With less than a month until pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Reported signings that could be made official
In last Monday’s Opener, we discussed four reported signings that had not yet been made official: Corey Kluber with the Red Sox, Wade Miley with the Brewers, Zach Davies with the Diamondbacks, and Eric Hosmer with the Cubs. Each of those deals were made official over the course of the last week. Today, there are two deals that stick out as likely to be made official in the coming days: the one-year, $8.5MM agreement between Johnny Cueto and the Marlins, and the one-year, $1MM deal Nelson Cruz has with the Padres. Both the Miami and San Diego have full 40-man rosters, which means each club will have to make a corresponding move to make their deal official.
2. What’s next for the Cubs after the Mancini deal?
The Cubs bolstered their lineup this weekend by landing first baseman Trey Mancini on a two-year deal with an opt-out after 2023. With Mancini signed, the position player corps on the North Side appears to be relatively set, barring a trade that clears space or perhaps the acquisition of a bench outfielder. That doesn’t mean the Cubs are done, however. While owner Tom Ricketts recently talked about being “strategic” about when to cross the luxury tax threshold, the club still has just under $12MM to work with before paying into the tax, per RosterResource. After both Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ avoided arbitration last week, it’s possible that even if the Cubs decide to pursue an extension with either player this offseason, any agreement reached wouldn’t impact this season’s luxury tax figure, as is the case with Boston’s extension of Rafael Devers.
One place where the Cubs seem primed to make a move that would impact the 2023 luxury tax line is the bullpen. Chicago is rumored to be interested in Matt Moore and Andrew Chafin, the two top lefty relievers remaining on the market. While the Cubs have done well in recent seasons turning reclamation relievers into successes, a more established arm would certainly make sense in a bullpen that largely lacks a player like that outside of Brad Boxberger. If Moore and Chafin are out of Chicago’s price range, there are still other interesting lefties available to take pressure off Brandon Hughes in 2023: Zack Britton, Brad Hand, and Will Smith are all still available and could bring closing experience to a projected Cubs bullpen without much of it.
3. Which hitters are still available on the free agent market?
The free agent market for position players continued to thin last week, as each of Cruz, Mancini, and Andrew McCutchen signed on with a club for the 2023 season. That said, there’s still some interesting names out there for clubs looking to bolster the lineup in the final weeks before Spring Training. Jurickson Profar and Elvis Andrus, both of whom have received interest from the Red Sox recently, join Luke Voit as perhaps the three best position players who have yet to sign on with a club. Each of those players seems capable of holding down an everyday role in 2023. In the tier below them, there’s a number of complementary options available, such as David Peralta and Tyler Naquin. Another option would be taking a flier on a player who struggled in 2023 but has had success in the past, such as Brian Anderson or Miguel Sano.
Hard to believe the Cubs are that close to the luxury tax with that roster. Looks like they shave quite a bit off next year.
Heyward and Hendricks are in for about 40m this season. Both gone off the payroll after this season. Bellinger is on a one year deal too. Should be a good race for second place behind the Cardinals.
RJNarvick;
I believe the Cardinals ae being radically overrated and the Brewers and Cubs underrated.
Last years statistics don’t count.
The Cardinals signing of Willson Contreras to catch makes the Cardinals worse and the Cubs better…and that’s just to start. As for the Brewers – among other things that’s a very strong and deep pitching roster.
How does Contreras make the cardinals worse? Did you see molina play last year? I love yadi but he was terrible offensively and his defense wasn’t very good either. Contreras will be at least as good defensively as yadi last year and twice as good with the bat. And how does this make the Cubs better? Is Yan gomes really an improvement over Contreras, absolutely not. That’s a terrible take. Will the Cubs be better, of course. Will the brewers be better? Honestly they lost 2 of their best hitters. They added their own Contreras which helps but honestly what else did they do to improve their offense, nothing. Their pitching is great but what happens when one or more struggles or gets injured(Lauer, houser, peralta) they struggle. Honestly the Cubs will probably push the cards, but the cards lost pujols, and then improved at catcher. Kind of equals out and lost really no one else who made a huge impact.
