No Surprise: Chicago Cubs Claim Daniel Bard Off Waivers

[nwfisch]

Can the same be said about the draft? Granted, the monetary value is not equal, but if Kris Bryant is a bust, doesn't that set the organization back too. Everything is a risk on both sides and there is no clear cut science to finding successful players or else there would never be failures because GM's would know which players were going to perform, and which ones weren't.

The Cubs (and fans) have hedged a lot on Baez and Bryant. If they don't make it and do well, then where is the organization? Sure, you still have Almora and Soler, but they don't have the name that the other two do.

Like I said, it is all a risk. The Cubs need some impact players, and they are going to have to take a chance on someone, sometime. opcorn:

Sign Achoo. Championship.

 

[Boobaby1]

Sign Achoo.

Gesundheit!!

 

[X]

Will anyone else literally ltao if the Cubs sign Garza in FA this offseason?

 

[nw7]

Will anyone else literally ltao if the Cubs sign Garza in FA this offseason?

Would be rather humorous. It will be interesting to see what type of money he gets this offseason from whatever team.

 

[daddies3angels]

Garza get nice payday cause he wont be stuck with qualifying offer. That makes a big difference for teams

 

[nwfisch]

Will anyone else literally ltao if the Cubs sign Garza in FA this offseason?

I'll be happy that the Cubs are actually building towards something instead of signing players to trade them.

 

[beckdawg]

Can the same be said about the draft? Granted, the monetary value is not equal, but if Kris Bryant is a bust, doesn't that set the organization back too. Everything is a risk on both sides and there is no clear cut science to finding successful players or else there would never be failures because GM's would know which players were going to perform, and which ones weren't.

I'm not sure that comparison really works. Obviously, if your 1st round pick busts it is a set back. But, if you give a guy a $25 mil/year contract and he doesn't work out you're royally fucked. Take the contract the Giants gave Zito. Over the life of his contract he's provided 5.8 WAR for his 7 year $126 million deal. To put that into perspective, in the past 2 years Wood has 3.3 WAR for the cubs. There was no option to unload him because who's going to take 1 WAR/year or worse pitcher making $18 mil? As cubs fans, we saw the crap the cubs had to do in order to get rid of Zambrano. He was only re-signed to a 5 year deal of which 3 he played decent. Imagine if he had gotten a 7 year deal. The cubs would have had no other choice but to play him for another 2 years because they weren't going to eat $45 mil+. That's the problem with top tier FA contracts. It's not just the yearly money. It's the length. And if they go bad in the first few years you're stuck.

As for where you get star players, I'm not entirely convinced you have to have them in order to win. To win titles, yeah you need a few players. But you can be a quality team year in and out without huge stars. I don't really see the difference between Greinke(2.7 WAR for $24.5 mil/year) and Jackson + Schierholtz(2 + 1.7 WAR for $15.5 mil/year). In this instance, Schierholtz only has to be 0.7 WAR better than whomever he replaced in order for the Cubs to come out ahead. Until the cubs have a lot more talent at the major league level, it's shrewd to do this because arguably the cubs are a better team by adding two average players rather than 1 star.

Hopefully, at some point in the near future the cubs will have a team with average and better players. At that point, it's more difficult to make this sort of improvement with 2 players. But, if you assume Castro and Rizzo will improve as they age, you still have 2B, 2 OF spots and 2 starter rotation spots to fill next year with 2+ WAR guys. Valbuena is also at 2 WAR now but that seems some what suspect sort of the way Barney was last year. All I'm saying is Elsbury is reportedly looking for a Crawford like contract or more and sits at 5.7 WAR today. Choo probably gets a contract more in line with Swisher and he's sitting at 4.8 WAR today. That leaves you with about $6 mil to find a player who gets you 0.9 WAR over one of the other deficient positions. And more importantly, Choo + <insert guy here> are a lot easier to mange than a 7 year $140+ mil deal Elsbury is likely to get.

This is the approach the cardinals have taken forever. It allowed them to take shots on guys like Penny, Suppan and Loshe while improving else where rather than trying to land 1 star player. If those players don't work out, they are cheaper contracts they can manage. They also landed Carpenter that way.

 

[SilenceS]

 

[waldo7239117]

There's no one available via free agency worth the money!

 

[SilenceS]

There's no one available via free agency worth the money!

