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Chicago Cubs Thread - The Ricketts are too poor to pay players


pwny

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Major League Baseball has suspended Addison Russell for 40 games without pay, retroactive to September 21, under its domestic violence policy.

Russell has agreed not to appeal the decision. The shortstop was placed on administrative leave two weeks ago after his ex-wife published a blog post describing years of physical and emotional abuse by Russell. This suspension will extend through the first month of the 2019 regular season, and it could very well mean the end of Russell's tenure with the Cubs. The 24-year-old is arbitration-eligible this winter and is looking like a non-tender candidate because of his poor play in 2018 and his reprehensible actions off the field.
 
 
Edited by flyguy1609
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18 minutes ago, pwny said:

I also think they need to find a starter at 2B/SS. Zobrist had a great season, but I’m not ready to rest the laurels there on a 39 year old. Trade Almora if they need to do it to make it work

He'll only turn 38 in May.  And I thought about that as well, but there is next to nothing available that could conceivably be considered even a lateral move.  Unless you could somehow convince the Rays to deal one of their stable of young 2Bs.  They are loaded at the position with Joey Wendle and Brandon Lowe already in the bigs, and then Nick Solak is dang near big league ready in the high minors.  Brandon Lowe would be a terrific pickup, and I'd definitely trade Almora for him.  But I'm trying to trade Happ 100 times before Almora.  

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6 minutes ago, hrubes20 said:

But I'm trying to trade Happ 100 times before Almora. 

I mean I would trade them both if we needed to. Play Zobrist in the OF on the days that you want Harper to rest or want Heyward on the bench for matchups. And pick up another platoon guy in Free Agency. Use Bryant in Left more if they need to. 

 

But I’m also pretty down on Almora. He needs to figure out his weight situation. He put on weight, seemed to lose some of his range and also lost his power numbers too. Not ideal.

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1 hour ago, Blazer026 said:

Lester was great. Too bad the bats were silent. 

And I'm all for trading Happ. Especially if we get Harper. I'm still a Almora believer. 

Almora ia a perfect 4th outfielder.  

Edited by bootsy
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17 hours ago, pwny said:

I mean I would trade them both if we needed to. Play Zobrist in the OF on the days that you want Harper to rest or want Heyward on the bench for matchups. And pick up another platoon guy in Free Agency. Use Bryant in Left more if they need to. 

 

But I’m also pretty down on Almora. He needs to figure out his weight situation. He put on weight, seemed to lose some of his range and also lost his power numbers too. Not ideal.

For sure.  But if I have to choose one to keep, I choose Almora without a second thought.  I've been the low man on Happ seemingly forever, and his play this year did nothing to show me that he can be a piece worth keeping around for the long haul.

10 hours ago, bootsy said:

Almora ia a perfect 4th outfielder.  

Yep.  He should be starting every game in CF against LHPs; can come off the bench to PH against a lefty later in the games he doesn't start; and can be a late inning defensive replacement.  Happ has no defensive value anywhere and while he does hit RHP solidly enough, he would be redundant with Meatball/Heyward/Harper (and even Zobrist) as superior left-handed hitting options for the OF.  

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11 hours ago, Blazer026 said:

Am I the only one who would prefer we go after Machado instead of Harper?

I doubt you’re the only one. And I’d be fine if we ended up with either, but Harper feels like a better fit, particularly factoring in defense. And there’s very clear mutual interest on both sides which is always really nice.

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1 hour ago, pwny said:

I doubt you’re the only one. And I’d be fine if we ended up with either, but Harper feels like a better fit, particularly factoring in defense. And there’s very clear mutual interest on both sides which is always really nice.

I would argue that Machado is the much better fit defensively.  We know he's a GG 3B, so at worst he would shift KB to LF, where he would also be an improvement defensively (with more reps of course).  If Machado's SS improvements in LA are real, then he can shift Javy back to 2B where we know he is elite, thus allowing for improvements defensivly at both MIF positions.  Harper actually hurts the defense in the OF, regardless of which spot he plays. There really isn't a debate as to offense when Harper is healthy.  He was an absolute monster in 2015, and was a beast when he was healthy in 2017.  Machado probably has the higher floor, IMO, since he hasn't had the injury concerns but Harper's offensive impact is much higher.  

