Offseason discussion/rumors

[Raskolnikov]

Doubt the Sox will get a top 10, top 50 and a quality BP arm. Not many teams have that kicking around.

Teams that do.

Rockies seem to be in turn over vs contending.

Pirates live off their farm and I doubt will do it.

Yanks just pulled a heist to bring their farm into shape and to help keep out of the tax in the future. That feels counter productive.

So Sox might as well build around him. He is their ace now

Rockies are close to contending. Gonzalez aside, they are trying to put together a core they developed in the minors and are very close to a pitching staff able to compete despite the elevation.

As early as this year they will stay pat or buy for the pennant rather than be sellers.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

Rockies are close to contending. Gonzalez aside, they are trying to put together a core they developed in the minors and are very close to a pitching staff able to compete despite the elevation.

As early as this year they will stay pat or buy for the pennant rather than be sellers.

Agreed. I'm not sure where the Rockies not contending comes from. I think they're a dark horse WC contender myself and they spent some money this offseason. If the starting pitching meets or exceeds expectations they're going to be contenders in 2017. If not they don't have far to get there in 2018. That said I don't see them as a serious suitor for Quintana now as they would have to start any package with Brendan Rodgers and they're unlikely to do that. In July, who know?

 

[beckdawg]

Tommy Stokke @StokkeTommy
As #Cubs search for pitching depth, they're among teams to show interest in former #RedSox 1st rounder Casey Kelly.

Kelly is interesting for a couple of reasons. Firstly he was drafted by theo and company when they were with the red sox. He was then traded with Rizzo to SD when Hoyer took over there. He was optioned by Atlanta to AAA at the start of july and was granted FA in november. Simply put, his numbers are some what ugly. He's pitched 62.0 innings in the majors with a 6.39 ERA and 5.8 k/9 and 2.9 bb/9. Walk rate isn't *that* bad actually. His ground ball rate is 49.3% which is pretty good and his contact profile despite horrid ERA isn't really that bad either at 21.0%/46.7%/32.3%. The Hard rate of 32.3% is a bit higher than you would like to see but to put those numbers in context, Hammel had 18.5%/49.0%/32.5% rates last season.

Kelly throws a pretty typical mix for the cubs FO. He throws a Sinker that apparently has reached 97 before though the fastest he's thrown in the MLB is 95. His curve is his out pitch and that has even worked well in the majors with a 36.8% k rate over 257 pitches to go along with .197/.240/.310 triple slash against and a 59 wRC+. He also apparently has an average change up though that has been crushed in the majors along with his sinker and 4 seam.

Best case scenario for him is still likely only mid rotation and obviously where he is right now is a long way from that. But this is exactly the type of move I've been waiting for the front office to make this offseason. It's not that hard to squint and envision him figuring things out. He needs to stay healthy which has been another issue for him. He's only really pitched more than ~100 innings once and has had TJS. That being said, I'm in favor for as many washed up 1st round guys as they think still have something because all it takes is often just one small change and they are back on the track they were as prospects.

 

[chibears55]

Dodgers interested in Javy Baez

I say if Happs is their future 2Bmen, trade him for 2 young starting pitchers..



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[Mr. Cub]

Hell no! I'll be pissed if we trade Javy.

 

[SilenceS]

Dodgers interested in Javy Baez

I say if Happs is their future 2Bmen, trade him for 2 young starting pitchers..



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Baez is a superior defender with a 30 plus home run bat and already NLCS MVP at 23. Happ is a switch hitter. The Cubs arent trading Baez unless its an unreal package. Also, post where the rumors come from.

 

[beckdawg]

The Marlins are nearing a deal that would net them right-hander Dan Straily from the Reds in exchange for right-handed pitching prospects Luis Castillo and Austin Brice in addition to a third minor leaguer, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

Pretty good return on the reds investment. After the cubs dealt Straily to houston for fowler houston dealt him in March for the 36 year old Erik Kratz(catcher). Castillo is on the top 100 borderline. Some places had him in at the previous deadline when he was part of the Cashner trade to Miami. Brice is Miami's #9 prospect in an admittedly poor system. He produced pretty good results in the minors though for a 9th round pick.

 

[CSF77]

They would be screwed if they traded Baez this year. The team is borderline worse than last year. Going from Hammel to Montgomery is a gamble. Losing Fowler. Schwarber is a improvement at the plate but D wise... that said it cuts into Baez's playing time as LF was open and let Baez get that many AB's. Lackey another year closer to retirement.

IDK right now. All I can say is it wouldn't surprise me if they were in the pack vs way ahead again.

 

[CSF77]

Kelly is interesting for a couple of reasons. Firstly he was drafted by theo and company when they were with the red sox. He was then traded with Rizzo to SD when Hoyer took over there. He was optioned by Atlanta to AAA at the start of july and was granted FA in november. Simply put, his numbers are some what ugly. He's pitched 62.0 innings in the majors with a 6.39 ERA and 5.8 k/9 and 2.9 bb/9. Walk rate isn't *that* bad actually. His ground ball rate is 49.3% which is pretty good and his contact profile despite horrid ERA isn't really that bad either at 21.0%/46.7%/32.3%. The Hard rate of 32.3% is a bit higher than you would like to see but to put those numbers in context, Hammel had 18.5%/49.0%/32.5% rates last season.

Kelly throws a pretty typical mix for the cubs FO. He throws a Sinker that apparently has reached 97 before though the fastest he's thrown in the MLB is 95. His curve is his out pitch and that has even worked well in the majors with a 36.8% k rate over 257 pitches to go along with .197/.240/.310 triple slash against and a 59 wRC+. He also apparently has an average change up though that has been crushed in the majors along with his sinker and 4 seam.

Best case scenario for him is still likely only mid rotation and obviously where he is right now is a long way from that. But this is exactly the type of move I've been waiting for the front office to make this offseason. It's not that hard to squint and envision him figuring things out. He needs to stay healthy which has been another issue for him. He's only really pitched more than ~100 innings once and has had TJS. That being said, I'm in favor for as many washed up 1st round guys as they think still have something because all it takes is often just one small change and they are back on the track they were as prospects.

My main issue with him is 88 hits in 62 IP. He is getting wrecked in the majors. I'm sorry he feels bust.

 

[DJMoore_is_fat]

Baez is the best defensive 2B in the game and showed tremendous improvement at the plate. He's an exceptional athlete with unbelieveable bat speed and power. We would have to be insane to trade him. Unless the package was absolutely out of this world -- Javy isn't going anywhere.

Javy/Russell will be a dominant 2B/SS tandem for years and years.

 

[Omeletpants]

Baez is the best defensive 2B in the game .

Not so sure. Most dynamic and exciting but not best. He makes hard plays look easy and easy plays look hard

 

[DJMoore_is_fat]

Not so sure. Most dynamic and exciting but not best. He makes hard plays look easy and easy plays look hard

Who is better?

 

[Omeletpants]

Altuve, Pedroia, Kinsler.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

Altuve, Pedroia, Kinsler.

I wouldn't throw Altuve in there for his defense. He's about average.

 

[DJMoore_is_fat]

Altuve, Pedroia, Kinsler.

Lol, no.


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[SilenceS]

Altuve, Pedroia, Kinsler.

Lol Altuve. Also, lol at he makes easy plays look hard. No, his range is so good he gets to balls that you think are easy plays because of how fast he gets there. Baez is like a tennis player. He has a natural twitch in his muscle fibers. He has an elite twitch which makes get to balls that most dont. Only elite type defenders have it.

 

[Omeletpants]

Lol Altuve. Also, lol at he makes easy plays look hard. No, his range is so good he gets to balls that you think are easy plays because of how fast he gets there. Baez is like a tennis player. He has a natural twitch in his muscle fibers. He has an elite twitch which makes get to balls that most dont. Only elite type defenders have it.

I dont disagree, but Baez is also the kind of guy that could throw 2 balls into the stands in a game

 

[CSF77]

Still all of these facts are not putting Zobrist on the bench.....

I think we need to be a little real here.

Maddon kept on talking about how he thought this guy or that guy would be his next Zobrist. So Theo goes and gets him. Zo signed with the understanding that he would be the starter. This forced Theo to under sell Castro to free up 2B.

That was the set up. Baez was not where he is when they made that deal but we have to step back and look at the process that happened.

Will Joe make Javy his every day 2B?

No.

Javy will be used as he was until Ben's age forces a limitation on his playing time.

Still as much as we fell in love with his tags at 2B Zo still won the MVP and carried the team against Cleveland while Javy was over his head.

Javy still has a ways to go as a hitter. He came in swinging for the fences. Then he got smacked around for it by the vets. Now he is adjusting as a hitter. Most likely he will end up a superstar. But he is still learning.

By this time next year I'll bet Zo takes a back seat.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

Still all of these facts are not putting Zobrist on the bench.....

I think we need to be a little real here.

Maddon kept on talking about how he thought this guy or that guy would be his next Zobrist. So Theo goes and gets him. Zo signed with the understanding that he would be the starter. This forced Theo to under sell Castro to free up 2B.

That was the set up. Baez was not where he is when they made that deal but we have to step back and look at the process that happened.

Will Joe make Javy his every day 2B?

No.

Javy will be used as he was until Ben's age forces a limitation on his playing time.

Still as much as we fell in love with his tags at 2B Zo still won the MVP and carried the team against Cleveland while Javy was over his head.

Javy still has a ways to go as a hitter. He came in swinging for the fences. Then he got smacked around for it by the vets. Now he is adjusting as a hitter. Most likely he will end up a superstar. But he is still learning.

By this time next year I'll bet Zo takes a back seat.

I agree with this for the most part. Zobrist is your starter at 2B and Baez is the super-sub, then come playoff time you put Jay in for defense and hope the bat comes through. People forget that not all players come out of the gate like Kris Bryant.

 

[DJMoore_is_fat]

Still all of these facts are not putting Zobrist on the bench.....

I think we need to be a little real here.

Maddon kept on talking about how he thought this guy or that guy would be his next Zobrist. So Theo goes and gets him. Zo signed with the understanding that he would be the starter. This forced Theo to under sell Castro to free up 2B.

That was the set up. Baez was not where he is when they made that deal but we have to step back and look at the process that happened.

Will Joe make Javy his every day 2B?

No.

Javy will be used as he was until Ben's age forces a limitation on his playing time.

Still as much as we fell in love with his tags at 2B Zo still won the MVP and carried the team against Cleveland while Javy was over his head.

Javy still has a ways to go as a hitter. He came in swinging for the fences. Then he got smacked around for it by the vets. Now he is adjusting as a hitter. Most likely he will end up a superstar. But he is still learning.

By this time next year I'll bet Zo takes a back seat.

Under selling Castro? He's a sub .300 OBP guy who is chronically prone to defensive mental errors. Castro is one of the more harmful players you'll find. I'm not sure it's possible to have under sold him.