Chicago Cubs 2023-24 OFFSEASON thread

[Castor76]

Trading for Ramirez would come simply down to how much Cleveland wanted to shed payroll. Presuming it was enough to let him go his market would be high as he'd suddenly be the best available 3B bat and glove out there on a very affordable deal. If Bieber were part of the trade, not sure how much more it costs. I'd still be more keen on either bringing back Belli for 1B or trading for Soto while also trading Happ and Stroman either way. Ramirez, Bieber, and Bellinger on a 27.5 AAV deal while trading away Happ and Stroman is about a 17M increase in payroll. Swapping out Soto for Belli would be a 23-26M increase.

 

[JP Hochbaum]

Too many Cub fans assuming Belly will be back. I for one, loved having him, but I don't think the Cubs will bring him back. He is too high risk considering how streaky he is. The Cubs are going to go after people who are consistent and productive, meaning players that have been the same for at least 3 years. Belly can easily drop off the map and be a horrible contract. Great guy for the team and city to have around but to high risk for me.

 

[CSF77]

Trading for Ramirez would come simply down to how much Cleveland wanted to shed payroll. Presuming it was enough to let him go his market would be high as he'd suddenly be the best available 3B bat and glove out there on a very affordable deal. If Bieber were part of the trade, not sure how much more it costs. I'd still be more keen on either bringing back Belli for 1B or trading for Soto while also trading Happ and Stroman either way. Ramirez, Bieber, and Bellinger on a 27.5 AAV deal while trading away Happ and Stroman is about a 17M increase in payroll. Swapping out Soto for Belli would be a 23-26M increase.

I would say the the locks in the rotation are Steele, Taillon, Hendricks. That leaves Wicks and Stroman as the last two.

If Stroman takes the opt then I see Jed going status que with the rotation. Healthy Stroman is still a solid #2 and Wicks splits up the back end. It is not as poor rotation at all. If Stroman opts out then that is when Jed has to replace a pitcher and that trade becomes a solid plan for 2024. Bieber will be on the move after so that maybe a reason why Jed would do it as it would cost less in prospects and it gives a year of development to Horton.

In this scenario I would trade Alcantara as the impact blue chip. He has all star upside but Chi is deep in the OF. Plus as far as CF go PCA should end up as a platinum award winner multiple times. Alcantara ends up in RF on the Cubs which could be given to Canario also.

I would make Caissie PCA and Horton no touch. Brown, Shaw and Ballesteros would be open for discussion.

Caissie has solid upside. 65 power scale tops the system.

 

[TL1961]

Too many Cub fans assuming Belly will be back. I for one, loved having him, but I don't think the Cubs will bring him back. He is too high risk considering how streaky he is. The Cubs are going to go after people who are consistent and productive, meaning players that have been the same for at least 3 years. Belly can easily drop off the map and be a horrible contract. Great guy for the team and city to have around but to high risk for me.

I don’t understand the concern of risk and being streaky.

He was terrific, had down years due to injury, and bounced back in a huge way.

 

[knoxville7]

I don’t understand the concern of risk and being streaky.

He was terrific, had down years due to injury, and bounced back in a huge way.

even if you think it was ALL due to injuries, then the heightened injury risk is a risk still

 

[TL1961]

even if you think it was ALL due to injuries, then the heightened injury risk is a risk still

Why does he have a heightened injury risk due to having had a past injury?

 

[knoxville7]

Why does he have a heightened injury risk due to having had a past injury?

If someone is claiming he had two bad years due to injuries, what would lead you to believe you’ll get a healthy 8 years out of him as he ages more??

 

[Castor76]

If someone is claiming he had two bad years due to injuries, what would lead you to believe you’ll get a healthy 8 years out of him as he ages more??

Aren't all of Bellinger's bad years due to the one injury though? Does that make him injury prone, if so?

 

[TL1961]

On this board, fans assume if a pro athlete ever gets injured he will always be injured.

 

[knoxville7]

Aren't all of Bellinger's bad years due to the one injury though? Does that make him injury prone, if so?