I beg the differ. Masahiro Tanaka is only 25 and project to a front end starter! He is very much worth going after. Also, Choo may get priced out of our range but he has a 5 plus WAR again. The guy is a machine. There are good players on the market. To say there aren't is just going over board on the whole minors thing.

 

[Boobaby1]

I beg the differ. Masahiro Tanaka is only 25 and project to a front end starter! He is very much worth going after. Also, Choo may get priced out of our range but he has a 5 plus WAR again. The guy is a machine. There are good players on the market. To say there aren't is just going over board on the whole minors thing.

I guess Cano would be no upgrade over Barney. Nah! Who needs offense anyways?

 

[nwfisch]

There's no one available via free agency worth the money!

So the plan is to sit, wait, hope and pray that these prospects pan out?

 

[Boobaby1]

So the plan is to sit, wait, hope and pray that these prospects pan out?

And apparently waiting until the prospects are established before going into free agency. If we have waited 105 years..........what's 5-10 more? opcorn:

 

[beckdawg]

I beg the differ. Masahiro Tanaka is only 25 and project to a front end starter! He is very much worth going after. Also, Choo may get priced out of our range but he has a 5 plus WAR again. The guy is a machine. There are good players on the market. To say there aren't is just going over board on the whole minors thing.

I think the cubs will be in on Tanaka. They have been in on basically every major international player of late. I'm hoping he's going to be cheaper than Darvish but I doubt it. Honestly, the yearly total for Darvish and Ryu at $10 mil/year and $6 mil/year respectively haven't been that bad. It was the posting fees that sort of kill you. I believe Darvish was around $50 mil and Ryu's was $27.5 mil. However, they have saved a lot of money the past few years and last year used the 2012 savings to give Jackson a $6 mil signing bonus. So, in that regard the posting fee might not be as big of a deal.

I think they will also kick the tires on Choo. However, if Tanak's posting fee is Darvish range, the Cubs might not have the money for both.

 

[beckdawg]

And apparently waiting until the prospects are established before going into free agency. If we have waited 105 years..........what's 5-10 more? opcorn:

Going hard into FA in 2007 didn't win them a title either. It's also part of the reasoning for their salary issues they have had the past 2. How about we let them try something different than repeating something that didn't work? Just sayin'

 

[waldo7239117]

I beg the differ. Masahiro Tanaka is only 25 and project to a front end starter! He is very much worth going after. Also, Choo may get priced out of our range but he has a 5 plus WAR again. The guy is a machine. There are good players on the market. To say there aren't is just going over board on the whole minors thing.

Okay, besides him! I knew him, but didn't account for him. I don't want Choo, unless he signs for 2 years at 7 or 8 million per but doubt it.

 

[waldo7239117]

So the plan is to sit, wait, hope and pray that these prospects pan out?

Well yeah, the prospects can do better than what the FA class holds (I know we don't know yet), but that just shows how bad the FA class is.

 

[waldo7239117]

I guess Cano would be no upgrade over Barney. Nah! Who needs offense anyways?

Yeah at 30 million per.... yeah hell, no, that's a complete joke. Let the Yanks pay that shit. Yes, he's good but not at that joke of money.

 

[waldo7239117]

Like I've been saying, if a player comes along that works for the money and can help the Cubs in a few years time, the Cubs will go after him. The Cubs have money, who cares what Theo and Tom says. The Cubs will go hard after that Japanese pitcher.

 

[Boobaby1]

Yeah at 30 million per.... yeah hell, no, that's a complete joke. Let the Yanks pay that shit. Yes, he's good but not at that joke of money.

What is money going to be if the Cubs get Baez and Bryant into the line-up? Baez, Cano, Rizzo, and Bryant wouldn't be too shabby for a awhile in the middle of the line-up.

Rizzo's contract is already user-friendly, and Bryant and Baez would be at the league minimum assuming they make it up roughly at the same time.

So let's use your figure of 30 million. For 42 million, you get all 4 or those guys, which is 4 positions, at an average of 10.5 million per position. By the time Cano's and Rizzo's contracts are close to maturing, it will probably be arb 2 at best with Baez and Bryant.

I'm also not figuring Almora, Alcantara, Soler, Voglebach, or any other minor leaguer anywhere in the line-up which if any of those guys make it, it just lowers the average pay per man that much more.

This is what the Cubs need IMO. A position to upgrade immensely, plus staggered by length contracts so they all don't come due together, thus hamstringing the team. opcorn: