Our prized recruit from the rebuild haul

[CSF77]

I think we fill the 2b need by signing a shortstop and moving Hoerner to second base.
1b - I'd let Rivas stay there. Good fielder, reminds a lot like Brandon Belt.
3b - Wisdom is fine for another year, as we lack legit power.

1B is a premium power position. Going into the season with him there is raising the white flag. If he broke out like Morel is doing? YES.

On SS, I would rather not get my hopes up here. Jed has gone deep into SS talent. He has a GG quality guy that is hitting .300. Jed has balked on Boras' guys for a long time. Turner is more likely a target. That might turn the wheel a bit. But that is an exception.

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[Diehardfan]

Next year won't be anything special either.....although, I do expect some improvement. Maybe a push to near .500....probably just under it. There won't be any big signings, nor should there be. If they do sign a player, it will be a younger one. They got enough over 30 filler already. More kids will be getting their feet wet and they will be trying to figure out what they will need in the future.....depending on how things play out, I think you might see a big signing or two in 2024 when they just might be starting to move into playoff contender status.

 

[JP Hochbaum]

1B is a premium power position. Going into the season with him there is raising the white flag. If he broke out like Morel is doing? YES.

On SS, I would rather not get my hopes up here. Jed has gone deep into SS talent. He has a GG quality guy that is hitting .300. Jed has balked on Boras' guys for a long time. Turner is more likely a target. That might turn the wheel a bit. But that is an exception.

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Power hitting in Wrigley is heavily overrated. We are ranked in the middle for ball parks and difficulty to hit homers (Busch and PNC are also hard to hit homes in as well). Loading up on more power has always gone against our team. We need guys that hit for high average, into the gaps, and also take walks. Rivas fits that and also has a good glove. This doesn't mean we totally avoid power hitters, but that is why we keep a guy like Wisdom and fill in the power need when the right guys come along.

 

[PickSix]

I’m more interested in what the plan is for this putrid 25th ranked pitching staff than the 15th ranked offense.
I see nothing in the pipeline for TOR #1 or a legit #2. There is a over abundance of #4 and #5 types. Yippie.
And everyone in that bullpen needs to get pushed down a level or two as well.

 

[CSF77]

Power hitting in Wrigley is heavily overrated. We are ranked in the middle for ball parks and difficulty to hit homers (Busch and PNC are also hard to hit homes in as well). Loading up on more power has always gone against our team. We need guys that hit for high average, into the gaps, and also take walks. Rivas fits that and also has a good glove. This doesn't mean we totally avoid power hitters, but that is why we keep a guy like Wisdom and fill in the power need when the right guys come along.

Tossing out a list off the F/A plus retention

Morel 2B 125 wRC+
Happ LF 128 wRC+
Suzuki RF 124 wRC+
Josh Bell DH (26M AAV) 143 wRC+
Contreras C (30M AAV) 145 wRC+
Brandon Belt 1B (16M AAV) 109 wRC+
Davis CF N/A
Travis Shaw 3B (3M) Platoon with Wisdom -100 wRC+ in 19 PA. Career he is a break even 100.
Hoerner SS 113 wRC+

75M add to the line up. O would carry this team and put them up with the top NL teams.


Rotation:

Steele 1.6 fWAR
Thompson 1.3 fWAR
Stroman .6 fWAR
Hendricks .4 fWAR

Smyly has a opt. .4 fWAR and Kilian will get another look. 0 fWAR.

Honestly this would be a team that could end up in it. Pitching is suspect and the pen will be needed some stability.

But ya HR's win games. The worst Cubs team in the Bryant era is better than most era's in the Cubs history. 2007-2008 HR driven. 60's Banks etc. HR driven teams.

HR's are not the issue. Getting guys that hit HR's and keep a SO rate under 30% is what the issue is. That is why Wisdom is not a quality player. He hits near .200 and it is a direct correlation to his strike outs. So the ball is not going into play. The D is a non factor for the most part. And he gets to show off his collar bone 30 times per year as his I am cool moment.

 

[CSF77]

I’m more interested in what the plan is for this putrid 25th ranked pitching staff than the 15th ranked offense.
I see nothing in the pipeline for TOR #1 or a legit #2. There is a over abundance of #4 and #5 types. Yippie.
And everyone in that bullpen needs to get pushed down a level or two as well.

Injury has been a big part of this issue. Right now Alzolay and Marquez are amping up for the 2nd half in the Azl league. Then expect some live.

So this year you can write it off as a injury plague that off railed the staff. That pushed Steele and Thompson out of MR roles into starter roles. Add to it the late and short spring caused the starters to go 4-5 innings vs 5-6. Then you remove your 2 main bridge arms. It impacts the staff.

So they need more depth in the pen and they need to move away from players that are borderline 40 man players. More so non roster types that are on minor league deals. Jed stocked up with that brand and most have played this year. .

That should be the exception not the rule.

The best thing Jed did this year was gamble on Morel. The rest was band aids to limp to the finish line.

But regarding the O vs D. It is fair. You have to look at what is pending though. Wicks should be up next year. Kilian should be in battle for a spot. Alzolay and Marquez into the discussion. So IDK if Jed needs to do much as the losers in this battle strengthen the pen.

