Offseason rumors/discussion thread

[beckdawg]

Problem going to be is those guys you mentioned are going to need to maintain it all year and not get injured, worn out or just lose it like they did last year in the 2nd half..

That's literally every bullpen in the majors. And frankly, I think the 2019 cubs are in a way better position to call up guys from their minors than the 2018 cubs are. Mekkes could be a real weapon and he may not even sniff the majors.

 

[CSF77]

Set
Strop, Montgomery, Brach, Cishek, Edwards

Bubble: Chatwood, Kintzler, Duesing.

So these last 3 guys are the guys that they are attempting to force to succeed or replace. All they are doing is creating a competitive environment. I doubt that they will make any major plays due to having to eat a contract to make a change. Brach made sense with Morrow's injury history. It was a intelligent decision based off of it and gave Kintzler and Chatwood a opertunity to fight for a roster spot.

Duesing is now under the microscope right now and he is the guy being pushed to prove his worth. So this 900K non g. Honestly is all about beating Duesing. Win they eat 3.5 happily. Lose not guaranteed.

 

[beckdawg]

Pretty interesting tweet when you think about it.

 

[anotheridiot]

The fact service time does not account for the minors is stupid.

The easy fix to this is make it you get nine years of control (counting minors) for HS drafted players, seven years college juniors, six college seniors. You don't have to pay them MLB money until their on rosters but the new rules should be

Pre Arb
Pre Arb
Arb 1
Arb 2
Arb 3 (until FA)
One QO the player must accept (has to be the average of the five highest salaries at his position or 400% average salary, whichever is greater) for one year
UFA after

Then I'd make another rule that allows teams to amnesty any one contract they signed (must be signed, cannot trade for one) similar to basketball where the team pays the player's salary (with offsets) yet it doesn't count to the cap. If you amnesty a contract, you cannot amnesty another one until the first deal reaches it's original conclusion (i.e if the cubs wanted to amnesty Heyward, they could not amnesty a player until after 2023)

All teams must spend at least 10X the average salary on non-rookie controlled players (so right now that would be slightly above 40M).

Players lose their no-trade clause in the final year of their deal (there is no reason teams should be punished from acquiring a rental because said player doesn't want to move for three - four months)

You write the Qualifying offer must be accepted. Are you saying the team HAS to make it though, or is that where a player can get cut loose. I mean, if the player is not worth top 5 at a position, the team cant be forced to give them that money should they? What would teams do? bounce guys around and make sure they spend enough time at the lower paid positions?

I like the amnesty idea, if there is a limit on how many. That went thru the NBA and contracts got flat stupid after that time period. MAybe the restricted route that NHL and NFL deal with would work that QO year.

I just think its easier to just ban these 10 year deals. The way the players should look at it as they will be paid 40 million for their top years, not be getting paid for what they did for the last 4 years of a 10 year deal. Players are just showing they do not even trust how bad they might be the last 5 years of a deal and how little they might end up getting paid, by wanting the 10 year deal, but the fans expect these owners to continue to dish it out.

 

[CSF77]

Pretty interesting tweet when you think about it.

Hype doesn't equal wins. I've felt that the O was not a issue going in this year. Getting it to not shut off was.

I'm pretty sure that this is just the hot topic. Last year it was about Morrow closing. Ended up to be a good signing. Chatwood turned out to be the lemon.
This year it comes down to spend, spend spend when going in that was really not a option. If they were honestly targeting Harper then they would have not spent on Yu last year.

 

[CSF77]

https://www.mlb.com/cubs/news/tyler-chatwood-looks-to-bounce-back-in-2019/c-303967736

 

[DanTown]

You write the Qualifying offer must be accepted. Are you saying the team HAS to make it though, or is that where a player can get cut loose. I mean, if the player is not worth top 5 at a position, the team cant be forced to give them that money should they? What would teams do? bounce guys around and make sure they spend enough time at the lower paid positions?

I like the amnesty idea, if there is a limit on how many. That went thru the NBA and contracts got flat stupid after that time period. MAybe the restricted route that NHL and NFL deal with would work that QO year.

I just think its easier to just ban these 10 year deals. The way the players should look at it as they will be paid 40 million for their top years, not be getting paid for what they did for the last 4 years of a 10 year deal. Players are just showing they do not even trust how bad they might be the last 5 years of a deal and how little they might end up getting paid, by wanting the 10 year deal, but the fans expect these owners to continue to dish it out.

It's the franchise tag in football; a player is forced to accept it if the team offers it to him. It does NOT count to their $40M (because otherwise teams would just offer that contract for even middling players just to get to 40M).

 

[Castor76]

If healthy, the Cubs will have a lot of nice problems this season. I don't think it will happen, but weirdly Chatwood had a WAR, from what ESPN listed, that was slightly negative.

My point, I guess is, if he's any better, he's a positive for the team overall.

Of course if he'd accept a demotion down to AAA it wouldn't be a bad thing either. That way he could get regular starts should the expected starting 5 stay healthy.

 

[beckdawg]

Edwards has some crazy spin rate

 

[CSF77]

If healthy, the Cubs will have a lot of nice problems this season. I don't think it will happen, but weirdly Chatwood had a WAR, from what ESPN listed, that was slightly negative.

My point, I guess is, if he's any better, he's a positive for the team overall.

Of course if he'd accept a demotion down to AAA it wouldn't be a bad thing either. That way he could get regular starts should the expected starting 5 stay healthy.

