Official Cubs Game Thread!

[CSF77]

Busch struggles to play 1st. You honestly think he'd be a good answer at 2nd? Wow!

And you are putting words into my mouth.

I said as a UI. He was a 2B going up and it is considered his strongest D position. But he is no Hoerner

To add. The context was age and peak. He is not a finished product and at 26-27 that is late bloomer territory. So if anything he will have a short peak and a fast fall. That is typical of this type of player.

So in view of it they should get Owen ready for 1B and have Busch max out his value by his versatility.

If you compare him to Mad, Maestro, Wisdom or Bote he is far superior and having a player of that caliber at your disposal is something most managers would desire.

So the main point is potential. Caissie > Busch. But as a player off the bench Busch > anything that they have

To be honest age is the major factor. Busch might be near equal but is 4 years older. In those 4 years Cassie will continue to improve and surpass Busch at that age. Plus in 4 years Busch is in his decline while Caissie will be in his peak.

So it makes sense to put Owen at 1B at AAA now. Screw that loser Mervis. Dude is a scrub.

 

[CSF77]

To be fair Busch is good enough to play at the majors. On a bad team. On a contender he would be a great bench player.

Mervis got fat on crappy pitching and made a name for himself. The pitching got better and he got worse.

Just talent. He was better than the A ball kids. His peak is AAA as he is getting fat on pitching at the highest peak of the minors. But that is his talent cap

Japan or Korea should be his next venture.

 

[TL1961]

To be fair Busch is good enough to play at the majors. On a bad team. On a contender he would be a great bench player.

Mervis got fat on crappy pitching and made a name for himself. The pitching got better and he got worse.

Just talent. He was better than the A ball kids. His peak is AAA as he is getting fat on pitching at the highest peak of the minors. But that is his talent cap

Japan or Korea should be his next venture.

I am willing to be patient with Busch.

Mervis didn’t get a lot of ABs but I have little hope he’d ever be much.

 

[CSF77]

I am willing to be patient with Busch.

Mervis didn’t get a lot of ABs but I have little hope he’d ever be much.

From listening to a few broadcasters from AA and AAA it is the pitching. MLB has top end pitching up and down. There is little let up. You have guys that pound 98 or guys that pound 94 with nasty off speed stuff

AAA just does not have that level of quality.

He is in a spot in his development that the pitching is not consistent enough to give him a challenge but that gap to MLB is not a small one

KBO and Japan are the natural next step. Worked for Tauchman.

Busch I see being a bench player right now. He will be more situational. PCA is getting the playing time to develop and age and peak potential is the core reasoning

I like Busch but in reality his rookie struggles are expected and for a team struggling you have to put out the best chance to win games.

Bellenger at 1B improves the IF D. PCA improves the OF D

Simple as that.

 

[TL1961]

It’s not as simple as deciding a top 50 prospect is a bench player.

 

[PickSix]

If you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all. Is that where we are at with this team?

 

[bamainatlanta]

So who is getting moved at the trade deadline? Surely they won’t be buyers correct?

 

[Discus fish salesman]

So who is getting moved at the trade deadline? Surely they won’t be buyers correct?

Hoyer won't sell because he's on the hot seat. He'll make stupid desperation moves to try to save his job. Too many holes to plug with deadline moves though

 

[CSF77]

Hoyer won't sell because he's on the hot seat. He'll make stupid desperation moves to try to save his job. Too many holes to plug with deadline moves though

It depends on their record. Right now they are losing June and that will take them out of the playoff scene.

I am actually hoping that Hoerner and Suzuki go on the DL. It opens up opertunity.

Hoerner hand fracture. Suzuki contusion left side. Both should be on the DL. I would bring up Caissie and Vazquez.

Today's line up just shows how Craig lacks a clue on this team

Wisdom leading off. O for.
Morel #2 0 for

Swear he is a idiot when it comes down to many things.

But with Caissie added and Vazquez

Tauchman DH
Swanson SS
Bellenger 1B
Happ LF
Caissie RF
Bote 3B
PCA CF
Vazquez 2B
Amaya C


If Caissie hits ML pitching you have to keep him in RF and think of Suzuki as a DH. That starts to open up trade chips.

What Jed needs is a starting catcher. This is where you can trade out some contract like Happ and get a catching prospect near ready. Or get on Jansen from the Jays when he hits the open. But trading Happ solves some issues

Ideally going into 2025 you want a starting line up like

Horner 2B
Bellinger LF
Suzuki DH
Caissie RF
Morel 3B (I think he stabilizes if not trade for a 3B)
PCA CF
Jansen C
Busch 1B
Swanson SS

Suzuki is injury and error prone. Making him the primary DH makes sense. Morel you really want a full year to decide if 3B is a opertumity.

1B they still have Bellinger. If Busch fails then think of bringing up Davis for LF and pushing the next wave.

This team is not a quick fix. You add if the core is good and you need to get to playing level of LAD. They are not a .500 team. So this is not a 1 guy fixes this Trainwreck.

It will take trading and/or cutting dead weight. Then adding a catcher like Jansen. Then making a decision on Morel. As of right now both areas are poor and will hold back this team from completing

 

[CSF77]

So no Jed most likely will not buy. This team is not good enough to justify it. So the right call is to open up playing time for the future and trade players to bring back younger core players.

I am not saying Bellinger or Swanson. I am saying Happ and Morel. Tauchman should have some trade weight going in. Neris also.

