• Welcome to OGBoards 10.0, keep in mind that we will be making LOTS of changes to smooth out the experience here and make it as close as possible functionally to the old software, but feel free to drop suggestions or requests in the Tech Support subforum!

Chicago Cubs Thread - Playoff Push Pending

Boros is Bryant's agent and that negates an extension. The Cubs have known this since his original contract. To his credit, Boros delivers huge contracts to top free agents and Bryant won't be an exception.

Would you draft a guy represented by Boris? At the end of the day, it’s the player’s decision. But maybe he’s ready to maximize the $$ and move on.
 
Would you draft a guy represented by Boris? At the end of the day, it’s the player’s decision. But maybe he’s ready to maximize the $$ and move on.

The Cubs did and it paid off. Bryant with a ROY, a MVP and a Ring made drafting him well worthwhile. He is ready to max the money and move on. Both parties got what they want.

If Baez expects six years and $180 million he will be a free agent. If Javy has a strong second half he may get that contract. A poor second half could make him more affordable. IIRC, there are a number of good SS becoming free agents. The Cubs may prefer to spend money on someone else. Javy is as talented as anyone in the game and a joy to watch. He remains undisciplined at the plate and frequently unmindful of of situational needs.

Rizzo's bat and run production have diminished the past two years. He'll be 32 at the end of the season. His glove is as good as it gets. Among first basemen, Rizzo is presently ranked 15th in OPS and 21st in runs produced. How much is that glove worth if his present offense is what the future holds?
 
2020 Chicago Cubs Thread 60 Games Here We Go

The Cubs did and it paid off. Bryant with a ROY, a MVP and a Ring made drafting him well worthwhile. He is ready to max the money and move on. Both parties got what they want.

If Baez expects six years and $180 million he will be a free agent. If Javy has a strong second half he may get that contract. A poor second half could make him more affordable. IIRC, there are a number of good SS becoming free agents. The Cubs may prefer to spend money on someone else. Javy is as talented as anyone in the game and a joy to watch. He remains undisciplined at the plate and frequently unmindful of of situational needs.

Rizzo's bat and run production have diminished the past two years. He'll be 32 at the end of the season. His glove is as good as it gets. Among first basemen, Rizzo is presently ranked 15th in OPS and 21st in runs produced. How much is that glove worth if his present offense is what the future holds?

For what it’s worth they were talking about Riz tonight and while his production may be down his clutch factor is still there. He is hitting .280 with RISP and .300 with RISP and 2 outs. Add that to his glove and his leadership and you got a good spend.
 
Last edited:
I hope the Cubs figure out the asks and the market and trade these guys if unsure they can sign them.
 
Seager and Story are both FAs after this year - so SS FA pool is crazy. All will be looking for Lindor money - Jon Heyman was on cubs radio this morning and said Seager and Story are asking for a $300+ million commitment, but that Baez will likely settle for less, but still wants a $200+ million commitment.

Cubs aren't doing that, should just trade him now. He'll be 29 when next year starts, guaranteeing him any more than 6 years is scary. Story isn't getting anywhere close to that. Seager is over a year younger than both, he has a shot.
 
Trea Turner will be a FA in 2023, unless the Nats sign him to deal before then.

The MLB SS free agents in 2022 and their age are:

27 Carlos Correa
28 Corey Seager
29 Trevor Story
29 Javy Baez
31 Marcus Semien
32 Andrelton Simmons
35 Brandon Crawford


Essentially it will be flooded market as there may not be more than 2 teams, if that, willing to give out high dollar long term deals to a SS next year, as the Yankees, Mets and Padres won't be in the market for a SS, and fwiw, don't think the Dodgers will be either.
 
Angels are likely going to do something stupid again with money, one of the top guys is going there. Astros, Giants, Reds are all contenders with a need - Yankees are supposedly questioning if Gleyber is the long term answer (they could theoretically get one of the top guys, move Gleyber to 2B and have Rougy as a backup since he costs basically nothing). Gotta assume the Rockies will do something since they have no good players left and have money, Rangers in the same boat.

Cubs have money to spend, if someones value drops, they will be in the market. But, agreed that there is not a lot of places for a $200+ million SS to land, much less a $300 million one.
 
An unlikely victory. First time in 42 years the Cubs overcome a five run deficit in the ninth inning for the win. Bottom of the lineup got it started and the top of the lineup finished it up. Ian Happ with the GWRBI double has a reason to smile.

