiry bad contracts. Put the money to good use and build a deep system
Completely agree.
Look at the 2013 red sox, sometimes a bucket of spare parts can surprise you as well, especially considering the state of the NL central right now.
Buy into bounceback candidates, and guys looking to rebuild their value on 1 yr deals you can flip at the deadline. Not necessarily cheap, or low end, just short deals.
Beyond that, call up preller and see what kind of prospects you can buy from taking on money like Myers (Hosmer is too many years). Then keep the ringer on and see what other opportunities present themselves.
Behind the spare parts, the 2013 Red Sox still had the kind of core that the 2021 Cubs just traded away. You usually can’t Victorino and Napoli your way to a title without a core in place.
If you were drafting a team of players – for 2022 only – comprised entirely of players on the Cardinals or Cubs, 8 or 9 of the top 10 players you’d draft are Cardinals. It’s fine (and better for baseball!) to not tank and instead maybe entertain wild card contention, but they’re pretty far from winning 90 games right now.
2013 had less esrablished core than you might think/remember. I left off fill-in type guys who were neither stars to be nor established regulars.
C – lavarnway (22g) ross (36g, 2013 new) saltalamacchia
1B – napoli (2013 new) carp (29g)
2B – pedroia
SS – Iglesias (29g -traded), S. Drew (2013 new),Bogey (8g rookie)
3B – middlebrooks (94g @ .229, too busy chasing nesn reporters) iglesias (34g- traded), Bogey (9g rookie)
RF – nava, victorino (2013 new)
CF – jbj (19g – rookie), ellsbury, victorino (2013 new)
LF – nava, gomes (2013 new) jbj (14g rookie), carp
Look at all the rookies, new guys, journeymen/underachievers there.
Even Brock holt was new in 2013 and played 26games.
2013 might have had a core for the Red Sox but that core didn’t show up in 2012 or 2014.
*yawn*
No. Hard no. Now is not the time to use it. Money is used to help players that are already on the team. Not prop up a bunch of garbage. If the Cubs blow their cash load now they will have to go through another rebuild before they win another championship. Bad idea.
Also, man that Heyward contract. Ugh
It’s absolutely embarrassing to watch a team in the third largest media market in North America consistently shop for bargains.
This team is a joke.
Give me one more sell-off. Hendricks, Contreras, and Happ. Win 60 games next year and keep collecting prospects.
Rizzo comes back, CHC trades Contreras, and Schwindel becomes the new starting catcher. BOOK IT.
I think Jed is done with the nostalgia players. I can’t see Rizzo going back, especially with how it ended between he and Jed
Rizzo is about done. He is going to maybe get a 2 year deal with $30M.
Rizzo coming back is what tanks this??? Not the fact that Schwindel‘s catching experience is a few A-ball games around 8 years ago?
yes, that’s why it was a joke
Jokes should generally be funny
The Cubs will flip Miley for prospects by mid July
Miley is a gamble leaving Derek Johnson.
Paying Note that kind of $$$ is insane
Is this some kind of joke?
So the only teams who should ever spend money on quality free agents no matter the situation are the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox and Giants.
That pretty much sums up the position of ALL the writers on this site (and let’s face it, ALL national sports media). This IS a joke.
You mad bro
I don’t get why the Sox kept Kimbrel but jettisoned Rondon.
Larossa (sp) all but called Rodon a pu##y for not pitching late in the year. He wasn’t coming back. Kimbrel regressed or faced AL hitters regularly.
Facing AL had nothing to do with it haha. He wasn’t used properly, that’s pretty much it. Make him your closer and he’s gonna be fine.
Kimbrel was objectively misused
You should maybe read the article
Ban him already!
Ban him already
ChiSoxCity is the most bitter, sad creature on this site.
There’s a lot of jokers on this site but only one Riddler. Ahahahahaha!
yeah I mean I see nothing wrong with picking up a core playeror 2 on a longish contract to bridge the gap as a vet to usher in younger resources – I mean that is the kind of thing you usually see with teams – to have a core guy to build around like altuve with the astros, machado for the padres, kershaw for the dodgers, posey, crawford for the giants, etc.
The trade market makes a lot of sense. Montas is a great fit. I see a bat being signed (Schwarber?) or traded for (Chapman?) too. Wisdom can play DH
Lol
Lol
Why would you trade for Chapman now? That’s the exact opposite of what they should be doing this offseason
When did the reds put Miley on waivers ?
Wake up. ⚾️ last week
They should go after the best players available on short term contracts. If they are out of it deadline eat money and trade just like last year. The farm has a ton of under 21 talent and guys like Brennen Davis ready to hit the bigs. This can and should be an extremely quick turnaround.
