Well where the Hell is Mervis? Is he a done deal or did I miss the train on him?
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Don't let HawkeyeHitman see this. It might put him in a rage and he could kick his dog or something.
I get it, a year ago Mervis was the hot prospect. Would be so nice to have him figure out major league pitching.
I'd say the club underpaid for Steele and Merryweather. Others looks about right.
Yeah, Merv suddenly figuring it out would solve a lot of issues.
My guess is he’ll be traded. Busch seems like a better version of Mervis. Neither is a great defender, but Busch can play multiple positions, has a better hit tool overall and pretty similar power.
Those numbers are usually spot on from the projections when it comes to guys and their arb year salaries. As great as Steele was last season, it was his first full season as a MLB starter. And, he only threw 170 innings. That was partially by design, but he isn't a horse, yet. He is still being ramped up. If he keeps it up his salary will escalate rapidly, and his bite at the FA apple isn't that far off. Merryweather is about the same. He's kicked around, had some injuries, and erratic with his control. Very nice year last season, too bad Ross burned him out.
Steele and Merryweather will be interesting to watch. Steele, especially, still see his arb numbers escalate quickly if he keeps throwing like he did last year. Steele is a "Super 2", which means he has 4 arb years and won't hit FA until 2028 when he's 32. Would love to see the Cubs extend him - flatten it the cost of his arb and give him a couple years on the back end.
I can tell baseball is just a joke to him. He would rather entertain than play ball.
Still not sold on Taillon being a #3 starter. He sure isn't a #2 like in the graphic.
That's a solid over to take
Now I am going to look for a place where I can parley those...would make the season interesting
Haven’t followed the Cards’ offseason. Any particular reason why such an improvement is to expected?
I think they grossly underachieved last year. I never understood why they were as a bad as they were. They have plenty on offense and the made a number of additions to their pitching staff this offseason, including Sonny Gray. It’s not going to be a great STL team, but I fully expect them to be significantly improved.
Ok, it just seems like "These guys have just GOT to play better this year" is a heck of a stretch to expect a team to improve by 13 games. But, the Cards do tend to win, Vegas usually knows what they're doing, and 84 wins wouldn't surprise the heck out of me.
There’s some of that for sure. I think there offense will be mostly fine. Arenado, Goldschmidt and Contreras have long offensive track records and Nootbaar is solid. Jordan Walker likely grows from his rookie year. I think it’ll mostly come down to their pitching. Pitching was absolutely atrocious last year. Sonny Gray was a really good addition. Not sure about the others, but they should be upgrades over what they had in the rotation last year. I could see them picking up 8 games based on starting pitching alone.
In any case, I’ve seen enough from the Cardinals in my 40+ years of following the Cubs to not just assume they’re going to stay down.
@hawkifann and @MeetTheFerentzes
Take it to the ***Official Cardinals Thread***
Signed,
The Moderators
Take it to the ***Official Cardinals Thread***
Signed,
The Moderators
FYI, Shaw says he's been doing 99 percent of his offseason work at 3B. If nothing else, it does make him more valuable to rise up quickly, and there is more roster space at 3B for him at the major league level. Not much blocking him in the minors, either.
If you do not have the Audacy app, I suggest you get it. Lots of good Cubs convention stuff the last few days. Coomer says Busch is dialed in at 3B, but, who knows? I mean, the man was a 1999 All Star, but how dialed in those guys are to organizational thinking all year long is debatable.
https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs...uter-zobrist-tv-money-and-other-cubs-bullets/
PWizzy’s best moment came earlier when a kid got stage fright and panicked to the point of tears. My kid has been in that spot and Wisdom was a hero.
Yeah, because the Cardinals’ fortunes have absolutely nothing to do with how the Cubs season might go; plus, a 4-post January discussion about a long-time rival is interfering with discussion of the array of moves Jed has been making. Apologies.
Notable International Signings: 1/15/24
January 15 marks the official opening of the international signing period. While the vast majority of top talents have reached …
www.mlbtraderumors.com
- Fernando Cruz, SS, Cubs: A $4MM signee out of the Dominican Republic, Cruz is a 5’11” infielder. Evaluators praise his bat speed and all-fields power potential. He draws attention for his athleticism and defensive toolset at shortstop. MLB Pipeline notes he has an aggressive offensive approach, while BA indicates some scouts have expressed concern about the length in his swing. MLB Pipeline ranks Cruz as the #4 talent in the class.
Long expected. As I always say, the IFA market makes me feel a little dirty, but it's part of a healthy system. The Cubs are investing a huge chunk of their available money on Cruz, so, fingers crossed. At best they can grab some lottery tickets, or some older players who are developing in their own countries.Notable International Signings: 1/15/24
January 15 marks the official opening of the international signing period. While the vast majority of top talents have reached …
- Fernando Cruz, SS, Cubs: A $4MM signee out of the Dominican Republic, Cruz is a 5’11” infielder. Evaluators praise his bat speed and all-fields power potential. He draws attention for his athleticism and defensive toolset at shortstop. MLB Pipeline notes he has an aggressive offensive approach, while BA indicates some scouts have expressed concern about the length in his swing. MLB Pipeline ranks Cruz as the #4 talent in the class.
Baseball Prospectus is out with its new list of top prospects, and congrats to the Chicago Cubs! The list is 8.9 percent Cubs. 9 players in the Cubs system (Including recently added Michael Busch), made the list. Last year only 3 made the list. That is a robust improvement for the organization.
https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs...01-prospect-list-is-8-9-percent-chicago-cubs/
https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs...01-prospect-list-is-8-9-percent-chicago-cubs/
Cade horton was listed as the #4 RHP prospect in the BP list.
It will be very interesting to see where he starts this season. A few games at AA, or right to AAA? I would think AAA, but the I-Cubs play a lot of April games in Buffalo, St. Paul, and Omaha. The home games in Des Moines might be a little cold and damp, too. I can see a few weeks in AA trying to get some better weather in order to keep his work load regular.
It will be very interesting to see where he starts this season. A few games at AA, or right to AAA? I would think AAA, but the I-Cubs play a lot of April games in Buffalo, St. Paul, and Omaha. The home games in Des Moines might be a little cold and damp, too. I can see a few weeks in AA trying to get some better weather in order to keep his work load regular.
Josh Hader is off the market, and at 5 years for $95 million, good. The Astros are going to have a very bad contract on their hands in a few years.
With a month until ST begins, which bullpen arms are the Cubs looking at?
https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs...ullpen-free-agents-and-one-really-stands-out/
With a month until ST begins, which bullpen arms are the Cubs looking at?
https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs...ullpen-free-agents-and-one-really-stands-out/
I wanted Stephenson, but he’s not without some pretty significant risk on a 3 year deal. He was really good last year, thanks to a new pitch, so I think it’ll hold, but his track record is good, but not overly consistent.
Fans probably won’t like it, but at this point, I think the pen signing will be David Robertson or Ryne Stanek. I actually like both, but they’ll be cheap, 1-year deals and certainly not sexy or splashy.
I really want one more veteran arm.Beyond that I am okay starting the season with the starters and bullpen arms, which include some guys who can swing back and forth, and a bunch of guys on the cusp of hitting the majors who can bring the ball at 95mph. Add via trade if needed during the season.
I saw that Cleveland made Clase available, but the reported asking price was Cade Horton. A laughable ask on their part, but I guess it doesn't hurt to throw out a name.
Yeah, I can’t imagine Cleveland is actively shopping Clase - he’s a top closer and he’s super cheap for years. There’s no reason to deal him unless you get a team to vastly overpay.
I’m with you on where the pitching staff is now. Get Robertson or Stanek and then the pen probably looks like: Alzolay, Merryweather, Robertson/Stanek, Cuas, Almonte, Smyly, Leiter as the bulk of the bullpen and the last spot could go to a long guy like Assad/Brown/Wesneski (assuming Wicks is 5th starter) or a young arm like Little or Palencia or any of the young arms they’ve added to the 40-man.
There’s a lot to like with this staff, but agree that one more veteran arm is needed.
Clase’s value will never be higher. He wasn’t quite as dominant last year, though. The years of control is very appealing…and the Guardians know it.
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