 

[PickSix]

Injury has been a big part of this issue. Right now Alzolay and Marquez are amping up for the 2nd half in the Azl league. Then expect some live.

So this year you can write it off as a injury plague that off railed the staff. That pushed Steele and Thompson out of MR roles into starter roles. Add to it the late and short spring caused the starters to go 4-5 innings vs 5-6. Then you remove your 2 main bridge arms. It impacts the staff.

So they need more depth in the pen and they need to move away from players that are borderline 40 man players. More so non roster types that are on minor league deals. Jed stocked up with that brand and most have played this year. .

That should be the exception not the rule.

The best thing Jed did this year was gamble on Morel. The rest was band aids to limp to the finish line.

But regarding the O vs D. It is fair. You have to look at what is pending though. Wicks should be up next year. Kilian should be in battle for a spot. Alzolay and Marquez into the discussion. So IDK if Jed needs to do much as the losers in this battle strengthen the pen.

I’m not following. Alzolay and Marquez are not and never have been top of rotation talent. Adding them to the mix does nothing to help this team compete for the post season in the future. Replacing #4 and #5 type talent with more #4 and #5 type talent doesn’t improve the W/L ratio. It just doesn’t.

 

[JP Hochbaum]

I would have to agree, this team needs to sign 1-2 ACE level pitchers in the next year or two. The only pitcher I see as ACE material in the farm is Herz. Most are 2-5 type pitchers. And if we want to be a perennial contender we need at least 2 ACE type pitchers.

 

[TL1961]

Happy is not bad in LF.
Muncy is worse than what has been going on at 2B? Shocking.

Bell worse than Schwindel? Shocking

I am not basing what a winning team needs on whether it’s better than Villar and Schwindel defensively.

And no sane GM should either.

Bottom line is you just proposed an absolutely awful defensive lineup.

And Happ sucks on D. People want to pretend otherwise, but he simply does not make plays defensively.

 

[CSF77]

I am not basing what a winning team needs on whether it’s better than Villar and Schwindel defensively.

And no sane GM should either.

Bottom line is you just proposed an absolutely awful defensive lineup.

And Happ sucks on D. People want to pretend otherwise, but he simply does not make plays defensively.

I don't agree but W/E.

Regardless I feel Morel might end up as the future 2B. He really has done a amazing job adjusting to MLB talent.

 

[SilenceS]

I’m not following. Alzolay and Marquez are not and never have been top of rotation talent. Adding them to the mix does nothing to help this team compete for the post season in the future. Replacing #4 and #5 type talent with more #4 and #5 type talent doesn’t improve the W/L ratio. It just doesn’t.

What Marquez is def top of the rotation talent. He wa ranked a a top 100 prospect and the second best lefty in the minors. Injuries have held him back but talent wise he has never been a 4 or 5. He is either top of rotation or high leverage reliever as his potential.

 

[LongtimeCubfan]

Keeps getting rocked lmao

Where the idiots now. Looking at you future mlb GM @knoxville7 and friends

Pitiful

Jed is not nearly as intelligent as Theo was and doesn't have even 5% of the personality to attract free agents. The Cubs are doomed for a repeat of the 70's - 2014 with an occasional star who gets everyone excited but ultimately fails. The management in place has no clue! Jed sold the farm last year and got some seedlings or should i say weeds in return. Haven't watched a game all year as I would rather watch a good AAA team which is better than the Cubs.

 

[TL1961]

Jed is not nearly as intelligent as Theo was and doesn't have even 5% of the personality to attract free agents. The Cubs are doomed for a repeat of the 70's - 2014 with an occasional star who gets everyone excited but ultimately fails. The management in place has no clue! Jed sold the farm last year and got some seedlings or should i say weeds in return. Haven't watched a game all year as I would rather watch a good AAA team which is better than the Cubs.

This post, translated, reads “I have no clue about the cubs prospects in the minors.”

 

[Diehardfan]

Ahhh, the moronic troll is back with some more idiocy to share. Now it's Hoyer....thought Ross was the guy holding things up. He claims he hasn't watched a game all year but Ross is a bad manager and can't motivate plus his idea of great baseball is AAA ball.

He is not a major league manager! The team is totally out of control and he has no idea of how to motivate the players and certainly doesn't know how to get the best out of them. He is well-liked by players but he doesn't have the skills to propel them to perform better.

Hmmm, i'm guessing his "longtime" might have started around 2016 or so.....

 

[Castor76]

1B is a premium power position. Going into the season with him there is raising the white flag. If he broke out like Morel is doing? YES.

On SS, I would rather not get my hopes up here. Jed has gone deep into SS talent. He has a GG quality guy that is hitting .300. Jed has balked on Boras' guys for a long time. Turner is more likely a target. That might turn the wheel a bit. But that is an exception.

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While the Cubs need to upgrade the power they are getting from 1B, just how premium is it overall in MLB? There's 17 players who even have 10 HR so far at First this season. The same number hit 20 or more last season. And only 14 in 2019.

 

[Probie2429]

Ideally the Cubs should stink the next two years. It would be nice to stack three years worth of top 5 draft pick years in the cupboard. Did the international FA rules change? I remember the Cubs went way overboard with Theo and were penalized for many years.