Williams won’t hurt them much. Was without him most of the year. Have plenty of arms to replace him. Adames is the big loss. Will see if they replace him with something or perhaps dump Hoskins and replace it with two CI.
*******Official Cubs 2025 Thread*******
- Thread starter hawkifann
- Start date
Yeah, Cubs were probably hoping that Thaiss would clear waivers and they could just sit him in Des Moines all season. Not much of a loss. They'll sign some journeyman to a minor league contract. Of course, the best thing would be for both Amaya and Kelly to both stay healthy and effective all season, and for Ballesteros to come up mid-season and start taking on an occasional catching, 1B or DH duty (a la Willson Contreras '16).
Lots of pressure on the Cubs to have their young guys come through, now that Bellinger is gone. Canario needs to prove that he's a Major Leaguer who can stay healthy, as he is now the 4th outfielder; it would be nice if he could play 1B, too. Alcantara and Caissie will be waiting in the wings, but I can't imagine the Cubs would sign another Tauchman-type to fill the gap; otherwise they should have just kept him. The organization needs Shaw, Workman or Triantos to step in at 3B from Day 1, unless they want to take up a roster spot with another journeyman to fill the gap.
Jed just got a lot richer with this Belli deal, so I hope he impresses the hell out of me with what he'll do with all that extra $$$ now...
I wonder if there is a chance Mervis makes the roster as a bench player to cover 1B and 3B. I know Shaw registered quite a few innings at 3rd; but I think some question his arm strength, which makes me wonder if the Cubs are trying to trade Hoerner for a 3B. Who knows.
I am sure it was already talked about in this thread; but will also be interesting to see if the Cubs think their Rule 5 pick, Gage Workman can stick as a bench player. Good #'s in AA; but a hell of a leap. I know nothing about the kid; but can't be any worse than Miles Mastrobuoni
I am sure it was already talked about in this thread; but will also be interesting to see if the Cubs think their Rule 5 pick, Gage Workman can stick as a bench player. Good #'s in AA; but a hell of a leap. I know nothing about the kid; but can't be any worse than Miles Mastrobuoni
This move specifically doesn’t make the Cubs better - but it frees up $25M in payroll this year that they can reallocate to something they need more than Cody Bellinger. We’ll see how they spend it.
Bullpen would be the smart choice. And not just invest in a couple names. But take a shot on as many as possible.
Cubs actually have gone over multiple years in a row. From 2016-2020, the Cubs had the 4th, 9th, 5th, 2nd and 3rd highest payrolls in baseball. Some of that is Theo being more naturally aggressive than Jed, but also Theo had some absolute disasters in there that led to a tightening of the check book. The Cubs will absolutely spend the $25M save on Bellinger. Look for them to end the offseason within $8-10M of the CBT so that they have money for in-season acquisitions and I think if things are really going well, they could push past that.
If this season is a good season (division winning, wins a playoff series, etc.) - the Cubs will make a hard run at Kyle Tucker (if they can’t get him locked up early) and they will be over CBT next year. This year might be a re-set after they completely screwed up the CBT last year.
I can’t imagine the Jays are shopping Vlad. Everything I see is them being in on every big FA name out there.
Look for Matt Shaw to get every chance to win the 3B job this spring. They definitely need a bench bat, so look for them to probably get a guy who can play both corners as a backup to Busch and a plan B if Shaw shows he isn’t ready. Also, Alexander Canario has played some 1B when he was rehabbing from his big injury, so he may get even more work as a bench/1B option.
There’s still a long way to go. Don’t look at the current roster and assume it’s done. Also, while Poteet isn’t a massive return, he’s a pre-arb guy with 2 option years left, so he can be some solid depth.
Moncada would make sense as corner infield bench bat. Assuming you don't overpay for name. Also Drury
What's Hoyer's motivation to improve the team???
Wrigley sells out, merch sales are probably damn good, businesses around the stadium make $$$, and in the division...there's always a chance the Brewers have injuries and you can win the division with 85-88 wins.
I'd bet there's a bigger chance they trade Tucker at the deadline than they sign him to a long term deal.
It's the Cub Way!
Wrigley sells out, merch sales are probably damn good, businesses around the stadium make $$$, and in the division...there's always a chance the Brewers have injuries and you can win the division with 85-88 wins.
I'd bet there's a bigger chance they trade Tucker at the deadline than they sign him to a long term deal.