I think that he believes that he can win a spot. I doubt this is a AAA thing honestly. If it is a mechanical fix and he blows them away IDK honestly. If they bumo anyone Q is the logical one. Thus far has been a disappoinment and holds good trade value.

 

[chibears55]

Be funny if Harper Machado and a couple of the better players all decided to take a 1 yr deal and low money with a somewhat bad team to try and win it all

 

[beckdawg]

I'm not sure the cubs planned this but there are a hell of a lot of good young players taking what appear to be pretty team friendly deals right as the core group of young cubs are coming to the time they need to talk extensions. Cite what ever rationale for players doing it you would like but if players are seemingly willing to take friendly team deals for guaranteed money possibly because of the work stoppage that may come it really could line up well for the cubs. I mean I'm not sure bryant will do it but let's say they can lock everyone else up that they want to keep. That leaves them in such a better place. For example, if you get these guys on sale or archer like deals that are very friendly it allows you to smooth over a lot of the rough spots coming soon.

 

[anotheridiot]

Thats what I think about with the south side argument, or excuse, that they need Machado to build around. Why not build around Eloy, Moncada, that fearless center fielder they have, as well as the other one or two they will count on with that staff they could have while you still have Abreu in the clubhouse? They claim Lester was that guy with the cubs, which, ok, I understood since we cant draft or develop our own starting pitcher since Z. I would have been OK with that, Zo was the veteran presence in the clubhouse with Rossy, heyward was the most paid and least needed. That was what Theo said way at the beginning, we will need to buy pitching, but we should use our position guys. How stoked would we have all been having Eloy coming up this year?

 

[Diehardfan]

Thats what I think about with the south side argument, or excuse, that they need Machado to build around. Why not build around Eloy, Moncada, that fearless center fielder they have, as well as the other one or two they will count on with that staff they could have while you still have Abreu in the clubhouse? They claim Lester was that guy with the cubs, which, ok, I understood since we cant draft or develop our own starting pitcher since Z. I would have been OK with that, Zo was the veteran presence in the clubhouse with Rossy, heyward was the most paid and least needed. That was what Theo said way at the beginning, we will need to buy pitching, but we should use our position guys. How stoked would we have all been having Eloy coming up this year?

ugh, I hated that trade plus Theo tossed em Cease as well. I was OK with the Chapman deal but I just never saw what everyone was raving about with Quintana....and still don't.

 

[beckdawg]

I don't really see the point in regretting losing Eloy. He has no position on the cubs even if they had him and there's this scouting opinion

Tom Brady Anderson: why is Eloy down at 8, why did Whitley jump to 4?

12:40
Kiley McDaniel: moving towards more RHH DH and moving more towards legit ace

I've said this since the trade but the cubs front office picked Schwarber over him in terms of their big hitting LF who may be a defensive liability. And to be honest, Eloy wouldn't still be here had they not made the Q trade. He would have been packaged for some other pitcher, perhaps archer.

 

[fatbeard]

ugh, I hated that trade plus Theo tossed em Cease as well. I was OK with the Chapman deal but I just never saw what everyone was raving about with Quintana....and still don't.

He was a 5 fWAR pitcher with the Sox. He hasn't been able to replicate that success with the Cubs. The trade was fine given what was known at the time.

 

[chibears55]

I don't think their really interested in bringing in Machado, think it's just a hey we tried thing..

I still dont think the Sox are as close as everyone seems to think they are..

 

[anotheridiot]

I don't really see the point in regretting losing Eloy. He has no position on the cubs even if they had him and there's this scouting opinion

He would have had a position here if they stayed away from Heyward. Everyone was fine with letting Theo build this, but then tossing away developed talent because he mad a 182 million dollar commitment is where he started to lose people. You can talk about his 10 outfield assists, but then just negate Schwarbers 11 in 2/3 the playing time, or the great speech in the clubhouse when all the cub fans in heaven cried that they were about to lose game 7. Eloy did not have to be heyward, he would have been an improvement over Solis.

I've said this since the trade but the cubs front office picked Schwarber over him in terms of their big hitting LF who may be a defensive liability. And to be honest, Eloy wouldn't still be here had they not made the Q trade. He would have been packaged for some other pitcher, perhaps archer.

Again, the discussion is without Heyward. Soler played a fine right field before Madden got here, when he was out there, but Joe showed up and he was no longer good enough.

 

[CSF77]

He would have had a position here if they stayed away from Heyward. Everyone was fine with letting Theo build this, but then tossing away developed talent because he mad a 182 million dollar commitment is where he started to lose people. You can talk about his 10 outfield assists, but then just negate Schwarbers 11 in 2/3 the playing time, or the great speech in the clubhouse when all the cub fans in heaven cried that they were about to lose game 7. Eloy did not have to be heyward, he would have been an improvement over Solis.





Again, the discussion is without Heyward. Soler played a fine right field before Madden got here, when he was out there, but Joe showed up and he was no longer good enough.

Soler was a bust. He was always injured and continues to be injured. He was the worst IFA almost ever and flipping him for Davis was worth just dumping his commitment.

I see Heyward as more related to stablility in the OF. Going in they had 2 raw players and another pending. Heyward at the time a plus defender that could hit and take walks. The results skew this decision but at the time it was not a bad one.

Honestly all I want to see is Harper (bad defender) Manny off the market. It is just a distraction.

 

[CSF77]

On Eloy: I really think he would never been traded if his D was that poor. Heyward to CF was always a option if Eloy was a quality glove.

More and more it feels that Eloy is just a hitter that will end up as a DH.