They needed a win.

edit. Dillion Maples credited with his first victory of the year. He was missed the past month. He has accepted and excelled in his role as the reliever that provides an inning or two of scoreless relief that keeps the team in the game when behind on the scoreboard.
 
Last edited:
Was nice to watch that 9th inning - flipped it on after watching the Suns blow it and saw bases loaded 6-3.

KB was likely taken out as a precaution to make sure he doesn't get hurt before trading him - Ross already said he isn't playing today. Kimbrel continues to mow people down, Goldschmidt looked completely lost in the final at bat. Only 10 days to go, Jed needs to figure this out - but he should be moving things already. Brothers is garbage, if they can get a bucket of balls, go for it. Winkler in the same boat. Maybe they are having some last minute convos with the players to see who is possible to resign and who isn't. Also, Baez has slowly worked his k-rate down below 40% and sits at 37.3%, which is only 5.6% ahead of the next closest player.
 
Mark Feinsand just published an article where he speculated the trade for Kimbrel could likely rival the Chapman trade. That..... seems a bit crazy for this market. In the Chapman deal, the Cubs had 2 top 30 MLB prospects in Torres and Jimenez and told the Yanks they could pick (technically Happ was top 30, but he wasn't an option) - I am not sure there is anyone desperate enough to give up a top 30 prospect for Kimbrel.

If it is true, which, amaze, the best comps I could see would be someone like Tristan Casas or Jeter Downs from the Red Sox - but I don't think they need RP enough for that to be the case, even if they were willing to go big. Maybe the Pads now that Melancon has shown some chinks in the armor - they have a C and Hassell, an OF and their 1st rounder from last year in that range. I think these are all dreaming too big unless someone loses a closer between now and July 31.
 
Duffy back. Sogard DFA'd. Wieck on IL.

Sogard was an experiment that lasted way too long. Ortega getting another start, he looks more and more like he could be a stopgap piece of the rebuilding team next year(s). At this point, my guess is we see the IF be Random FA at 1st, Bote, Hoerner and Wisdom with Alcantara as super sub and the OF be Ortega, Happ, Heyward and Hermosillo for 2022 start. This is all assuming Jed goes after younger players (like the Darvish trade) and not MLB ready ones. Still hoping for Rizzo to resign for something like 4/$80. but who knows.
 
Its Friday, so insane brain thoughts on the 2022 Cubs.

Locked in for 2022:
JHey - $24 million
Hendricks - $14 million
Bote $2.5 million

Arb Eligible:
Willson - $12 million (est)
Happ - $6 million (est)

Pre-Arb:
Alzolay
Hoerner
Mills
Wisdom
Maples
Wick
Wieck
Kohl Stewart
Ortega
Alcantara
Steele
Thompson

So, this team would have:
3 SPs (Hendo, Alzolay, Mills)
3 pure relievers (Wick, Wieck, Maples)
3 swing SP/RP (Stewart, Steele, Thompson)
C - Willy
1B - ??
2B - Bote, Hoerner, Alcantara
SS - Hoerner, Alcantara
3B - Wisdom, Bote, Alcantara
OF - Happ, Heyward, Ortega

From the minors, can assume Hermosillo will get a shot at an OF spot based on his play, no one else screams like they need a spot in the bigs right now.

So, Cubs would need 2 SPs, probably higher level SPs too, 2-3 RPs, not necessarily high end, a backup C (ugh), a starting 1B and then 1 IF and 1 OF depth. With likely $80 million in payroll to the existing team, that leaves a looooot of room to actually compete next year, if they want. Not happening thought says - resign Rizzo, sign Castellanos when he opts out - likely $40 mil combined, go after a couple of high dollar, low year SPs (Charlie Morton, Alex Cobb) likely cost $25-$30 million to get them on 1 year deals. That fills out the holes on the team and still leaves $10 million below the 2021 team salary to get a real closer (Rosenthal, Hand, Iglesias).

I mean, this locks in Riz and Nick, the rest would be short term solutions - and with full capacity Wrigley, $150 million payroll should be a minimum. And they still could technically splurge for a big time MIF and still barely be in the top 10 payrolls.
 
Good summary DaDeacs. If Bryant, Baez and Rizzo leave in the next week, add Duffy to the list of starters to finish out the season. More contact and less power. Roles would change and auditions for next season would begin. It has been seven years since the team was out of contention this late in the season.