It's the Cub Way!
I’ve been pro-Moncada, but if he’s the bench addition, then it may be Canario as backup 1B. That would be my only real argument over Moncada. I love the cheap upside play, as he’s been a good player when healthy and he should be motivated to want to re-establish his value.
Where’s Hoyer’s motivation to improve the team? His contract is up after this year and he has not been extended. That’s #1.
Also, Wrigley doesn’t sell out. In 2022, they had their lowest attendance in 25 years (sine 1997) and Marquee ratings were way down, so it’s not true that Wrigley just sells out all the time no matter what the Cubs do.
Fair point.
But that’s 1, and he’s a rental. Pencil him in for the next 5 years and I’ll shut up.
Fortunately, the offseason isn’t over yet. I’m fairly optimistic about Tucker long-term, but obviously that’s going to take time. On the plus side, they have a full season to recruit him, give him a great experience in Chicago and Wrigley and then get out a huge bag.
As I said not sure of his value on open market. Lack of 3B. His name value. Short term commitment. I mean McCutchen was able to land several high 7 to low 8 figure deals. And it’s awfully similar to Moncada.
It really doesn’t matter until Bergman and Arrendo gets settled. Then the musical chairs start.
And also, are we talking about improving for years or are we talking about making next year’s team better? If next year’s team, the idea that he might be a rental is kind of irrelevant.
I think his value would be minimal. Looking for him to get a 1 yr deal for a max of $5M.
You have more faith than I do. But I like that!
To win it takes money. As you noted, 16 to 20 we had a big payroll and played pretty well.
Feels like, to me, recently the club is content to make money and not spend it all on the field.
I agree with that. But I’ve seen projections at 12 or 13. Just a lot of teams can use him.
They never incurred meaningful penalties, right? Just the financial slap on the wrist.
12 games last year, 90 before that and a whopping 100 in 2022. He fouled a ball off his foot and is sitting out the rest of Winter ball.
I’m not seeing it. I don’t think Counsell wants to hold his hand.
Correct, but at this point, there’s nothing other than monetary penalties unless you go more than $60M over the CBT (more than $20M over 3rd tier) - that’s when your draft picks fall 10 spots. They used to also have that penalty for going over 3 straight years, but that was wiped out in the last CBA.
This is a very straightforward reference page on the CBT rules: https://www.mlb.com/glossary/transactions/competitive-balance-tax
He may not. What I like about him is the idea of a former top prospect (literally #1 at one point) who could provide cheap upside if he can be healthy. If they don’t think he can, then they should stay away.
I seriously doubt that Mervis has a future with the Cubs. Jed is just waiting for his value to drop down to absolute zero before getting rid of him, much like with Wisdom and Madrigal. Even if he actually gets another shot at the Bigs with the Cubs, he has played a grand total of 1 inning at 3B in his professional career (at low-A ball), so I doubt he is the answer there even as a backup.
At 306 MLB innings, Mastro is the only one on the roster with significant experience at 3B, even in the minors. If he starts the season as the starting 3B and lasts more than a month or so, Jed should just resign.
Yeah I think that’s an outlier. Can see the A’s overpaying a touch thou or Houston possibly
Yeah, I had no idea if Mervis ever played 3rd in his career, just spitballing ideas. I’m all for giving Shaw a shot to win it; but would be nice to have a decent fallback option. Tough to sign a decent 3rd baseman if they think there is a chance they don’t play everyday, that is why I think a trade of Hoerner is possible if an interesting offer that includes a 3rd baseman is presented.
Nothing to base that thought on though
I really believe we’re going to see Matt Shaw get ever opportunity to win that job and they’ll sign a bench bat who could be a fallback plan at 3B. The only way that won’t be the case would be if they trade Nico, then Shaw probably slots at 2B and they’ll have to get a 3B.
To that end, I really haven’t heard real intel, but if the Cubs were to suddenly slide in after 3B that’s more than a stopgap type, look for Nico to get dealt. I think they really want to give Shaw a chance to get his career started.
If you say, “The Cardinals are a mess”, JVW will appear.
Well they are. Always judge a team by who would you trade for and how hard would you push. Right now three maybe four guys. And wouldn’t give a couple top prospects for any of them.
Levine is saying the deal with the Marlins is dead for now.
Good.
Good.
The Cubs will always be the bigger mess as long as Happ and Suzuki are on the team.
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