Bryant loses grievance

[Raskolnikov]

The Bryant situation all of a sudden makes the Madden/Ross flip make sense to me. They are hoping the clubhouse can be fun again and Bryant decides to sign.

I don't undertand why they have to trade Bryant now...when they can see what effect Ross has on the clubhouse, see how good they are, and wait until this years trade deadline, with 18 months left he will have most or all of the value he has right now (unless he gets hurt).

 

[beckdawg]

WOW: Cubs and Rockies Have Reportedly Discussed a Kris Bryant for Nolan Arenado Swap - Bleacher Nation

I am almost speechless. There's so much to unpack from what Jesse Rogers just said about Bryant and Arenado.

www.bleachernation.com

Well that's..... a thing.

“This is something I heard very recently. Yes, Arenado would love to play for the Cubs, I agree with Jeff [Passan] on that, but I’ll go one step further,” Rogers said in response to Passan’s earlier comment about the Cubs and Arenado. “They’ve even discussed a one-for-one deal, Kris Bryant for Nolan Arenado, where the Rockies pick up a good portion of Arenado’s salary over the length of the contract – I’m talking $7 or $8M per year. That’s how much they need to get rid of Arenado and he wants out.”

 

[SilenceS]

WOW: Cubs and Rockies Have Reportedly Discussed a Kris Bryant for Nolan Arenado Swap - Bleacher Nation

I am almost speechless. There's so much to unpack from what Jesse Rogers just said about Bryant and Arenado.

www.bleachernation.com

Well that's..... a thing.

Yea, would be pretty sweet. The left side of the IF would be where balls go to die. Baez and him would scoop everything. Bryant is an average third baseman and isnt going to get better

 

[beckdawg]

Yea, would be pretty sweet. The left side of the IF would be where balls go to die. Baez and him would scoop everything. Bryant is an average third baseman and isnt going to get better

The crazy part of this is A) you wouldn't pay the draft pick comp for Arenado as though he were a FA and B) if that report is to be believed you'd be landing him at a massive AAV discount. If this happens that's just great business.

 

[greg23]

Yea, would be pretty sweet. The left side of the IF would be where balls go to die. Baez and him would scoop everything. Bryant is an average third baseman and isnt going to get better

While I love KB; I'd do that deal in a heartbeat.

However I think they would need to have a secondary deal lined up to get rid of quintana and or chatwood.

I also think that Col would likely move on from Bryant.....if not immediately then within 6 months.

Maybe a three way deal with the Cubs-Rockies-Braves could be figured out.

 

[zack54attack]

If Bryant isn't traded for Arenado, then flip everyone and restart this.

 

[CSF77]

That is pretty cool deal if it happens. Basically they targeted Bryant at #3 and didn't get him.

Interesting part is KB would be closer to Vegas and the Rockies could pay him.

So it could end up great if true.

 

[CubsFaninMN]

I agree that also dealing Chatwood and Quintana is one way to pare down that $11 million you'd need to get off the rolls in order to both get Arenado *and* stay under the luxury tax, but I'd hate to get rid of actual major league level pitching talent just to free up salary. I wasn't a big fan of the Castro trade just to get his salary -- and his ass -- off the team, either.

What else do the Cubs have that other teams might be willing to take without the Cubs still paying their salaries? Not Heyward, at least not until he gets another straight league-average season under his belt. I think either Contreras or Caritini would be in demand, as would either Happ or Bote. But you can't package two of those four and get more than about, what, $6 million off the books? You'd have to find someone else to add to them in order to free up payroll.

Either that, or keep one of Quintana and Chatwood, and then deal a catcher and a utility player. That leaves you in the best position to maybe get to the trade deadline in shape to maybe be adding and not selling, while getting Arenado and barely playing Limbo with the luxury tax pole. and honestly, you might get more back for, say, Bote and Caritini together than for one of either Chatwood or Quintana.

-Doug

 

[CubsFaninMN]

BTW, know what would be hysterical, if it wasn't so sad? There is not a single mention of the Bryant grievance, and the ruling on it, on the official Cubs website.

It is news that will have far-reaching impacts on the team and the fanbase, and they want to pretend it didn't happen. Very sad commentary on the lack of transparency in the big businesses that sports franchises have become.

-Doug

 

[Jack Lantern]

Even with the same roster Cubs will contend. They only fell apart last year when Kimbrel blew save after save and killed all team morale and momentum. Losing their best player Javy and later Bryant for the stretch run didn't help either.

