The Cubs Hot Stove Action Thread

[CSF77]

And sadly that sums up how truly horrific this organization has gotten that bad can't be found from a player that one of the two worst franchises over the last 25 years, the Kansas City Royals, couldn't find a place on their 40 man roster for.

I agree. It is sad that Barney is even worse. Still .322 OBA with the ability to steal 20-30 bags is not bad at all. I have no clue on his D or range factor.

It means little long term but for this year at least it gets us away from Barney's non production at the plate.

 

[patg006]

I agree. It is sad that Barney is even worse. Still .322 OBA with the ability to steal 20-30 bags is not bad at all. I have no clue on his D or range factor.

It means little long term but for this year at least it gets us away from Barney's non production at the plate.

Super smart move then to sign Barney to a $2.3M deal when a player who couldn't crack one of the two worst teams in the last 25 seasons 40 man roster could easily be an improvement.

 

[CSF77]

Super smart move then to sign Barney to a $2.3M deal when a player who couldn't crack one of the two worst teams in the last 25 seasons 40 man roster could easily be an improvement.

Yep. But again what is a UI worth now a days.

The way I look at it:

IF situation: 1B Rizzo, 2B Now Barney and Watkins, SS: Castro, 3B: Murphy and Valbuena.

Outside looking in: Olt and now Emilio Bonifacio in the mix.

I would rather have Olt at 3B getting AB's and some speed in the 1/2 spots in the line up. Just saying. VS limited players getting AB's.

I've gotten over them spending big to fix the problem. But in the same sense it is stupid to justify playing time with contract value over production.

 

[JosMin]

Bonifacio was squeezed out of Kansas City with the signing of Omar Infante and the trade for Norichika Aoki. Both of them filled the two major positional holes the Royals had and had enough depth on their bench that he became expendable. The versatility Bonifacio offers is a welcomed addition to any NL team and his speed also gives them some more lineup flexibility. He also gives the Cubs some insurance for the potential arrival of guys like Olt, Vitters, Alcantara, Baez, Bryant, etc., later this summer.

It isn't the sexiest signing, but Bonifacio played well during his time in KC (.285/.352/.348 with 16 steals and a decent glove that plays well at multiple positions) and he proved during his time in Florida that he can make an occasional impact.

 

[patg006]

Bonifacio was squeezed out of Kansas City with the signing of Omar Infante and the trade for Norichika Aoki. Both of them filled the two major positional holes the Royals had and had enough depth on their bench that he became expendable.

Wrong.

They didn't have room for him on the 40 man roster.

What middle IF depth do they have on their bench that made him expendable?

They are not even going to carry a backup MI. Is that the depth on their bench you are talking about?

So again a player one of the two worst franchises in the last 25 years couldn't find room for on their 40 man roster has a shot at being a starter for this team.

:fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap:

 

[CSF77]

Regardless, he is a better option over Barney. No need debating the obvious.

 

[beckdawg]

I will say right now I am willing to bet Bonifacio wins a starting job. Like the signing.

 

[dabynsky]

Wrong.

They didn't have room for him on the 40 man roster.

What middle IF depth do they have on their bench that made him expendable?

They are not even going to carry a backup MI. Is that the depth on their bench you are talking about?

So again a player one of the two worst franchises in the last 25 years couldn't find room for on their 40 man roster has a shot at being a starter for this team.

:fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap::fap:

But they had room for pedro ciriaco? :fap:

 

[patg006]

But they had room for pedro ciriaco? :fap:

Yep.

Despite the Royals significant resource and revenue advantage over the Cubs that is allowing them to field a higher major leagye payroll than the Cubs they save about $3,000,000 on keeping Ciriaco in the minors over Bonifacio seeing as you completely missed the point that the Royals will not carry a backup infielder on the major league roster.

It had nothing to do with depth on the bench.

Nor does it change the fact it is sad that a player let go by the Royals will end up being a starter for the Cubs three seasons into this great rebuilding job.