@Bighiggy, Contreras is a three to four win upgrade over 40-year-old Yadi.
The Brewers are not that great to be honest. They have to hope the pitching is more like 2021, and their offense is weaker. I’d say the Cubs & Cards are pretty even right now, with a slight edge to the Cards because of Arenado & Goldschmidt. The Brewers have 3rd place written all over them. The Reds & Pirates will be battling it out for 4th & 5th.
bighiggy;
Molina may have run down physically, but he’s been one of the smartest players in MLB for years. I doubt there’s been a catcher that runs a staff like he did over the last 20 years.
Willson Contreras is a 180 from Yadi.
MLB is played on a field with players. Not on a computer. Baseball IQ on the field matters.
And one of the stickiest players
What’s that mean?
Google “ball sticks to Molina’s chest protector”
Samuel somehow thinks the people on these boards are all Rotisserie/Fantasy Baseball fanatics who don’t watch the actual game.
The Cardinals lineup with the Brewers pitching would be unstoppable…
Except in the postseason
I’m an idiot lol thank you, i remember.
What are the odds of Goldschmidt and Arenado having the same years as they did last year? Also Wainwright.
Im pretty sure Contreras has never been a four win player.
down voted for making up stuff , and lazily retreating to the old ” intangibles” b.s.
Arenado has hit at least 30 HR’s in 7 straight full seasons and Goldschmidt in 6 of the last 7 so odds are probably pretty good
The Cubs starting staff is better. The Cubs outfield is better. The Cubs catching duo is better. The Cubs middle infield is better. The Cubs bench is deeper. The Cubs coaching staff is better. The only advantage the cardinals have are their corner infielders and neither of them will come close to their stats of last season. It’s the cardinals that will be in a battle for fourth with the Brewers and Pirates.
Dude, whatever you’re seeing, better get some glasses. Cubs “better”…not happening.
I like the Cubbies, but the Cardinals were third in the majors in batting fWAR and ninth in overall fWAR in 2022. They added Willson Contreras to a lineup with Goldschmidt and Arenado and have retained all their other key contributors from 2022. BetMGM gives St. Louis the best odds of winning the NL Central.
The Cards with Arenado and Goldschmidt are most definitely better in the middle of the order than the Cubs, no doubt. Contreras is a much better hitter than Gomes and Barnhart, but they are both considerably stronger defensively than Wilson has ever been. And the Cubs will be seriously stronger up the middle with either catcher, Swanson/Hoerner and Bellinger than they’ve been in years. Where all that leaves them next fall is anybody’s guess. I personally doubt they overtake the Cardinals but they will be an overall better team than they’ve been in awhile.
Yeah but that pitching staff appears suboptimal and lacks any true horses. Pitching wins the postseason.
That’s just flat out wrong.
What does Betmgm have for the odds of Goldschmidt and Arenado reproducing last season while both are well into their 30’s?
Cards should win the central but that’s not saying much at all. I expect the lone NLC playoff rep to win 0 games again this year.
ill take those two next year over most if not all cubs hitters next year. established veteran stars who havent shown signs of slowing down might not be perfect bets, but nobody on the cubs is much better.
Actually agree with good ol’ Samuel on something and concur that losing Mike Schildt was a detriment…Marmol has not impressed and looked out-managed in the playoffs.
Well, revolver, BetMGM and the other sports book folks in Las Vegas put actual money on their prognostications. I daresay they invest a fair amount of analysis into reckoning the odds they offer to bettors.
Cubs will shave about 72mill off payroll next yr and even more than that if Happ walks and Stroman Opts out.
Cubs are sitting in a very good position for next couple of yrs!
They are a dark horse for Ohtani.