Robinson Chirinos is literally living his dream, playing in a Cubs uniform at Wrigley field. Ten years as a Cub farmhand and ten years in the majors before it came true. He has seized his opportunity and appears to be the backup catcher for the balance of the season. Ross sounds relieved.
 
Good guys are on the MLB Network today against the Snakes. Alec Mills looks pretty good through 3 (and a stand-up, leadoff double in his first AB). Not sure how many more days we will see this group together, so I decided to post up and watch a full game while I catch up on some paperwork.

With the deadline looming, I assume Bryant is a dead Cub walking. He has production and potential worth paying for, and someone in contention who thinks they can sign him will bite. So it goes. Interesting comments in this thread about the soft market for shortstops; if Baez is forecasting that level of demand, he may chase away any suitors without trying to. Rizzo's value has to be minimal if he can't hit the baseball 25% of the times he tries, especially at 32 years old. I think he might end up hanging around by default.

I think you have to get something for Bryant and salvage Kimbrel's value for what it is. Hopefully they can find some starting pitching in the free agent market and be good enough next year to knock the loathesome Brewers off their perch and sneak into the playoffs.
 
Kimbrel and Bryant should still get decent hauls - guessing a fringe top 100 guy or 2 guys in some teams 5-10 range of prospects. Javy is a bit tougher to figure out, but he might be able to pull 1 top 5ish prospect from a team, but he isn't getting any prospect that is close to top 100 overall. Rizzo could still get a good prospect on name recognition alone. Davies, Chafin will get a return in the high upside low floor kinda variety. Winkler, Brothers might get a PTBL. Contreras is another possibility - I dont think he is moved, and the Catcher market isn't that big, but he is an impact bat at a position a lot of contenders need - he would be pricey.

There are a couple of articles out connecting the Cubs to the Padres in this silly move where they would trade Kimbrel (and maybe Davies) to the Pads for Eric Hosmer and some high level prospects - the idea being the Cubs would get a bigger prospect haul for taking on Hosmers $85+ million contract for the next 4 years. Count me out of thinking thats a good idea, but you never know what Jed's timeline is - Hosmer is owes $20+ million for the next 2 years, then $13 million for the final 3 years of the contract, if the goal was to punt 2022 and 2023, it wouldn't be the worst idea if you think Robert Hassell is the real deal and can pry him or Campusano away.
 
Also, everyone has likely seen it, but Buster Olney said if he had to guess, none of Kimbrel, Bryant, Rizzo or Baez will be on the Cubs come August 1st.

End of an era.
 
I have been anticipating Kimbrel, Bryant, Rizzo and Baez are gone. It would allow Ross to play the balance of the season with the remaining players on an everyday basis. Happ, Ortega and Heyward from left to right. Duffy, Hoerner, Bote and Wisdom from third to first. Contreras and Chirinos behind the plate. Alcantara and Hermosillo in reserve with a couple more AAA players. Need a new closer but there are candidates unless the Hoyer does a housecleaning there as well.

Time to move on. The lack of quality prospects at AAA and AA is alarming but it's the price paid for six years of a "win now" approach. Fortunately, there are always second tier free agents available to acquire depth. Hoyer will have a clean sheet and money to work with.

Spent some time yesterday combining the performance of the present players over the past two seasons. The numbers are ugly and reflective of the lack of offense. I'm ready for new and different.
 
What a freaking game. Amir Garrett sucks, Javy is awesome - expecting him to get plunked today if he starts.

The two dudes the Cubs got back for Chafin slot in at 16 and 24 on the Cubs prospect list (they were #9 and #12 for the A's). Reports I saw were Deichmann, the AAA OF, is a gap power guy with solid plate discipline, lot of K's, lot of BBs - sounds familiar. His AAA stats look gaudy, but he plays in a hitter park/league, but still a 124 wRC+. Best comp I saw for him is Robbie Grossman - which would be fine by me. He's on the older side, so we could see him compete for a 4th OF spot next year. Solid grab. The pitcher, Palencia, is in low A from Venezuela - stats don't pop out at all, but reports say he throws a 97-99 MPH fastball and has hit 100 in single A this year. He's a starter, but wouldn't be surprised to see him moved to RP, which would get him through the system faster - since he is also slightly on the older side, didn't sign until he was 20 and would be 22 next year going into high A.
 
Back
Top