 

[DewsSox79]

too many people posting about a bad player. is he worth the posts? ehhh il tske the bait....no point in signing him. see what the kids can do or just stick with barney. I mean dont the cubs have a million top specs that are going to be all stars that can come up and get reps whether its at ss or 2b or whether castro gets moved to 2b? he isnt a good player. why do fans always put a positive spin on things...i dont get it.


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[DewsSox79]

where is silence at? im waiting on a link that shows he is a potential legit clean up hitter.


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[Boobaby1]

where is silence at? im waiting on a link that shows he is a potential legit clean up hitter.


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He might be. The almighty OBP that is the be all, end all with Cubs fans would say as such. As long as it is higher than Soriano's, who cares, right?

Milton Bradley had a .364 OBP and Kosuke Fukudome had a .359 OBP, but Soriano is the Albatross of former Cubs because he had a lifetime .321 OBP.

Remind me who again of the aforementioned players is not only older than, but being paid by the Cubs and still playing and performing well?

 

[CSF77]

too many people posting about a bad player. is he worth the posts? ehhh il tske the bait....no point in signing him. see what the kids can do or just stick with barney. I mean dont the cubs have a million top specs that are going to be all stars that can come up and get reps whether its at ss or 2b or whether castro gets moved to 2b? he isnt a good player. why do fans always put a positive spin on things...i dont get it.


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It would be at best a Apr-Aug solution for a lead off. I'm expecting either Baez or Alcantara to take the job at that point.

Right now there are no kids ready to take 2B. The options are Barney getting 500 AB's with career .246/.293/.336 line. in 1657 career AB he is what he is.

I don't know about you but a sub .300 career OBA in the 2 hole is not what I call intelligent.


http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp...tebook_id=67810846&vkey=notebook_chc&c_id=chc

MESA, Ariz. -- The Cubs signed Emilio Bonifacio to a contract on Saturday, and manager Rick Renteria says the versatile player seems like a perfect fit for the National League.

Bonifacio, 28, split last season between the Blue Jays and Royals, batting .243 for the season. He batted .285 with Kansas City. A switch-hitter, he has played for the D-backs, Nationals and Marlins as well, compiling a career .262 average.

"He's added depth -- he can play second, short, third, the outfield," Renteria said. "He's a versatile individual who has played in the big leagues. He gives us an opportunity from many different positions. It gives us depth."

Bonifacio began last season as the Blue Jays' Opening Day second baseman but switched to the outfield to create an opening for Maicer Izturis, and ended up playing seven positions. Last Aug. 14, he was dealt to the Royals, the fourth time he's been traded. On Feb. 1, he was designated for assignment to open a roster spot for the Royals, then was released on Wednesday.

He would bring some speed to the Cubs. Bonifacio swiped 40 bases in 2011, 30 in 2012, and 28 last season combined.

"It's all relative -- many components of the running game have a lot to do with the ability to be a good baserunner beyond just foot speed," Renteria said. "There have been a lot of really good baserunners who weren't exceptionally fast and were able to take 15 to 20 bags a year. But yes, he does bring some speed to the table."

 

[beckdawg]

too many people posting about a bad player. is he worth the posts? ehhh il tske the bait....no point in signing him. see what the kids can do or just stick with barney. I mean dont the cubs have a million top specs that are going to be all stars that can come up and get reps whether its at ss or 2b or whether castro gets moved to 2b? he isnt a good player. why do fans always put a positive spin on things...i dont get it.


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Stick with Barney? That's your suggestion? Do I really need to address why that is a bad idea? As for prospects, they aren't going to give up a year of arbitration on a team that even optimistic fans say is at best a 75 win team by kicking in super 2 status. It's just not worth the loss of team control. Additionally, it's not like Bonifacio doesn't hold value if he plays well. He can be a super utility guy possibly like Zobrist has been for Tampa. Maybe he's not as good as Zobrist but being able to provide the role to play most of the infield as well as all the OF semi-competently is quite useful. He's a switch hitter. He has good speed. As such, he's great in terms of a bench player if they eventually have Alcantara/Baez/whomever take over his position.