The Cubs should sign another fringe all-star type to another huge contract like Heyward’s. Sign some washed up pitchers to multi-year deals…. Arrieta must be healthy by now. Lock up Schwindel too – 6yrs/$60M – he should be able to carry that flukey month batting .350 for the rest of his career. Sign a closer too, big money – don’t be cheap.
There is a story put out by Boras that said in 21 Arrietta was injusred and thats why he sucked. No Scotty even when “healthy” Jake was terrible. He will be lucky to get an invite to a camp and at best he will make the league minimum
This ass-eating loving ownership group won’t make the necessary signings to be competitive this year. It doesn’t fit their self-imposed timeline. They are as informed as Aaron Rodgers and unwilling to spend on the on-field product. If the Cubs were real estate around the park, they would be all over it, but due to financial constraints with the highest ticket prices in baseball, Wade Miley could be the highest priced addition they make this year.
Rodgers is clearly over informed
This is proof that parity among teams has little to do with small v big markets, and much more to do with teams not trying to win each year. Lack of competitiveness is far more damaging than the disparity in revenue.
With the way talent acquisition, team control and free agency works, it’s not realistic or smart for every team to try to compete every year.
Don’t most major sports have teams that go through cycles of competitiveness and not every team always trying to win? I don’t disagree that it’s a problem, but what’s the realistic solution?
Another commenter mentioned it the other day and I think it’s a solid idea
Since they have some room and flexibility, the Cubs can offer FA pillow contracts for guys trying to establish success to set them up for a bigger contract.
If they bust out, they have some solid trade chips or can keep and complete.
Cubs are in a really interesting position.
I’m pretty sure everyone knows that is their plan. See 2013….
They could add a few significant free agents and still need a lot to go right to eclipse .500. I don’t think they should do that.
They will probably be active in the non tender market. I also think they need to prioritize guys who could be attractive bullpen options at the trade deadline, since that’s where building block pieces are likeliest to come from. Injury risk gambles, failed starters as potential 8th inning guys, etc. Graveman was this kind of target a couple seasons ago, and fetched six years of what looks like a starting caliber infielder. Get a bunch of those. Get another year closer to Heyward going away.
Take on the bad contracts. I’m sure if they took on all of somebody like Grichuk they’d get a nice piece for the future along with him.
I have already foreseen Cubs over Athletics in 2028. It doesn’t matter which moves are made and when. The future will follow its course.
The Cubs will spend on buy low pet projects to rebuild their pitching core imo. Even if the price is right guys like Verlander & Scherzer are gonna target teams that are trying to win rings imminently, unless both wanna go back to Detroit. The article mentioned trading for Darvish. That makes no sense unless the Cubs are willing to eat the money (again) for prospects. I think it’d make more sense to target a high AAV short-term solution and either trade Contreas elsewhere (for nice prospects strictly) or keep what you have. I think the Cubs will spend on ONE Big Bat this offseason to shore up the offense and Schwarber makes the most sense. Will require less years, less AAV, familiar face, can alternate between LF/RF, 1B and mostly DH. Allows Wisdom & his glove to stay at 3B and Schwindel at 1B. The rest of the signings will just be depth pieces. Bryant, Baez, & Rizzo are gone imo.
Cubs are not one big name free agent away from competing. I see another sell off at the deadline.
The “we will be active with free agents”. Signing them and talking to them are far different. No primary FA will go to Chicago with the Cubs unless they over pay which I do not see Ricketts doing.
Time to tank. They can’t compete in 2022, and there is nothing they can do about it.
That said, assuming the aren’t cutting the prices for tickets and beer, then they shouldn’t be cutting the payroll either. Buy a lot of 1-2 year contracts that can be moved at the deadline.
And make a decision on Contreras. He’s a valuable asset. You could make a case for extending him or trading him, depending on his price. But you can’t Rocky him and let him walk without getting back something pretty good for him.
Yankees are the team to call. They have a good farm and need a C. Teams should get no reward at all for tanking. Ugh, that’s a frustrating endeavor.
Hard to define tanking unless you look at market size and team revenue. At this point, the Cubs would be well below their spending line. Easy fix is a salary cap for all.
Easy fix is a salary cap for all.
===========================
There will still be tankers. No matter what you do, there will be a minimum of 6 teams that finish in last place.
Based on the last time the Yankees were in the WS in spite of being in the top 2 MLB teams in spending most of those years, maybe they ought to consider tanking……
Then again, their FO, manager, coaches and scouts would have to be extremely good. OK, forget the tanking. Keep overpaying known veterans that continue to come up short on the field, but cash in on the celebrity thing.
Yankee Clipper1 hour ago
Teams should get no reward at all for tanking
===================================
I feel the same way about teams refusing to acknowledging when they’re bad, I have a lot respect for a team like the Tigers, who bit the bullet, took their time, and are probably playoff contenders, than a team like the Rockheads, who held onto everyone, and probably set their rebuild back 2 years.