Keep in mind that’s the CBA tax based on AAV. Actual payroll is around $176MM(8th in the league) and Cubs are only the 13th in the league . Lots of 2nd and 3rd time arb eligible guys next season though.
The luxury tax lines are too low.
Actually I think they are about right, if not too high. But large market club bring in a lot more revenue from local TV money so I know why you say that, being one of their fans.
Yeah, they are improving but that’s not nearly a good enough team worth crossing the luxury tax. Wait until next year I’d say.
While Heyward (22m) and Henricks (14m) might come off the books next year, Stroman (25m) has a player option. Add in Suzuki (18m), Swanson (14m in 2023,25m in 2024), Tailllon, Bellinger and Happ 11-14m each, it all adds up quickly.
murphy—very good chance that bellinger and happ with a combined number of $30M won’t be back.
If bellinger has a bad year—Cubs won’t snag the mutual option and if he has a good year he becomes a free agent and I don’t see the Cubs with their best minor leaguers all outfielders—Crow-Armstrong, Canario, Davis, Alcantra, plus more and with Suzuki already signed—I can’t imagine the Cubs going $25M+ long term for an outfielder. With the same thought—I don’t see Happ being extended for a long period of time.
@mikes The numbers were for 2023 and how the payroll seemed high in the original comment replied to.
Rarely are mutual options exercised so the buyout for Bellinger is assumed. Happ could still get extended but if not done by opening day, don’t see it happening at all.
Aloha kripes, in addition to Heyward off the books after this season, most likely Bellinger won’t be back. If Stroman has a strong season he most likely will opt out for next year and then there is Hendricks as well as Happ’s situation. The FO will have even more flexibility in this coming off season if they try for Ohtani-san or other top FA’s. Will be very interesting. Mahalo!
Profar can help some teams but remembering back to what he was projected to be……
syndication.bleacherreport.com/amp/1299567-why-jur…
milb.com/news/gcs-41251922
As a lifelong Rangers fan, I remember all the hysteria around Profar when he was ready to break with the big league club. Because SS was locked down with Andrus, they put Profar in the OF as a big leaguer, to which he had never played an inning of in his life. He injured his shoulder a few games into the experiment – a major strain. His offense was never quite the same (they compared his injury to Jake Peavy at the time), and combined with the pressure of top prospect status (he was ranked #1 in the minors by most publications), he never lived up to the hype, even though he has managed to stick in the majors as a role player.
bleacherreport.com/articles/2003374-jurickson-prof…
Profar hit in the 240s. He is not getting a big deal coming off that.
I don’t think Profar is getting a big deal either but using batting average as justification just makes you look silly.
Except it’s like hitting the dang ball which is the point of hitting.
Yes, thank you, we have indeed heard that batting average is a sub-optimal batting metric these days only about 100,000 times on these boards but thanks again for reminding us in case we forgot.
Being the consensus #1 prospect in all of baseball brings a lot of added pressure and expectations with it. Profar’s not a bad player, but he’s no Vlad Jr., another consensus top prospect. It’s a lot different when you start rising through the minor league ranks and realize that EVERYONE is good.
Y’all had a lot of minor league talent back then. Profar, Mazara, Odor, Gallo, and a couple of other lesser pieces.
Holy wow. Reading this 2012 Bleacher Report tool-by-tool comparison of Profar v. Machado, after eyeballing them as 2022 teammates….ouch. Talk about a take not aging well.
I had forgotten about all the Profar hype.
A club insider back when had to decide whether or not to prognosticate-gamble huge on one of them and eagerly did so. Very eagerly. He would not have believed his eyes if given a glimpse into the future via a 2023 Baseball Reference screenshot.
I know the 2012 article compared teenagers, and there have been 10 years and 11 baseball seasons between then and now. But one is a HOFer and one is coming off his best season and hoping for something loftier than a journeyman deal. They projected it backwards.
Not a Bleacher Report criticism. Just an eye-opening wow thing. Prospects’ futures as always is crazy talk yet just as always we’re glued to it and often rely on it like it’s guru magic.