I mean, he was hurt for basically two years straight right??

 

[knoxville7]

On this board, fans assume if a pro athlete ever gets injured he will always be injured.

Back to back injury riddled years in the prime of his career and life is what then, if not injury prone??

Just bad luck non stop for 2 years? How confident are you that he can go the next 7 or 8 years relatively injury free? Hell, he missed about a month this season IIRC

 

[Discus fish salesman]

Bellinger missed a month this season. I'd definitely sign him back, but he's certainly an injury risk

 

[Castor76]

I mean, he was hurt for basically two years straight right??

But if it was essentially recovering from the one injury, and I'm not saying it was, it's one injury. Ohtani is about to have his 2nd elbow reconstruction in 5 years. The idea for Bellinger should be to have him DH 25-30 game a season I'd presume.

 

[knoxville7]

But if it was essentially recovering from the one injury, and I'm not saying it was, it's one injury. Ohtani is about to have his 2nd elbow reconstruction in 5 years. The idea for Bellinger should be to have him DH 25-30 game a season I'd presume.

The issue is he was playing while “recovering” and his numbers were absolute trash. At least when Ohtani plays it’s always at a high level

I’m not hating on Bellinger for the record, I like him a lot as a player and what he brings. However, if you’re asking me how I think an 8 year contract at about 240 million dollars will turn out, I think you’ll be underwhelmed over those 8 years

 

[dreadpirateroberts]

How do y’all feel about Yoshinobu Yamamoto? I think a 1-2 punch of Steele and Yamamoto would be fun

 

[CSF77]

How do y’all feel about Yoshinobu Yamamoto? I think a 1-2 punch of Steele and Yamamoto would be fun

How Good is Yoshinobu Yamamoto? A Dive Into His Arsenal

An inside look at the arsenal of arguably the best arm on the open market this offseason.

www.justbaseball.com

He would be the type of pitcher that Jed would be involved with. I do believe it will come down to the Dodgers and the Yankees though.

 

[CSF77]

The issue is he was playing while “recovering” and his numbers were absolute trash. At least when Ohtani plays it’s always at a high level

I’m not hating on Bellinger for the record, I like him a lot as a player and what he brings. However, if you’re asking me how I think an 8 year contract at about 240 million dollars will turn out, I think you’ll be underwhelmed over those 8 years

I think that the odds are that he sustains this level of play and 30M per is worth the investment. I see your logic going into it but with age you have 1B in wait. I really don't see the huge risk. Injuries are part of the game. Every team goes in with that concern and they still pay the man regardless.

That said it would take Cody just making it so and dealing with Jed and working out a 5 year plan for the team to chase rings vs hogwash talk.

The big problem with Cody leaving and PCA taking over is the production vacuum. PCA was over matched and most scouts feel that he is not close to being MLB ready. Now Jed has gone through this with Rizzo so this is not new. But all said and done PCA is not going to match Cody in production.

So there has to be a realistic plan B or this offseason will be a failure.

 

[TL1961]

Sign Will Smith!
(And, NO, I don't know whether he is actually a free agent.)

He has been on three straight World Series winning teams.

 

[Castor76]

No idea if you could get Tampa to want a trade like this, but Morel, Mervis, Tauchman, Killian, and Ferris for Yandy Diaz wouldn't make me mad. Cubs would get a very affordable lead off hitting 1B for the next 3 seasons while Tampa gets 5 price controlled players, most with marked promise. The increase to the payroll for the Cubs would only be about 4M after the others are taken off. Then IF Bellinger was re-signed on a 27.5M AAV deal, they could go with PCA as the 4th outfielder with Bellinger moving to 1B probably after Yandy's deal is up.

No matter what, I think for the Cubs to compete in 24 they have to be willing to go 20M over the CBT

 

[Bust]

Click Bait! This dude should consider going full time closer tho

Shohei Ohtani and Cubs linked in 2023 offseason by insider

The Chicago Cubs are squarely in the running for superstar Shohei Ohtani as the first round of general manager meetings kick off this week.

www.chicitysports.com