But they have all those real estate debts! One of the owners had to get a job (the horror!) as governor of Nebraska! The whole household is clipping coupons!
And?
The infield is definitely not set. I like the Patrick wisdom story, but he seems the perfect platoon candidate. Schwindel aside (unless we’re DH’ing now) and maybe madrigal, nobody should be blocking a potential FA acquisition. Pitching is definitely the focus, but I’d be pretty bummed if that infield doesn’t get better.
Thank you! I was going to say the same. You can’t go into ‘22 with Wisdom & Schwindel as starters. I know meatball fans loved their numbers last year but they are journeymen MiLB guys who had their 15 minutes. Schwindel is a nice bench guy but Wisdom is a Rent-A-Center two-outcome Dave Kingman.
Hey, idk if your a Cubs Fan, But I am, and I think I watched enough games to see that Happ and Wisdom deserve starting spots.
Happ a starter? You haven’t watched enough games.
I understand the need for selling tickets for the next season, but in the long run a teams cred is best when they’re honest with their fans. So I believe in lowering expectations.
The Cubs and Twins in particular have made a great error in telling their fans it’ll be a “quick turnaround”. Really? What, no other team in their division is any good? They’ve got 6-8 young core pieces in place that are about to flourish in 2022? 10 teams of 30 made the playoffs in 2021 – 1/3’rd. None of them came from out of nowhere to do it. And being in the top third of teams in your league hardly makes a team elite.
What team turned it around by signing FA’s? FA’s that sign a make-good one year contract with a lousy team expect that if they’re having a good year they’ll be traded in-season.
The Cubs, Twins, and Nationals, have along way to go. But Rizzo and the Nationals are not sprouting that they’ll be back quickly. Their fans know they’ll need at least a few years to get a young core together. Nationals fans accept reality, and don’t need to be patronized. Their FO has done it for years. The team will be back in a reasonable period of time. Until then their fans will remain fans and root for whoever’s wearing their uniform.
Cubs are ready to contend in the next few years, we got a powerful offense, and pitching is easy to come by on the market.
Sign Jon Gray and trade for Sonny Gray and start 50 shades of Cubs marketing campaign. Miley and Hendricks will get swapped at trade deadline for prospects.
Cubs are in a great position to use their financial might to shorten the rebuild window, but only if they’re principled and disciplined. Treat 2022 as a lost year. Since they’re on Heyward through 2023 anyways, they should be willing to take any kind of 1-2 year bad money a team wants to dump, so long as they like the pieces attached (Kiermaier, Myers, Price, maybe even Cano, etc.). Then sign as many reclamation projects on 1-2 year deals/minor league contracts as they can (especially pitchers). Do the deadline flip one more time in July, then reassess in the offseason (at which point their farm system should be in much better shape based on not only the acquisitions, but also another year of player development for their young, high upside prospects they’ve acquired in the last yearish). Contreras and Hendricks could go either way–they could try to build around them but they should at least be listening to offers.
I like your ideas as well as Manny… use resources wisely to get the SP built ASAP. If doing a payroll swap with JHey I would approach AZ about doing a deal for MadBum- they could likely use Heyward, Bote, and throw in Deichmann and the deal would be mostly revenue neutral. Get Jon Gray and then deal for Sonny Gray, Manea, or Quantrill, and then the SP is set. Use Steele, Adbert, Millsy, and Thompson for multi-inning relief, spot starts, etc. and the Cubs look pretty competitive in 2022.
Taking on Cano is a very interesting idea. If the NL adopts a DH, he may still have some value. If I were the Mets, I’d be all over this. Potentially a winner for both teams. However since the two teams involved are the Mets and Cubs, I’d say there’s very little chance of a creative, intelligent exchange like that happening.
I like Braxton from the Twins if this is the strategy. Oft-injured and has only scratched his potential. Worth the roll of the dice if you’re just going to tank anyway.
Do you even know what tanking means?
Yea I like the future, Happ, Willy, Wisdom, Frank, Ortega, Nico, Madrgial, leading the offense, just need some pitching, we cannot not trade Hendricks or Conteras.
Great article MLBTR. Long time reader, first time commenter, hell of a softball player. Lots of choad responses and takes here to a well written article. Hope the Cubs remove head from rear end and figure it out.
They are fine thoughts but don’t really expect the Cubs to be able to attract very many good players to come here! No use to dream that big!
gg allin fan
why not? thrid largest market, devoted fans, lots of attention from the sports world.
Sign SP Jon Gray (4y $ 60m) and Steven Matz (3y $ 36m).
Sign the OF Seiya Suzuki (4y $ 48m) opt-out in the third year. Club option for a 5th season $ 15M
Sign 3B Kyle Seager (1y $ 13m) option club 2023 $ 13M (Platoon with Patrick Wisdom at 3B)
Sign RPs Michael Lorenzen (1y $ 7m)
Corey Knebel (2y $ 13m)
Make a trade with the Rays for CF Kevin Kiermaier and SP Tyler Glasnow (TJS returns in 2023)
I like it.
