hrubes20 Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 2 hours ago, CWood21 said: Seems more like as the set-up guy. Nah, he'll be given a shot to compete for the closer's role in ST. He's got closer stuff and just came off one of the best reliever seasons in the league. He's probably the clear favorite for the job at the moment. Love that we were able to snag him for only 2 guaranteed years, which is huge given how fickle relievers are. I would really like to see Jake McGee brought in as well, and the pen can be ignored the rest of the offseason (unless Wade Davis is still unsigned and will take a 1 year deal or something). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWood21 Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 Just now, hrubes20 said: Nah, he'll be given a shot to compete for the closer's role in ST. He's got closer stuff and just came off one of the best reliever seasons in the league. He's probably the clear favorite for the job at the moment. Love that we were able to snag him for only 2 guaranteed years, which is huge given how fickle relievers are. I would really like to see Jake McGee brought in as well, and the pen can be ignored the rest of the offseason (unless Wade Davis is still unsigned and will take a 1 year deal or something). I'd still imagine they're going to try and get Colome from the Rays, dangling either Schwarber or Baez to entice them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 (edited) 31 minutes ago, CWood21 said: I'd still imagine they're going to try and get Colome from the Rays, dangling either Schwarber or Baez to entice them. I'd say there is a very low chance of that happening. To expound, Theo has already come out and said that the Chapman/Davis deals were done out of lack of options. Cubs have a good bit of money available this offseason, there are still multiple quality relief arms on the market available for only money, and those trade pieces would best be used in a deal for starting pitching. Edited December 11, 2017 by hrubes20 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 The Red Sox being interested in Meatball had me thinking, though. A Benintendi acquisition would make all sorts of sense. Cubs would have to add something to the pot obviously, but the Red Sox have the glut in the OF and the need for the pop of Meatball. For the Cubs, Benintendi frees up Almora or Happ to be dealt for pitching, and he's a really good option to leadoff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWood21 Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 5 minutes ago, hrubes20 said: The Red Sox being interested in Meatball had me thinking, though. A Benintendi acquisition would make all sorts of sense. Cubs would have to add something to the pot obviously, but the Red Sox have the glut in the OF and the need for the pop of Meatball. For the Cubs, Benintendi frees up Almora or Happ to be dealt for pitching, and he's a really good option to leadoff. Add something? They'd need to add a TON to get Benintendi IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 Just now, CWood21 said: Add something? They'd need to add a TON to get Benintendi IMO. It would be something of note, for sure. It certainly would depend on your definition of a "TON" though as to just what would be needed. Benintendi hasn't been a world beater the big league level yet, and he's not a Dombrowski guy. His offensive game is slightly redundant in that Boston lineup, whereas Meatball would be a better fit and could be used at DH. With the field dimensions in Fenway, you can chalk up 40 bombs a year with ease. I get it though. You look at the overall stats and Meatball's 2017 wasn't much. But when you look at the splits and realize he was actually the really good hitter in the 2nd half that most thought he would be, it makes more sense. 129 wRC+, .894 OPS, 17 HRs in only 61 games, etc. And then there's this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 Dude has been putting in work this offseason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 This was Meatball last spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 I've decided that I badly want Jake McGee added to this team. Need another great reliever, and you might be able to get him on a Morrow-esque kind of deal. Or maybe not, I don't know. But I do really want him. Don't particularly want Cobb anymore, now that Chatwood is signed, but it is what it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwny Posted December 12, 2017 Author Share Posted December 12, 2017 Apparently we’ve inquired on Harvey. Could be a reasonable price for him, as he’s in his last year of arbitration. Wouldn’t mind *finally* getting that Cubs hitting for Mets pitching trade that we’ve spent years hearing about. As what would effectively be the 5th arm in the rotation, Harvey could be a good get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted December 12, 2017 Share Posted December 12, 2017 3 hours ago, iPwn said: Apparently we’ve inquired on Harvey. Could be a reasonable price for him, as he’s in his last year of arbitration. Wouldn’t mind *finally* getting that Cubs hitting for Mets pitching trade that we’ve spent years hearing about. As what would effectively be the 5th arm in the rotation, Harvey could be a good get. If he came for free, I guess I'd be ok with him getting a shot in ST and then just cutting him for a fraction of his arbitration salary if he still sucks. He truly was a shell of his former self last year. Apparently we have been linked to a Danny Duffy trade as well with the Royals. Not sure a flyball pitcher like Duffy would do well in Wrigley, though, and the trade cost may be prohibitive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwny Posted December 13, 2017 Author Share Posted December 13, 2017 Morrow deal done. also signed Drew Smyly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 14 hours ago, iPwn said: Morrow deal done. also signed Drew Smyly. I mentioned it in the Hot Stove thread, but Theo just can't help himself from going after at least one reclamation project each year, haha. I don't mind it, as Smyly was really solid when he was healthy. Maybe he will agree to pitch out of the pen in 2019 and be a swing guy. Montgomery sounds like he wants out so that he can start, which is fine if we can get value for him. Tons of chatter about the Cubs/Indians working on a deal based around Happ and Danny Salazar. Salazar is very good when healthy, but he's just never healthy. That's a tough trade to make, but I'm not a monster fan of Happ so I wouldn't lose any sleep. Salazar has 3 years of control, while Happ still has a full 6 years, so the Indians would likely need to sweeten the pot a bit. Cubs should do whatever they need to do to add to the deal so that Triston McKenzie comes back with Salazar. He may be my favorite pitching prospect in the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hrubes20 Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 Ok, the Cubs have a perfect opportunity here to add a tailor made fit for the team longterm. It's not likely, but Theo needs to engage Jeter and Marlins on Yelich and offer to take back Wei-Yin Chen. Yes, he was bad and hurt, but you could just cut him if he stinks it up. Yelich is making beans on his contract, so you can just pretend like you're paying it to him in Chen is an unmitigated disaster. Yelich is a solid defensively in the OF, but his bat would slide in perfectly at the top of the lineup. Yelich/KB/Rizz/Willy/Meatball as a top 5. That's fantastic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWood21 Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/top-22-prospects-chicago-cubs/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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