“While the Cubs have done well in recent seasons turning reclamation relievers into successes…”
B I N G O
This is a sign of a quality pitching development team.
Strong bullpens are built by the coaching staffs which include analytical and video analysts people that break down the good and bad of a player.
The Cubs are getting very good at working with the pitchers they have under contract. That’s what’s making them a very good team. Watch the pickups they make during the season regarding pitchers – particularly ones that seem to be failing.
I like Andrew Chafin. But he walked out on a $7m contract he had with the Tigers so he obviously expects at least as much. Considering he’s been a set-up guy primarily coming in to neutralize LH hitters, he’s sort of expensive.
We’re at the point where most teams have used up their budgets for the off-season. They’re holding onto what cash they have for in-season acquisitions as they’ll need to make up for injuries and some of their players having poor seasons.
I think he’d take $7m with a second year tacked on. Especially when upgrading; leaving a team like Detroit, and signing with a team with possible playoff aspirations.
I’m starting to wonder if Chafin plans to play this year. He chose Detroit because he wanted to be near his home. I believe he wouldn’t have opted out if Avila was still GM. If a Midwest team doesn’t find him affordable, he might just stay home this year.
Cincinnati is in Ohio, which is near home lol
But 7 million? I’d shell out 8 but it’s not my money. But in my estimation they have 50 million to spend because they are projected at 80 and have spent 130 million before.
Reds- You might shell that out but the Reds won’t. They wouldn’t even pay Miley 10 million last year. Now they look like geniuses because they let Miley go, There was a work stoppage, and a lot of players went down because they had no Spring. Mostly older pitchers suffered the worst. Miley was worth 10 million in a normal year and he’ll be OK for the Brewers I expect. Cubs decided they’d rather have Smyly and I have no problem with that. Duvall had surgery I believe and won’t even be ready for opening day I think, I could be wrong about that. Haven’t really followed his story.
NicoHoerndawg;
That’s great.
Now find a contending team that has the budget to do that this year and will commit to the salary next year.
As I wrote above, I think most of the contending teams have filled out their bullpens for 2023 at this point.
Only plate Sano will be clearing is at the buffet.
Jealous because hes made more money than you?
Don’t project your own insecurities on to others.
ahhhh! I see who carries the magic 8ball around here. Care if give you a little shake?
Right-handed slugging OF/1B Adam Duvall is also a remaining free agent hitter who should have been mentioned in this article. His numbers were down last season but he slugged 38 HR’s, led the NL with 113 RBI’s and won a RF Gold Glove award in 2021.
Could be a sneaky good pickup for a team on the verge of a playoff push like the Giants
Adam Duvall would also be a sensible 4th OF option for the White Sox who will have two left-handed hitters manning their corners in 2023. Recent free agent addition and fellow Gold Glove winner Andrew Benintendi will man LF on a regular basis but the ChiSox would be wise to sign a veteran righty hitter to help take the pressure off of expected starting rookie RF Oscar Colas in 2023. Duvall and Colas also have the versatility to play CF which would provide additional insurance for oft-injured Luis Robert.
Duvall would bring a low BA/OBP and high SO rate to the White Sox lineup but could also provide big power number to team that failed to produce adequate HR and SLG numbers in 2022. His Gold Glove would also be another welcome addition to a team that played miserable corner OF defense in 2022 with Eloy Jimenez, Andrew Vaughn and Gavin Sheets getting the lion’s share of time on the grass. That trio of gifted hitters should be the White Sox primary 1B/DH options in 2023.
I’ve been saying Cincinnati should have signed him for months.
Aaron;
You keep coming up with players for the White Sox that have holes in their games and want good money. If anything I look for the Sox to unload more salaries in 2023 as the year goes on.
The Sox had the 7th highest MLB payroll in 2022. They don’t generate enough revenue to sustain anywhere near that amount with the operating costs that next to no one posting here has the slightest idea of.