As a Cardinals fan I have mixed feelings. On one hand I actually want the Cubs to rebound quickly because I enjoy the rivalry and because a quality Cubs team adds credibility to the NL Central. On the other hand I’m not convinced the Cubs WILL turn it around quickly. There is no track record to indicate it’s likely. If anything, their track record as a franchise says it might take a while. 5 or 6 years of winning doesn’t erase 100 years of struggle. Jed Hoyer isn’t Billy Beane or Pat Gillick or even Dave Dombrowski. He has been successful with one core group of players. Time will tell, but I hope the they get it together quickly.
Hoyer proved that he is not Epstein. It took HUGE balls to trade Rizzo, Bryant and Baez. The one thing he HAS proven is that he knows the organization needed a huge change of direction.
Looking simply at Madrigal and Hoerner atop the lineup signals that. Adding PCA from the Mets on the Baez deal solidifies that. Trading for Preciado and drafting Triantos also adds to that new direction.
I think Hoyer will end up being more shrewd that even Theo…
Meatball take, Don, lol. First off, the Cubs didn’t go “100 years without winning” In fact, the franchise has never been below .500, they went 100+ years without winning a World Series, big difference. Second, “5-6 years of winning doesn’t erase 100 years of losing” Is this a weak attempt at trolling? Haha, what does “100 years” have to do with current ownership/front office/players/coaches? Does Ricketts or Jed… or Ross have anything to do with what happened BEFORE they got to Chicago? Of course not, BUT they have A LOT to do with the team that won in 2016, that went to the NLCS 3 straight years and the postseason 5 straight. So maybe, just maybe, THEIR track record should be taken into consideration when trying to predict the Cubs future success/failure. OR, just go back to being a clown, meatball troll. It’s worked so well for ChiSoxCity hahaha.
Cubs ownership wants to go cheap on payroll and refill their family’s’ financial coffers.
‘I doubt they spend for a few years unless required by the new collective bargaining agreement.
Considering all of the prospects the Cubs acquired are many years away from the majors, it doesn’t make sense to go after the Correa’s and Seager’s of the world. I’d sign some innings eaters, a reliable outfielder and guys to one year contracts that can be flipped for more prospects during the season.
Cubs are definitely putting more of an emphasis on scouting and development. The really great organizations develop marginal players into good players that other organizations gave up on. Dodgers have been great at this. Cubs had success with players like Wisdom, Ortega, and Schwindel this year.
The next steps are to continue building the minor league system and smart free agent signings. That means no big contracts, on players who are a risk. (Injuries, inconsistency) I see them being very active this off-season, but 200m+ contracts make little sense. A emphasis on pitching, defense, a couple of veteran run producers could make them competitive quickly.
Yea Future is bright, got good prospects coming up, I love me some Happ, Ortega, Wisdom, Nico, Madgiral, and FRANK THE TANK.
@108, I agree with what you say – except I don’t feel that Wisdom is any more than a MLB bench player. But he has some value.
The “cubs” as a team will not be exciting any time soon. “Cubs” prospects & reclamation stories will the only thing enticing fans for the next couple of years.
I’ll be sure to come back to this comment in a few years.
Google how to use quotation marks.
Schwindel never got a real shot in the show before inserted into the Cubs lineup. Not saying he’s going to be a masher for years to come but probably better off trying him again in 22 and spending money elsewhere.
Cubs are def gonna keep Frank the Tank around for another season, love that guy, dude won us like 10 games in Sept.
I will continue not to watch if we put another lineup of AAA retreads out there. Starting hoerner, wisdom, schwindel is basically conceding the season again. We need 2-3 starting pitchers and they need to follow up on the purge with some serious FAs or fans need to see this as the money grab schill that it is.
Sorry, but Schwindel is a quality MLB hitter.
May as well tank at this point. Pitching is the #1 thing they need and they missed on too much to compete anytime soon. Burn it to the ground. The Gomes signing with starting incentives leaves me to believe Willie is gone come winter meetings. Loved him in Cubby Blue. I guess if you’re looking for a chance to bounce back sign with the Cubs.
sounds like the meetings started up again listening to this division of opinions
The Cubs have never struggled to attract top FAs. That’s really not the issue. The question is, where do they realistically place their timeline to contend? How do they value a guy like Correa for example? Do they sign him knowing 2022 is a lost year, but having him in the fold for 2023 and beyond is worth it? Similar to when they signed Lester. The Stroman signing tells me they are clearly not tanking in 2022, but it seems to me that they’re aiming for the middle with the hopes of getting back on top in 2 years or so. The middle is the worst place to be in pro sports, so it’s tricky. I’m curious to see how Jed&Co play this.