*****Official Cubs 2023 thread*****
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I wonder if they can flip Bellinger and Hendriks for some top flight prospects. Here’s to those two ripping it up the next few months, and bringing us a good return.
He’ll look really good wearing that ring while clearing out his cubby after being DFA’d.
I believe he’s on a 2 year deal. Not sure if it’s basically a 1 year with a buyout, or not. He isn’t the problem, though.
Did they give a pitch clock violation?
What’s he done to justify DFA? He’s gotten off to a bit of a slow start, but he’s shown plenty to justify believing he’s going to provide some power. I don’t want to hear anything about a Mancini DFA while Hosmer is still on the roster and Madrigal is still in the bigs.
I don’t get the obsession with Girardi. I still think the jury is out on Ross, but I was never all that impressed with Girardi in New York. If the Cubs fire Ross, what is it you think changes? Roster construction is 90% front office. Lineups are largely Ross, but he certainly works closely with Jed/Carter to establish general PT breakdowns and frameworks.
His is truly a 2-year deal, nobody has an option. 2 years, $14M. That’s a pretty reasonable price for a guy with a proven track record of some pop.
Hosmer will be the next to DFA. Madrigal should be traded for a bag of baseballs and Jake Slaughter should come up to play 3rd. Madrigal is a worthless utility player at this point with soft contact.
Trade is definitely the best path with Madrigal. There are places where he could carve out a career, but this Cubs team isn’t it.
Ross isn’t great at managing a bullpen but this roster isn’t amazing. It’s OK but everything is banking on those prospects they got when they traded Darvish, Rizzo, Baez, and Bryant. They are all a year or two away however.
I could see him heating up when it gets warm and the wind is blowing out at Wrigley.
I think this is a .500 team with upside. I’ve thought that all along and my mind hasn’t changed. I see a lot of reactions after games where every move that works is smart and every move that doesn‘t is dumb. Who on this roster should have been the closer to start? I think Ross has been feeling his way through this bullpen and some of these guys need to step up and get outs. Look at someone like Leiter. I could argue that he could have been closer earlier this year….but he was the lefty killer, so if you lock him to the 9th, you don’t have him to erase a couple lefties in the 7th. It’s all trade offs. When he goes to a number of guys in the pen and it doesn’t work, it’s Ross’s fault. When Ross doesn’t trust those guys and sticks with Assad after he threw a quick 5th inning, Ross is a moron because Assad gave up a run. I like to judge process and trends. Crappy pitchers can have a week and really good pitchers can have a slump….what do they do over time? That’s what I care about. I’ve defended Fulmer a lot, but I’m stepping out of that business at this point because it’s just not working.
He’s certainly done enough that I’m not interested in a quick cut. Hosmer can go away any day now, but I’m also not DFA-ing Mancini until Mervis actually settles in (I believe Mervis will be fine, but Cubs not in position right now to cut both Hosmer and Mancini).
I think with this bullpen you just go closer by committee until Codi Heuer is back. I’d like to see him try closing.
They pretty much have to stick with Mancini because Mervis is the only younger guy in AA or AAA who was ready to come up. Amaya can play 1B but he’s mainly a catcher.
I agree on both points, although I wouldn’t put too much on Codi this year. There are so many times where I’ve seen a guy come back from TJ and he’s fine the first year, but the following season is really when he gets back to full strength. Cubs have a lot of guys with closer potential - Alzolay, Heuer, Estrada, Burdi, Cam Sanders, Leiter…..even Thompson if he can figure out his issues.
Bellinger can play 1B, but damn, look at that catch he made tonight??? Really hard to take him out of CF. I think the only path to a Bellinger extension is if Mervis really struggles the rest of the year and the Cubs look at PCA in CF and Belli at 1B next year.
Agreed, but he’s had more chances than Estrada and others have had. Command against MLB hitters is not an easy thing.
I think the sole reason Bellinger was brought in is as bait at the trade deadline to some playoff contender.
Some teams will take a look at him.
If most Cub fans think this team is still 2-3 years from being competitive, he has value to bring in a prospect or two.
Cubs have to be praying he gets hot in June...
This makes no sense.
1. The Cubs brought him in because he had potential to be a real bargain and help them win.
2. Yes, if the Cubs are hopelessly out of this thing by the deadline and he’s playing well, he could bring value back.
3. But you say Cubs ”have to be praying he gets hot in June”. He has a 124 wRC+ playing elite CF defense now. You say that like he’s been garbage but the Cubs hope he gets hot at the right time.
I still think this is a .500-ish team that will compete in a weak NL Central and be in the race for the last wild card slot. I don’t think the Cubs will trade Bellinger.
Stro certainly falls in the same category, but if they’re competing at all, the Cubs should not trade either guy. This is a weak division and the 3rd WC will be upper 80s wins most years. If they’re sniffing .500 after the break, the Cubs should stay in it. The 2nd half schedule is a lot lighter than the front half.
Oh, I don't know. I guess I expect a little more than a .689 OPS from a veteran 1B/DH who is taking playing time away from others who have a future with this team. You're probably right, though, that Hosmer is actually a lot worse and would cost essentially nothing to cut. Hopefully TM can provide a little more value while grooming Mervis.
I like Madrigal, but I've accepted that there is no place on this team for a no-power, OBP <.300 dude who can't play SS, especially with Morel showing he can play 2B & 3B. Just not sure when the best time to trade him is...Ideally he would go down to AAA and tear it up, increasing his value, but chances are he won't hit much down there either. I think he will have a decent MLB career, just not with the Cubs.
Oh, and Mastrobuoni needs to be gone yesterday.
I really don’t get the hate for Mastrobuoni at this point. Maybe I’ll get there, but so far, all they’ve done with a guy who is primarily a utility infielder is start him in RF and have him pitch in a blowout. He’s a way better bench guy than Madrigal:
- He can actually play 3 IF positions
- He’s fast
- He bats lefty
- He’ll take a walk
- He has shown some pop (16 HRs in AAA last year)
And as for Mancini, he’s been better recently and part of that is that he’s been playing less against righties. Mancini has some Wisdom tendencies, where he’s much better against lefties than righties - 116 wRC+ this year vs. LHP and 77 wRC+ vs. RHP. That in addition to his track record - 2018 (his 2nd MLB season) is the only year in his career where he posted a below-average wRC+ and he has a career 110 wRC+.
Why didn’t Hee-seop Choi become a great major league player? One of the best trades the Cubs ever made.
So you prefer the Nebraska football fan approach to trolling?
You want a "cheer squad" or objective discussion?
Sorry if I hurt your feelings.
You suck at this. Stick with your politics-related posts.
With the off day Thursday, they might also just skip the Wesneski slot and go right back to Stro.
You're great and moving and goalposts and making comebacks with strawman arguments; that's pretty much all you've done here. And your coming over here to unleash a tantrum about how unfair life is for your Yankees does not piss me off one bit; it makes me laugh.
