*****Official Cubs 2023 thread*****
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A bench depth he's fine. Multiple starts in RF in one week is too much.
I would have started Nelly, but it was Mastrobuoni because Gilbert is absolutely filthy to righties (and Mastro did have a hit today and should have walked to load the bases last time up). As @lucas80 pointed out, there’s no reason to hate Mastrobuoni, and I think there’s actually a lot to like. He has a strong glove, he’s fast, he’s been making a lot of hard contact and he’s really versatile. As bench depth, he can be quite good and if you lose an IF for any length of time, he’ll be valuable….but Ross is making him look bad because he’s basically become a platoon RF, which is just not his strong suit. I love him as a utility player (and he’s hit at every level of the minors, so no reason to think he can’t figure out out in the bigs - 126 wRC+ with 16 HRs in AAA for TB last year), but I hate him as a starting RF. Just need to get Seiya back and let Mastro settle into his real role.
I think they want to keep him at AAA until he is desperately needed due to an injury. He could use a full year at AAA. As much as I like him, and what he did last year, he was overmatched, and had struggle adjusting when the league caught up to him. He can use this year to gain positional flexibility, too.
Who do you think the Cubs will send down when Suzuki comes back? Velazquez? I'd hate to see that but he probably needs to be getting a lot of ABs somewhere. I think the Cubs might be a pitcher short right now too and with the upcoming 2 week schedule, they are going to need another arm. Sounds like Hughes kind of bombed yesterday at Iowa, 2/3 IP, 4 hits, 3 runs, a walk, and a HR IIRC, so it doesn't sound like he is ready.
When Hughes and Seiya come back, I think Torrens, Madrigal, Velazquez and Merryweather are at risk.
I think Torrens is the only one who doesn't have options, right? I read in one of the minor league write ups that the Cubs are looking to turn to Dom Nuñez in Des Moines as their break glass in case of emergency catcher if they have to move Torrens.
Yeah, I don’t think he’ll be the guy in the next 10 days, but it’s possible. Moving Torrens would mean DFA/passing through waivers.
The Cubs are flying to LA tonight, so here is your chance to watch Matt Mervis, Brennen Davis, Christopher Morel, and the rest of the I-Cubs on Marquee. I don't know much about starting pitcher Nick Neidert. He looks like org depth, and not much of a real prospect given his age and knocked around for a few years status. Maybe @hawkifann knows more about him?
I am interested to see if Suzuki is playing for the I-Cubs tonight. That will tell us if he's playing in LA tomorrow, or not. I am also interested to see Yonathan Perlaza, he's an interesting IFA prospect who has been slowly crawling his way through the system.
I am interested to see if Suzuki is playing for the I-Cubs tonight. That will tell us if he's playing in LA tomorrow, or not. I am also interested to see Yonathan Perlaza, he's an interesting IFA prospect who has been slowly crawling his way through the system.
I don’t know a ton about Neidert, but I think your assessment is probably pretty close. He’s not on the 40 and probably not radar really for a 40-man spot.
Blurb on BN this morning about Cody Bellinger’s lady friend being at her due date with their second child. That might explain bringing up Velasquez when the team knew Suzuki was almost ready. Worst case NV hangs with the team for a few days, and gets to be added right back because Bellinger is on paternity leave.
I expect an arm shuttle move, too. Even with the off day they seem ripe to make a move soon.
I expect an arm shuttle move, too. Even with the off day they seem ripe to make a move soon.
https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs...hing-prospects-kohl-franklin-and-cade-horton/
Excellent write up from BN about the season debuts of Cade Horton and Kohl Franklin. Two of their biggest pitching prospects. Technically this was Horton’s pro debut. Budget a few minutes for the read.
Also, Owen Cassie is mashing. 4 homers in 2 games.
Excellent write up from BN about the season debuts of Cade Horton and Kohl Franklin. Two of their biggest pitching prospects. Technically this was Horton’s pro debut. Budget a few minutes for the read.
Also, Owen Cassie is mashing. 4 homers in 2 games.
PCA has started calling Caissie “The Ginja Ninja”. I’m so excited for the next few years. All of these guys won’t hit, but there are a lot of really talented guys who seem to have a really good time and are entertaining to watch.
Suzuki is back and Mastrobuoni is optioned to Iowa. Sounds like Estrada won’t be added today.
Looks like Suzuki will be batting clean up tonight.
Yeah, I was wondering if they were just bringing along a guy for this West Coast road trip in case they needed an arm. I assume MLB has some guidelines about this?
I think there are still a couple taxi spots. Zach Short did that with the Tigers some last year, I think.
The old slide stop jump into the air move. Very athletic.
He took the pitch off his laces too.
Steele is really, really good. He should be the next Cubs extension target. They don’t HAVE to, because he won’t be a FA until 2028 when he’s 32. That said, he’s a Super 2, so he gets 4 years of arb starting next year, so his price is going to get on an escalator quickly. Would be best for the Cubs to get Steele on maybe a 6 year deal for maybe $100M. Locks in his price at $16-18M. If something happens down the road, that price isn’t going to hamstring a payroll and it gets Steele paid and locks up the core of his career.
Next extension target - no doubt; but not yet.
I love how JS has emerged from Tommy John surgery and being lost among pitching prospects (with D Underwood, J Stinnett, O de la Cruz, T Hatch, R Zastrynzy, etc.) to a guy that could be our #1 real soon. A contract like that would work out great for the Cubs if JS kept getting better and better. But like you said, they've got some time to see if he looks the part, and there are several areas of caution:
1) JS still hasn't completed a full MLB season. His 119 IP last season was by far the most of his career (and most since his previous career high of 98 in '17 at Myrtle Beach), and it's still not clear why he had to be shut down before Labor Day. If he can go 150+ IP this season (and still look good in the postseason
), I'm sure the Cubs front office will be thinking about this seriously.2) The Cubs are already among the top teams in MLB with future $ committed. MLB.com showed that after the Happ deal, the Cubs are already 5th in MLB in payroll commitment for 2026, with the top 4 already being expected present-day contenders (Yankees, Padres, Braves, Mets). Obviously, only time will tell if this is a good or bad thing,
3) I believe the last player the Cubs "locked up" this early in the contract process was D Bote....
I'm thinking that, if things go as planned for the Cubs, they'll be looking to extend JS like they did NH, after his ARB1 year. If he has a super solid '23 season, he might make $2.5-3M in '24. He'd have to win the Cy Young for the Cubs to be looking at ARB2-4 being potentially more expensive than the contract you described.
So, I think that if the Cubs want him long term, they'll get him, and for a fair price.
I have no idea if the 3-player "taxi squad" rule that was established in 2020 still applies (or even what the rules were before then).
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