Welcome back Mr. Coghlan

[CubsWin]

Alcantara was out of options and they were going to lose him in off season anyways...
Like I said, i dont think management was high on Alcantara anymore .

Might as well trade him for a familiar face that fits a need for this team now and maybe later and hope he can regain what he lost this year..



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Probably a combination of not being so high on Alcantara (a Hendry pick, I believe) as much, and the fact that he's been squeezed out by the young talent that's now on the team, but was in the minors a couple of years ago when Alcantara first came up.

 

[beckdawg]

Isn't it also true that you can't give a QO to a pending FA who was traded during the season? I believe that is the case.

I believe you're right. I forgot about that. Having a bit more time to see this sink in, I think better way to look at this is just Alcantara for Aaron Brooks who they originally got in the Cog to A's deal. He's still sort of interesting but more of a middle of the rotation as his upside. Given where Alcantara was with his k rate I suppose it's probably fairly even and obviously the cubs do need young pitching. Brooks hasn't pitched yet this year due to a hip injury but he's still only 25.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

Jung Ho Kang ain't too thrilled that he's back in the Central...

 

[SilenceS]

Who knows. We will see how the playing time shakes up but Cogs can play 3B and 2B.

Personally I'm torn on giving more playing time to Almora or Baez. Either can change a game with their D

Thats not even a choice. Baez has plus power. Almora bat is no where near Baez.

 

[SilenceS]

Am I the only one who thinks Baez is not tradeable at this point? I mean his bat is better than Russell at this point and has a way higher ceiling while providing the ability to play every position? I mean whatever stat you look at. Baez beats him. Baez is on pace for over a 2 fWAR as a part time player. They both have a .9 fWAR at this point. They are almost a year apart. This isnt hating Russell. But, Baez has done his job. The funny part is Baez K rate is better by a large margin. If Russell is untreadeable, Baez has to be right there.

 

[Boobaby1]

I wouldn't put too much stock into his current numbers as someone said in another post. He has only had these numbers once before. I look for a bounce back, but just not like last year or the year before as he will probably struggle to get plate appearances.

This was probably one of the cheapest options for the outfield, as I would wager that they are looking into shoring up the bullpen which might be taking someone's salary off of another teams hands.

Two guys I would be very interested in trading for are Sean Doolittle obviously, but also Drew Pomeranz I think would be great as either depth in the bullpen to take Richards place and possibly Woods place next year, or be thrown into the rotation if they don't resign Hammel.

Of course both would have to come via the trade route.

 

[CSF77]

Alacantara was still struggling with his strike outs in Iowa. He did steal 20 thus far and has 10-20 HR potential with solid D. But the SO's made him expendable.

I don't believe Almora is demoted until Soler gets back. It should be a rotation like Soler got before as long as he can hold his own.

S: I kinda agree on Baez vs Almora right now. But remember Almora was hitting .318 in AAA and seemed to turn a corner in his development this year. Not to mention he is bringing good energy and Maddon is impressed. That factor along awards playing time. Adding game changing D may push Fowler to LF later season.

I see it as Almora is the Heir to CF. Happ moving back to 2B at A+ signaled the long term plan.

 

[SilenceS]

Alacantara was still struggling with his strike outs in Iowa. He did steal 20 thus far and has 10-20 HR potential with solid D. But the SO's made him expendable.

I don't believe Almora is demoted until Soler gets back. It should be a rotation like Soler got before as long as he can hold his own.

S: I kinda agree on Baez vs Almora right now. But remember Almora was hitting .318 in AAA and seemed to turn a corner in his development this year. Not to mention he is bringing good energy and Maddon is impressed. That factor along awards playing time. Adding game changing D may push Fowler to LF later season.

I see it as Almora is the Heir to CF. Happ moving back to 2B at A+ signaled the long term plan.

I understand peoples love of his average, but he doesnt walk. I could get by with that if he was producing some form of power and Im not saying just homeruns. Im talking gap power. I have never knocked his defense. He plays one of the best CF's I have ever seen and it isnt on skill. He reads and reacts with the best. I mean I could probably blind fold him and let him here the crack of the bat and his instincts would make him turn to the right direction. He is that good. I am just worried about his stick. He has to produce something and I have a problem believing in that right now. He is a good base runner, but cant swipe bags. He doesnt read pitchers well. His speed is on par with Baez but Baez reads pitchers substantially better. Baez instincts are great so are Russell's. This is not a bad problem to have, but I would love to keep these 3 guys as a core. Soler still has massive potential, but something about him irks me. Another leg injury is not good when you have had at least 3 that I can remember in the past 2 years. Im not as big on Almora because he is a complete over achiever but they have proven me wrong before. Like I said, the Cubs have no bad problems lets just hope they keep the right ones.

 

[beckdawg]

Am I the only one who thinks Baez is not tradeable at this point? I mean his bat is better than Russell at this point and has a way higher ceiling while providing the ability to play every position? I mean whatever stat you look at. Baez beats him. Baez is on pace for over a 2 fWAR as a part time player. They both have a .9 fWAR at this point. They are almost a year apart. This isnt hating Russell. But, Baez has done his job. The funny part is Baez K rate is better by a large margin. If Russell is untreadeable, Baez has to be right there.