So there are some chips to spend and as I said above 3B and Catcher are two spots that you want to target. Trading Taillon should be looked into also. They are plus 1 starter right now with Horton shut down until the ASG. They will need to open up a slot going into Aug.

So it makes sense to sell. Buying to save your job. That is not going to happen. Selling and strengthening the system while opening up playing time for players deserving opertunity makes more sense.


The only way they buy is if last year happens again. It will not happen as this team is broken.

 

[CSF77]

See Busch at 2B. His biggest asset will being able to play 1B/2B/3B going forward. This is a strong option for Craig.

I would almost want Bote at 3B vs Morel. Morel hitting .205 can not go on when his biggest strength is his bat.

 

[CSF77]

Lol. Not a shocker

Cubs Considering Alternatives To Christopher Morel At Third Base

The Cubs have reportedly considered alternatives to third baseman Christopher Morel this season.

www.mlbtraderumors.com

 

[Szlachcic]

Mind as well the Cubs stay with Morel at this point. See if he is a viable option, long term..

 

[CSF77]

Brown to the 15 day.. on 40 man page. Not announced. Brewer back with the team.

 

[CSF77]

Mind as well the Cubs stay with Morel at this point. See if he is a viable option, long term..

He is dead last of every position in baseball for D. And his OPS is too low to justify that crap.

The main problem is nothing worth a crap in the system. Shaw is struggling in AA. So this is not a quick fix going in.

This IMO will take a trade or converting Happ back to 3B.

D wise Vazquez could be a option but he has not been utilized by Craig in his stint.

Bote is decent as a back up. About it.

Trade market has not developed yet. Rays lost their #1 prospect to injury this month so they are not being forced to deal out anyone yet. To add Franco got a extension in his case and MLB will still act after the judgement.

I would love to get Parades back. It makes more sense than targeting Guerrero JR. 1B can be manned by Bellinger.

Parades for Morel and Drew Gray. See if they bite. Frees up 3B and they can make more deals to push out contract. I would be ok with Vazquez added. Plus D SS. Let's them put Caminero(top 5) at 3B and gives a hold at SS for either Franco or Carson Williams (top 15).

 

[CSF77]

That is one trade worth talking about.

Another is with Denver. Diaz for catcher. I would center a deal around Ballestroes. Seeing how he is going F/A I would stick with that. If they can extend then Amaya added.

 

[TL1961]

Good grief!

 

[Discus fish salesman]

That is one trade worth talking about.

Another is with Denver. Diaz for catcher. I would center a deal around Ballestroes. Seeing how he is going F/A I would stick with that. If they can extend then Amaya added.

Why would you trade their top catching prospect for a mediocre rental at C on a team that's going nowhere fast?

 

[CSF77]

Why would you trade their top catching prospect for a mediocre rental at C on a team that's going nowhere fast?

Ballestroes is not a good catcher. He is a plus LH bat that will end up as not a catcher.

I feel that it will take 2 things to turn this team around.

1. Closer worth a crap.
2. Catcher that doesn't rank near the bottom of framing/pop times/hitting.


Morel would be #3 on that list.

They do these 3 things then the team should start to turn it around. There has been too many games where the pen or the O sucked. So having a Catcher ranking at the bottom and a 3B ranking at the bottom is not something that this team can afford to continue peddling backwards.

But I would prefer Diaz signed to a extension then give them either catcher plus Ballestroes. Amaya makes more sense for them due to control. Ballestroes most likely ends up as a 1B in the majors. His bat should justify it.

Over all with a extend it works for both teams. With out. Well it would be part of a series of moves geared to contend. Paredes has 3 years of Arb left. Extend Dias. Then target a closer like Miller from Oakland. Will cost a bunch but will put this team on the fast track vs the slow lane to winning.

Wont break the bank either.

And Dias is not Medicore. 1.4 fWAR. Positive D and O values. Ranked #3 in Framing. Statcast Catcher Framing Leaderboard


So try to research a guy before judging him. He is one of the top catchers in baseball and I can see Phi targeting him TBH after the news today.

 

[Discus fish salesman]

Ballestroes is not a good catcher. He is a plus LH bat that will end up as not a catcher.

I feel that it will take 2 things to turn this team around.

1. Closer worth a crap.
2. Catcher that doesn't rank near the bottom of framing/pop times/hitting.


Morel would be #3 on that list.

They do these 3 things then the team should start to turn it around. There has been too many games where the pen or the O sucked. So having a Catcher ranking at the bottom and a 3B ranking at the bottom is not something that this team can afford to continue peddling backwards.

But I would prefer Diaz signed to a extension then give them either catcher plus Ballestroes. Amaya makes more sense for them due to control. Ballestroes most likely ends up as a 1B in the majors. His bat should justify it.

Over all with a extend it works for both teams. With out. Well it would be part of a series of moves geared to contend. Paredes has 3 years of Arb left. Extend Dias. Then target a closer like Miller from Oakland. Will cost a bunch but will put this team on the fast track vs the slow lane to winning.

Wont break the bank either.

And Dias is not Medicore. 1.4 fWAR. Positive D and O values. Ranked #3 in Framing. Statcast Catcher Framing Leaderboard


So try to research a guy before judging him. He is one of the top catchers in baseball and I can see Phi targeting him TBH after the news today.

And he'll inevitably regress outside Colorado. I'm fine trading a non top 20 prospect for him. But I'm not trading Ballesteros, or any other prospect with real value.

This team sucks. There's 0 reason for them to buy unless it's a long term piece who can be a core piece.