I’d guess the White Sox loss a nice chunk of money in 2022.
Suggest your read Dorothy_Mantooth’s post under the “Quick Hits: Wacha, Hendricks, Profar” article yesterday. He hit in on the head
as no one here has in the 5-7 or so years I’ve been on and off here.
What about Chad Kuhl? Still a free agent?
How long are the Mets going to wait before they grab that power bat/fourth outfielder and reliever they need? We keep hearing that they are interested in Duvall and Chafin, but “the Mets are interested in” has become code for “they’ll sit and wait until someone else comes along and snatches him away from them”. Despite the high payroll and splashy moves, the Mets still have small holes that ultimately played into their demise last year. The thought of seeing Daniel Vogelbach and Darrin Ruf coming up in big spots this year makes me shake. The Mets also only get just enough bullpen help to make the relief corps passable. They don’t load up on QUALITY arms. Last year, every time they called on someone like Adonis Medina, Tommy Hunter (who we still have for some reason), Mychal Givens, Yoan Lopez, Jose Butto, Alex Claudio, Bryce Montes de Oca, Nate Fisher, R.J. Alvarez, Sam Clay and/or Rob Zastryzny I ran for cover.
Keep hiding, shaking and running; they may be done.
No, they aren’t done.
So sorry they are not spending to the level you expect.
If your GM doesn’t want Butto, surely there’s plenty of GMs that would be happy to have him and his change up. Young and no evidence of a injury history to boot.
Fisher—a one day folk hero!
The Will Smith player link is the Dodger catcher not the reliever.
Josh Harrison ? Bad miss.. many rumors of teams on Harrison, including boston
Nelson Cruz signed for only 1 million?
The Cubs are just hoping that Hosmer, Mancini, Boxberger type signings turn into trade deadline trades because they play well in the first half. None of these players are going to help you compete or be long tern solutions. They are a gamble that the Cubs hope will net them a high ceiling 19-20 year old prospect to continue to build the lower levels of their system. In addition if everything goes right Mervis, Davis, Alcantara will be ready and Bellinger rebounds and falls in love with Wrigley.
The better question is… what do they do when they’re 4-5 games over/under .500 at the trade deadline. Do you go for it or to you trade anything that by-God moves in the dugout.
Knowing the Cubs FO they trade anyone who will get something back and keep on with the rebuild. Losing in the wild card round is not as valuable as fresh prospects and they seem committed to making the farm as deep as possible
msq—I’m in the minority—but other than the possibility of it being fun for a year—the Bellinger trial is a lose-lose scenario.
If he doesn’t bounce back—that’s a hefty $17M investment that didn’t work out.
If he does bounce back—with such a weak free agent class next year—he becomes a big time target and with the Cubs depth in the outfield in the minors –they can’t be ready to pay an outfielder $25M+ on a long term deal.
Of course, he can fall in love with Wrigley but has no ties here and will be getting another shot at free agency.
If he bounces back and they’re in it, then he likely helped that. If he bounces back and they’re out of it, you can trade him. Plenty of teams in need of CF help.
Boxberger maybe. Hosmer is probably gonna be gone by May. There’s no reason to trade Mancini. If he produces and the cubs are close to contending they’ll keep him. Same with Bellinger. No reason to trade him when PCA isn’t ready yet.
@msq, Alcantara isn’t expected to be in Chicago until, hopefully late 2024- at the earliest.
Does 1 million for 1 year seem a little bit low to anyone else? I would also given him a 1 year deal at 43, but 1 million to a future HOFer coming off his worst(But Mediocre really)season. I could be wrong.
Does the article’s author have a crystal ball? They already know that Miguel Sano and Brian Anderson “struggled in 2023”?!?! Sorcery of some kind at MLBTR
No. He was a below league average bat (85 wRC+) and he’s a 42 yr old, DH only player.
Scrapping the bottom of the barrel right now.
Wrong. BUT… you are right the Cubs have A-LOT of reclamation projects on their roster. However alot of people forget their increasing depth in the minors. Alot of these guys are only there to be temp. placeholders for guys like Mervis, Canario, Crow-Armstrong and others. The Cubs are sitting pretty good right now. No long-term commitments (other than Swanson), and good youngens on the way.
@Curveball1984
I mean, for the hitter selection. Most of it is scrapping the bottom of the barrel.
or, ya know, scraping…
No one gives stock to Chad Pinder. Probably top 5 utility players as we speak
Cueto signing is the one that really surprises me. With the year he had and so many pitching-needy teams, one would reasonably think so many teams would’ve been in on him. Kluber is netting more than this guy and is injured every year.
Tom Ricketts isn’t the owner of the Cubs. His father Joe Ricketts is. The problem is Joe only provides tbe money to let Jed spend. Otherwise, he has nothing to do with the team. I’m not even 100% Joe Ricketts got a ring. That’s how much he’s not involved in the team.
That’s just a dumb statement Logjammer.
It’s not dumb. It’s the truth. Tom Ricketts isn’t even the Cubs owner.
Joe Ricketts has as much to do with the Cubs as I do with Charlize Theron. Stop talking out your A**.
That’s Mt whole point. He’s the only owner of a sports franchise that has zero to do with his own team. He gives message boy tom to tell Jed the okay to spend money. The 4 Ricketts kids have never worked a day in their lives. Joe bought the cubs for them as a toy. If this was The Toy, Richard Pryor would be the cubs. And the kid(s) would be tom,Todd, Karen and Mark Ricketts.
As a Cubs fan, I see a lot of movement for not a lot of improvement. Hey, that rhymes! Don’t get me wrong – they will be better. But they are still 3rd place in the division most likely. So where does that get them? Maybe a little better than .500.
Coop: In your opinion should the Cubs be spending more to address needs? I ask because I wrote in the other Cubs-relief pitching thread they should be spending for their fans and caught a bit of heat from some Cubs fans for that comment. Perhaps my perspective is wrong; I just thought the ownership could do a better job than they’ve done, and as a large market, spend a bit more to address needs, especially if they’re eyeing the WC this year.
I appreciate your thoughts, man.
I’m very surprised you got pushback from Cubs fans on that comment. I don’t think I know a single cubs fan that hasn’t been extremely frustrated with the Rickett’s over the past few years over their lack of spending.
Yes, they should absolutely be spending. They should sign Matt Moore and Andrew Chafin today.
Yeah, Carl, that was my thought process. And it wasn’t intended to be a Cubs insult, but an observation about how I can absolutely understand why Cubs fans feel that way. I know I would if I were in their shoes. Most of all, ownership that doesn’t improve their teams for their committed fanbases annoy me. Cubs have an outstanding fanbase, but the ownership seems content to let the team simmer for as long as possible when they could be making some key moves to improve.
I also get they acquired Swanson – good move, imo. But to your point, they could get Moore & Chafin today without a second thought and improve the club.
Clip, IMO the problem is that the Ricketts were preoccupied with building up their personal ownership of the neighborhood, rather than the team. It’s what ‘most’ rich people are concerned with – money and power.
When Darvish was traded, that was the start of the rebuild. They should have gone all in, at that time. They didn’t, because Ricketts wanted to sell tickets. Hoyer got decent returns when they eventually did trade Rizzo, KB, Javy and others – but likely could have received better returns if they were moved BEFORE the season began. This resulted in an extended rebuild, but allowed Ricketts to save money on salaries for a few more years- and pay bills to create Rickettsville.
That makes a lot of sense Dogbone. It certainly seems like they should’ve done as you stated here, with going all in on the rebuild.
Ricketts put about a billion dollars of his own money on the ballbark, getting the TV station going, Minor league Infrastructure and other things too numerous to mention. This was after being sold a bill of goods by Epstein about how he was gonna build a Farm system capable of sustaining the talent level. Then proceeded to trade all the assets for his 1 and done Championship philosophy. Then the Pandemic ruined attendance, the TV station lost revenue and all the properties he bought were sitting empty. Finally Hoyer and later Hawkins are fulfilling the talent aspect of it and they’re not trading assets for quick results. You know, the way it should be done.I don’t blame him for not tossing Luxury Tax money away to lame teams like Pittsburgh and Oakland, Or just being ridiculous like Cohen, He still shows up and talks to the fans so I think he has a lot of guts. He’s lowering ticket prices this year, I don’t know how much but it shows he cares. More than I can say about some of the owners in this town, so the doesn’t spend crap just don’t fly.
Yep. Absolutely. The feeling I get from Tom Ricketts is “Ok, we won a World Series in 2016. We did our part. Let’s try to maximize revenue streams now.”
I think he likes the Cubs, but I think he enjoys all his Wrigleyville renovations and side projects much more than he actually cares about winning.
He always has some buzzword excuse whether it’s “biblical losses from 2020”, “intelligent spending”, “building for sustained success”.
He uses terms like that and the 2016 win to justify not spending, meanwhile the Cubs are the most expensive game day experience in baseball and he’s absolutely raking in the money.
I get the feeling you didn’t understand a word I said. I implied that Ricketts is doing the RIGHT thing and building up the team the right way, to sustain a long talent flow to the Majors and not rushing guys for a quick payout. With the talent they have in the minors a steady flow of talent will keep the team winning for years. I’m sure he will pay the players they want to keep and will cross the tax line when necessary. Right now they’re just filling holes by signing short term FA deals while not going nuts based on the results from the trades Hoyer and Hawkins made to accelerate the farm system. They got further, faster than anybody thought. I’m sorry you don’t see it that way. Giving say a Judge 400 million for crap he did for the Yankees would of been stupid. Giving that money to a guy the Cubs developed and grew themselves would be totally acceptable to me. The Park was a death trap when he bought it with concrete falling on peoples heads so now you have a nice safe comfortable place to watch a game. So you have to pay a couple of bucks to save your head, It’s gonna be no different than what a Mets fan pays for a ticket in the future I bet.
They could do that. Or they could just give Little and Horn a chance for a lot less money. Just because you have money, Doesn’t mean you have to toss it away either Clipper.
Uncle—I totally agree with your points—it’s kind of hard for people to realize that money spent only seems important if it is on players. Like you said they literally spent a BILLION dollars of their OWN money (no city, no gov, no tax help)–albeit about $400 million over budget–but it came from their own pockets. That’s about 4.5 seasons of competitive salaries.
The thing that really stung the franchise, thus the fans is that the pandemic did hit right at the end of most of the construction and then he made the woe is me “biblical losses” public statement.
I cannot imagine the hundreds of thousands of revenue they lost per day with no activity in and OUT of the ballpark—no restaurants, no bars, not a thing. (and without those multiple revenue streams, there was a lot less to improve everything).
Anybody is free to call Ricketts and his family whatever they wish—but cheap or not willing to spend is absolutely false.
Are you talking to me? I wasn’t even replying to you. No, I didn’t understand a word you said because I didn’t even see your comment until after I posted mine. I was responding to Clipper.
That’s why when I reply I make a point to say who I’m replying to because the site randomly decides where to place them. Might wanna try that. It just came in under my post. So be it.
@ uncle: Do you mean, like you DIDN’T do here?
LOL. If I know it’s the last one in a thread I don’t. The Edit button is a wonderful thing. If you see where it ends up you can add a moniker at the end. But nice catch Dog
UncleMike: Yeah, I agree with you there. And, to clarify, you *were not* one of the Cubs fans I was referring to in my OP. Nonetheless, your point about the other money they spend is valid. So to clarify, I was talking about spending for spending sake, or implying they don’t spend at all. I was posed with two counter arguments to my OP which was talking about the Cubs saying they could afford one of the two relievers due to the market (or however you want to word that part). Then one inferred that he was satisfied with the owners (therefore the team?) because their payroll is $230MM. So I was asking other Cubs fans about that.