I don't agree on Baez's bat being better than Russell's though I suppose it depends on what you mean by that. Baez is hitting .274/.309/.427 on the season and even if we go the ISO route assuming he has more power, he's at .154. Russell is .232/.319/.353 with a .121 ISO but he's also a full year younger. Until I see Baez cover this K rate for probably 2 seasons I'm going to remain skeptical there though it is as I've mentioned before the thing that has made me most excited for him since probably 2013. Overall, though if I'm betting on one I'm going to take Russell with his higher walk rate. He's going to get on base more and Baez has been more variant going from high BABIP swings to doing nothing and every where in between. Given Russell's age I also think you give him some leeway plus he's already proven he can walk at an elite rate so you know at the very least you're getting OBP with him.

With that said, I do agree the cubs can't really deal him right now. I'm on record being pretty skeptical that they would deal either him or Soler during this season. Now that Alcantara's also gone it's extremely unlike in my eyes you move Baez until you start talking about Happ/Torres being ready and even then you're probably talking about Zobrist nearing his end. So, unless Happ is on a fast track to the majors a la Schwarber/Bryant which I doubt he is, I think Baez is probably with the cubs until he's a FA or nearing it.

 

[brett05]

This was interesting..

Kaplan said that his source told him the Cubs had offered a package with either Soler or Baez to Indians for one of their top pitcher and were told no they wanted Russell or Bryant..

If so, guess we cant count out the Cubs still looking to add a young controlled starter at some point using either Soler or Baez as trade bait

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It also says that the asking price for these types of pitchers are not going down and quite possibly could be going up.

 

[chibears55]

It also says that the asking price for these types of pitchers are not going down and quite possibly could be going up.

Yea, they better hope to strike lightning in draft then , cause to get TOR starters these days will either cost top prospects or a ton of cash...

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[Parade_Rain]

Probably a combination of not being so high on Alcantara (a Hendry pick, I believe) as much, and the fact that he's been squeezed out by the young talent that's now on the team, but was in the minors a couple of years ago when Alcantara first came up.

What does Alcantara being a "Hendry pick" have to do with the Club "not being so high on him"? He was provided the opportunity to prove himself.

 

[brett05]

Yea, they better hope to strike lightning in draft then , cause to get TOR starters these days will either cost top prospects or a ton of cash...

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Then again, the Cubs do have Hendricks who seems to have come into his own. A need for the team was a controllable TOR guy. Not sure that it is anymore.

 

[Parade_Rain]

Then again, the Cubs do have Hendricks who seems to have come into his own. A need for the team was a controllable TOR guy. Not sure that it is anymore.

Hendricks is not a TOR.

 

[CSF77]

Hendricks is not a TOR.

He is doing pretty good himself. Sub 3.00 ERA is getting overshadowed by a outstanding rotation.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

It also says that the asking price for these types of pitchers are not going down and quite possibly could be going up.

Yeah, you would have thought a correction was coming, given the early returns on the Shelby Miller deal, but it doesn't seem to have. I think a lot of teams have come to the mostly false conclusion that if you have pitching you can always contend. I don't think you need lights out hitting but I think controlling the strike zone and having a high OBP is equally as important as pitching in the game right now, in 2016. Ultimately I think this slightly incorrect assessment of what matters is going to lead to huge dollar increases for pitching in FA for the next few years and eventually a correction, but not anytime soon. By the way I think the paradigm would be different if any of the rebuilding teams in the NL had a younger starter with 2-3 years left of control.

 

[CSF77]

What does Alcantara being a "Hendry pick" have to do with the Club "not being so high on him"? He was provided the opportunity to prove himself.

It was his SO's and his OBA that made him expendable. Hendry drafted tools guys which Alcantara has. Speed/power/glove work. But the basic command of the strike zone is lagging behind.

Baez was in that boat also but worked his ass off to get past it.

 

[Parade_Rain]

He is doing pretty good himself. Sub 3.00 ERA is getting overshadowed by a outstanding rotation.

He's a valuable part of the staff, but he isn't a TOR.

 

[CSF77]

I understand peoples love of his average, but he doesnt walk. I could get by with that if he was producing some form of power and Im not saying just homeruns. Im talking gap power. I have never knocked his defense. He plays one of the best CF's I have ever seen and it isnt on skill. He reads and reacts with the best. I mean I could probably blind fold him and let him here the crack of the bat and his instincts would make him turn to the right direction. He is that good. I am just worried about his stick. He has to produce something and I have a problem believing in that right now. He is a good base runner, but cant swipe bags. He doesnt read pitchers well. His speed is on par with Baez but Baez reads pitchers substantially better. Baez instincts are great so are Russell's. This is not a bad problem to have, but I would love to keep these 3 guys as a core. Soler still has massive potential, but something about him irks me. Another leg injury is not good when you have had at least 3 that I can remember in the past 2 years. Im not as big on Almora because he is a complete over achiever but they have proven me wrong before. Like I said, the Cubs have no bad problems lets just hope they keep the right ones.

That is a concern. He had 7 BB TO 29 SO's in 214 AB's. So he is putting the ball in play in general more than not as a hitter. So his model is more Castro with better quality D. Neither really are walking much but neither are striking out either.

 

[Parade_Rain]

Knowing he doesn't like to take pitches, this could be a showcase for Almora for other teams.