The simple fact is that Barney was almost certainly one of the 5 worst regular players in the majors last year. Last year they had very little organizational depth at 2B and wouldn't play Watkins for whatever reason. It could be because they flat out thought he sucked. I don't know. But having Roberts, Bonifacio, Watkins, as well as the 3B platoon who played well last year gives the cubs options. Bonifacio isn't even costing them anything unless he makes the team in which case he's surely played well enough to make the $2-3 mil he will earn.

The move doesn't change the outlook of the cubs much but Bonifacio very well might be an average or better player at 2B and that wasn't something Barney gave them. Bonifacio hit .285/.347/.363 in the second half of last season with 27 runs 16 RBIs and 17 SB in 193 PAs. Barney had 555 PAs last year. If you project Bonifacio's second half over 555 PAs he would have had 78 runs 46 RBIs and 49 SBs with the above triple slash. That sure as hell would be better than the 49 runs 41 RBIs 4 SB with a .208/.266/.303 triple slash that Barney had. Maybe Bonifacio's second half was a fluke but he has strung together that sort of season in 2011. So, he has done it before. Maybe Barney's season was flukey bad. The point is Bonifacio is another option. You can't throw out the 2013 Barney at 2B again. It just can't happen.

To put it another way, Barney has a career .246/.293/.336 triple slash and really gives you nothing else offensive. Bonifacio has a career .262/.322/.340 triple slash and gives you speed plus more positional flexibility. That's roughly the difference between the 2012 Castro(.283/.323/.430) and the 2013 Castro(.245/.284/.347). That's also not factoring in that Bonifacio's peak was OBP .360 in 2011. Barney's peak was .313. So you're talking 47 points on peak, 29 points on career average and if you want to throw in career lows its also 29 points in favor of Bonifacio. 30 to 50 points in OBP is a big deal. On a team level, the cubs had a .300 OBP which was 14th in the NL out of 15. .315 OBP was league average.

 

[SilenceS]

where is silence at? im waiting on a link that shows he is a potential legit clean up hitter.


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Im here, you still sound like a a girl who just had her rag.

 

[chibears55]

Bonafacio is an improvement over Barney offensively and will hold down 2B til either baez or alcantara takes it over . at that point he will be a veteran utility player and who knows maybe provide some leadership for the kids..

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[X]

The answer is simple, sign sure-fire all-stars or everything you do is stupid and pointless and dumb.

 

[patg006]

The answer is simple, sign sure-fire all-stars or everything you do is stupid and pointless and dumb.

I thought the answer was ignore the major league team and watch every draft pick turn into sure fire all stars and anything other than top 100 prospects and WAR is stupid and pointless and dumb?

Not sure what I was thinking earlier. Theo signed Bonifacio. Put me down for a MVP season from him and the first player to win a Triple Crown as well as lead the league in stolen bases.

 

[CSF77]

I thought the answer was ignore the major league team and watch every draft pick turn into sure fire all stars and anything other than top 100 prospects and WAR is stupid and pointless and dumb?

Not sure what I was thinking earlier. Theo signed Bonifacio. Put me down for a MVP season from him and the first player to win a Triple Crown as well as lead the league in stolen bases.

I'll just accept the not Barney option.

 

[X]

I thought the answer was ignore the major league team and watch every draft pick turn into sure fire all stars and anything other than top 100 prospects and WAR is stupid and pointless and dumb?

Not sure what I was thinking earlier. Theo signed Bonifacio. Put me down for a MVP season from him and the first player to win a Triple Crown as well as lead the league in stolen bases.

You're making my point. Every move that's been made comes with ridiculously heavy criticism...But no one offers any better options. If the Cubs gave Cano the same deal Seattle did, the same group would've said how badly they overpaid.

And, wouldn't that be a quadruple crown?