As I recall you wrote they may have internal options to turn to, which makes sense. I wasn’t contesting that either. I was simply inquiring on the fans’ perspective about the market affordability statement & the responder’s contentment with the team as is.
Hope that clarifies it a bit more. It can get really messy responding to different people, and statements seem to read certain ways.
Clipper, I get and it’s cool. I get tired of people calling out the owners for being ” Cheap’. When they don’t take in all that goes into it. Would I like Ricketts to have a 500 million dollar payroll? Not really. Some would. I don’t think that’s good for the game in general and Cohen will probably prove that. When Ricketts took over he only promised to be competitive and for the most part they were.He kept the core alive as long as he could until it became flawed. I don’t think you can argue with any of the calls they made on personnel except maybe Schwarber and in a touch of irony when he was going finally have a spot as what he was a DH they had already let him walk. Cruel Irony. As good as Rizzo is, The Cubs offered him the same money the Yankees paid him and he refused so is that cheap? They have talent up and down the organization for the first time in my life including the 3 guys they signed yesterday for 5.2 million. The White Sox with the same pool spent 720,000 so who’s cheap? It’ll all come out in the wash in the end. People who laugh at the Cubs farm system are really clueless and just stupid in general. I’m 66 and the farm is as good as it’s ever been. The Bears spend up to the cap every year, They just suck at it for the most part. Hopefully Poles is better at it than his previous counterparts, We’ll know soon enough.
Yeah, man, that makes complete sense. Honestly, I was guilty of the same at certain points with the Yankees (calling Hal cheap), but changed my wording for the same reason – he’s not cheap at all. He’s just not as committed to going “all-in” as I want him to be.
Moreover, one of most notable system is: “it shouldn’t take a $300MM payroll to win a WS.” But he’s allowed Cashman to make bad choices that out the roster in the position to need that spending to win…. Anyway, I can certainly see your frustration with the wording because they aren’t cheap.
I appreciate it Mike. I enjoy reading your responses. They’re well-informed and provide a lot of context.
As do yours my friend. It just so happens the Cubs got just about every guy I asked them to. If they hadn’t, Would I call them cheap? Nah. And they did it reasonably without threatening years to come. I thought it was perfect. They’ll compete this year when everybody was saying 2024 or 2025. So job well done. Yankees should be excellent this year also without being ridiculous. You had to pay Judge and made some nice adds. Now taht we all play each other, see you in the summer.
Lol you literally didn’t do that for any of your comments above. Why don’t you just calm down and see a doctor about the stick in your ass.
Hey ‘coop’. Maybe the reason you don’t see much improvement, is because your baseball acumen is suspect.
How are your Berwyn Cubs projected to be this year?
I don’t disagree, but with the way they’ve watered down the playoffs, “a little better than .500”, can be the last wild card spot now.
From the outside looking in, I’d say being in a large market they could spend more. But I haven’t seen the books and neither have you all.
Can we have more articles on the cubs please? I’ve never seen so much press for a team that’s going to contend for absolutely nothing this year.
^^^^^^White Sox fan^^^^^^^^
By clicking on this and commenting, you’ve increased their view and engagement count. That’s why I never click on A’s content bc I want more Yankees articles.
Not sure Luke Voit is an everyday player anymore. Last two years have been dismal. 2020 was impressive but injuries have rapidly declined his production.
Maybe he’ll be healthy.
Would take a shot at David Peralta if the Yankees could stay under the Cohen Tax limit. Any thoughts Yankee fans?
I can’t believe Detroit wouldn’t take an Alfaro (C) or Edwin Rios for 3B. Not to mention Sano, Anderson, etc.