Hopefully they get their back end issues taken care of. Am sure Ross will be proactive sooner if Kimbrel implodes again and goes with closer by committee.

 

[Raskolnikov]

While I love KB; I'd do that deal in a heartbeat.

However I think they would need to have a secondary deal lined up to get rid of quintana and or chatwood.

I also think that Col would likely move on from Bryant.....if not immediately then within 6 months.

Maybe a three way deal with the Cubs-Rockies-Braves could be figured out.

What are Quintana's numbers at Coors?

 

[Gustavus Adolphus]

That banging sound you just heard was a window closing.

 

[kerrywoodwins20]

Signing Puig is funny. Zambrano duex.

I feel that 2020 is a lost cause going in.

1. Signed a no experience manager.
2. Not willing to go over tax.
3. Lacks a deep farm system.
4. Best farm players are 2-3 years out.

At the end of the day we are just going through 1 window closing and another one opening. Signing David should have signaled that they are playing for a new window vs 2020. They sold the farm to keep Joe's teams competitive. That is over now. The goal is getting payroll manageable again and adding talent.

The NYY did this also. They sold and reloaded the farm fast. Now they are a force again with a manageable playroll.

This is not inventing the wheel. This is just business.

Managers have very little impact on every day baseball operations.

Their main roles once the free agents decide where to play is lineup creation and bullpen management.

Joe Maddon was one of the worst managers in baseball in both of those categories.

The only reason Maddon was hired was to attract free agents like Lester and Zobrist.

He was a net negative in terms of actually managing the ball club day to day.

So no, Ross will not be a negative in that regard. It’s impossible he could be worse at lineup creation and bullpen management than Maddon.

Since we are broke, we have no idea if players would not want to play for Ross. The league seems to like him so I doubt anyone would turn the Cubs down because Joe was gone.

 

[CubsFaninMN]

Oh, yeah, Maddon was a horrible manager. His record with the Cubs was...

oh, wait....

-Doug

 

[SilenceS]

Managers have very little impact on every day baseball operations.

Their main roles once the free agents decide where to play is lineup creation and bullpen management.

Joe Maddon was one of the worst managers in baseball in both of those categories.

The only reason Maddon was hired was to attract free agents like Lester and Zobrist.

He was a net negative in terms of actually managing the ball club day to day.

So no, Ross will not be a negative in that regard. It’s impossible he could be worse at lineup creation and bullpen management than Maddon.

Since we are broke, we have no idea if players would not want to play for Ross. The league seems to like him so I doubt anyone would turn the Cubs down because Joe was gone.

Do you sniff paint chips or wake up like this?

 

[RacerX]

Locker room cancer

So says the message board cancer.

 

[kerrywoodwins20]

Oh, yeah, Maddon was a horrible manager. His record with the Cubs was...

oh, wait....

-Doug

Lol so you think a bad manager loses games with all that talent? Or that a good manager wins with no talent?

Yeah, it’s Maddon’s brilliance that led us to leading off Almora Jr. vs right handed pitchers when he’s one of the worst hitters in baseball. Gotta make sure he gets as many at bats as possible. ?

 

[kerrywoodwins20]

Do you sniff paint chips or wake up like this?

If you really think managers make a dramatic difference in how a roster performs, you’re just a dimwit. All they’re asked to do is make lineup and bullpen management decisions with the numbers and keep a reasonably harmonious clubhouse. Maddon did one of those 3 things well.

 

[Castor76]

Even with the same roster Cubs will contend. They only fell apart last year when Kimbrel blew save after save and killed all team morale and momentum. Losing their best player Javy and later Bryant for the stretch run didn't help either.

Hopefully they get their back end issues taken care of. Am sure Ross will be proactive sooner if Kimbrel implodes again and goes with closer by committee.

He blew 3 saves. Check a stat before you post. There were times he got lit up, but he converted 13 of 16 save chances. So don't talk like the Cubs lost 12 games because of him. Cubs were 15-8 in games he pitched. Who wouldn't take the rate?

 

[kerrywoodwins20]

He blew 3 saves. Check a stat before you post. There were times he got lit up, but he converted 13 of 16 save chances. So don't talk like the Cubs lost 12 games because of him. Cubs were 15-8 in games he pitched. Who wouldn't take the rate?

Win loss record with a pitcher that primarily pitches with the lead should be significantly better than 15-8 ideally.

Just as an easy comparison, Cubs were 23-5 when Chapman pitched in 2016 after they acquired him.

Kimbrel was mediocre if you judge him as a reliever. Awful as a closer. Not much else to say. Hope he’s better.