If I could get either player on the exact same deal, I would choose Machado.  He's been a 6+ WAR player in 3 of the past 4 years, and he was BABIP'd in 2017, otherwise would have been one in all 4.  That floor is immense and I still think he can improve a bit offensively.    

But I know things aren't that easy.  Machado has zero ties to the Cubs that I know about, and has been consistently mentioned with the Yankees and Phillies.  We know Harper and his wife are best friends with the Bryants.  We know Harper has talked glowingly in the past about the Cubs organization and the city of Chicago.  It's pretty clear that his personality would fit in well with the clubhouse.  It would be an absolute shocker if a major non-Harper FA was brought in this offseason. 

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3 hours ago, hrubes20 said:

I would argue that Machado is the much better fit defensively.  We know he's a GG 3B, so at worst he would shift KB to LF, where he would also be an improvement defensively (with more reps of course).  If Machado's SS improvements in LA are real,

Didn’t Machado say he wanted to play SS from now on?

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3 minutes ago, pwny said:

Didn’t Machado say he wanted to play SS from now on?

He came out and said that he would play 3B for the right team.  He was probably talking about Yankees with Didi at SS, but he's at least mentioned publically that he would go back to 3B if need be.  But his defense improved enough with LA that he's fine at SS now, if that's what it would take.

Edited by hrubes20
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5 minutes ago, hrubes20 said:

He came out and said that he would play 3B for the right team.  He was probably talking about Yankeed with Didi at SS, but he's at least mentioned publically that he would go back to 3B if need be.  But his defense improved enough with LA that he's fine at SS now, if that's what it would take.

I didn’t realize he improved a lot defensively at SS. But is it sustainable? He was at one point the worst defensive SS in baseball iirc, so I’d rather not deal with that potential. If he would go back to 3B, that’s a great get.

 

I think ultimately we need to bring in an upgrade at middle infield and in the outfield. If Machado played SS, who would you target in the outfield? And conversely if we got Harper (or Machado went to 3B and Bryant to the outfield), which SS/2B would you go after?

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18 hours ago, pwny said:

I didn’t realize he improved a lot defensively at SS. But is it sustainable? He was at one point the worst defensive SS in baseball iirc, so I’d rather not deal with that potential. If he would go back to 3B, that’s a great get.

 

I think ultimately we need to bring in an upgrade at middle infield and in the outfield. If Machado played SS, who would you target in the outfield? And conversely if we got Harper (or Machado went to 3B and Bryant to the outfield), which SS/2B would you go after?

I think we were dealing with SSS in defensive metrics, which are iffy in the first place.  The eye test had him as an average defender at SS, and the metrics in LA had him there or slightly better.  I wouldn't worry about him suddenly becoming Hanley Ramirez over there. But again, we know he would provide excellent defensive value at 3B if need be.  Harper provides negative defensive value regardless of what position he plays.

I know you don't like it, but Zobrist will be starting 120+ games next year if he's healthy.  I don't see them acquiring 2 new offensive starters in the offseason for both MIF and the OF unless Zobrist gets hurt before then.  Or I suppose if several of the OFers were moved, which certainly is possible (maybe even likely).  Too many moving parts to really project anything other than Zobrist having a big role on the team next year.  He will get the bulk of the starts at 2B if Harper is acquired or if Machado was acquired to play 3B and KB gets pushed to a COF spot; or we would get the bulk of the starts at a COF spot if Machado was acquired to play SS.  There are a million different possibilities if the Cubs don't get either.

14 hours ago, Blazer026 said:

If we get Harper, I wonder what happens to Schwarber. Our main 3 outfields would be lefties. 

I just think Machado makes more sense. I'd be happy with either though. 

It hurts, but I've started to steel myself to the likelihood that Meatball is gone.  Theo made a big deal in his end of season press conference about certain players not developing as they intended and that they needed to look at production more.  He was almost surely talking about Meatball/Almora/Happ.  Meatball is still a good player, but he clearly is a minor disappointment offensively.  I think everyone was expecting 140 wRC+ seasons out of him with 40 bombs.  

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