This is an interesting time of year. Rizzo opted out and the Padres/Phillies declined team options on Wil Myers and Jean Segura today. There are a lot of paths to a competitive team, so I’m going to do my best to hold judgement until the Cubs are much closer to what might be the finished offseason.
It’s not a high bar to make opting out worth it. He only had 1 year left for $16M. I have no doubt that he can beat that deal, particularly in terms of years. Yankees might bring him back for a couple more years or some team might give him a 3 year deal worth $45-60M, maybe with an option.
He likely has some ideas, as surely his agent has been taking calls. I just don’t see his 1yr/$16M left on that contract as a particularly big gamble. I think he’ll clear it pretty easily, even if it’s just tacking on a couple years at a similar price. I’d be more of an advocate for him to come back to Chicago if it wasn’t for Mervis. Rizzo will always be an all-time favorite, but there’s no reason to block the kid and they’re not going to run a L-L platoon.
I think they’ll pick up someone on a 1-2 year deal to allow Mervis to ease in. I think the Cubs need to have another choice at 1B in case Mervis struggles and/or isn’t ready for the full load…and if they have someone to platoon or share time with at 1B and DH, it helps the Cubs be competitive without putting a ton of pressure on Mervis to be the guy.
I am too lazy to look up his home/away splits, but I doubt he will find a better home ballpark than Yankee Stadium.
Not surprisingly, he hit better at Yankee Stadium, but the split differences weren’t profound.
As expected. I’ll be curious what he signs for….and someday, I’d love to find out the real reasons the Cubs made zero effort in 4 years to extend him.
The Cubs have already been in contact with Senga, or his agent, anyway. Senga and Seiya Suzuki share the same agent. That might be beneficial for the Cubs.
I am very curious about where the Cubs go at catcher. They value position flexibility so much I can't see them adding another good glove, low bat catcher. They will want to add someone who can hit, or who might be defensively limited but can be effective at a corner infield spot or DH. All signs point towards adding a premium SS, a stick at 1B, and a mid range pitcher. The pitcher may come via trade, and I wonder if there may be a catcher out there that they can add via trade, too?
That explains short-term stuff, but not why, over the course of the last 4 years they never even made a token effort to extend him long-term.
Supposedly they are keen to add a SP. The Cubs don't have many of those to trade.
I think this works out in everyone's interest in the end. 2 years is probably a fair deal they can eventually reach, and it keeps him off the 40 man for awhile. Now, maybe he does go somewhere else, but both sides are sending out the right vibes.
Yep, and I think both sides are genuine. Something like 2/$15-18M is a fair price for what Smyly brings and a nice raise for him. Maybe even 2/$20M with an option. I think he’s genuine about liking Chicago. He rehabbed here in 2017-2018 and then still came back.
As far as I could tell, they all cleared waivers and were assigned to Iowa. Not totally shocked, but a little surprised nobody claimed any of them, particularly Crook.
I saw a later tweet that most of them did elect for free agency. It doesn’t rule out them signing back with the Cubs, but I did jump the gun with that post. I forgot that the Cubs making the assignment then triggered action for them. I’ll find them and put them in here because there were also a number of minor league guys, including Dakota Mekkes from “The Compound”, who chose free agency.
They check boxes. I expect an upgrade at CF like Kiermaier. Someone who won't block the ascent of a home grown prospect. Bell is a switch hitter, and can do a little more than Abreu, but I wonder if the Cubs want him a little more because of the intangibles. He does worry me a little, though. His bat might be getting old.
I think he’s losing a little power, but if you look at his numbers from last year (Abreu), they’re solid. HRs were down, but he hit 40 doubles. wRC+ was in line with career norms, strikeouts were down and walks were up. Hard hit rate and barrels were up. I can certainly live with that as a bridge to Mervis….and if Mervis turns out not to be the guy, there’s always a 1B with power available.
The measurements and pure “stuff“ ratings maybe point to fluke, but Adrian Sampson’s command was first rate. Assad doesn’t blow you away with the eye test, but he’s been consistently productime in the Minors and then carried that to Chicago.
Glasnow is fascinating. Healthy, he’s an ace-level starter. He’s coming off TJ surgery and looked strong at the end of the season. He’s on a 2 yr/$30M deal that’s backloaded, so he’ll make (IIRC) 6M this year and $24M in 2024, which makes him someone the Rays would likely want to deal, and with the injuries, selling now when he appears to be strong would make sense.
Vazquez would be the guy to target. If not him trade for Danny Janssen
The Rays do this every year because, well, because they are good and generate talent. They are always making pre Rule 5 deals to clear up space and cleve off payroll.
