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MLB: ***Chicago Cubs 2015 Season***

cloneteach said:
My point is that pitching doesn't need to be traded for. Pitching can be bought in the off-season. If your position players are cost controlled (which they are right now) then you can afford to take on some inflated contracts without giving up young talent. If you trade young cost controlled hitters for pitchers with big contracts you are giving up both talent and money.

The Cubs have enough prospect depth in the minors that they don't need to trade away a cost controlled player has proven he can handle his own in the big leagues.

As far as position player depth, yes there is an abundance but not necessarily in the OF. If you move a Bryant or Baez to the OF their value diminishes IMO.
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Buying quality free agent pitching is really expensive and you're usually paying for past performance. I don't think the Cubs want another massive pitching contract on their books like it would take to get Greinke or Price or Zimmerman. I think they will sign a middle/back end of the rotation free agent starter and target another front line starter through a trade. They wouldn't be trading for a huge contract, they would be trading for a younger, cost controlled pitcher.

The Cubs have a ton of OF depth in the minors right now too. Billy McKinney will probably be ready by the end of next year. Ian Happ, Mark Zagunis, Albert Almora are fairly close too with high upside guys like Eloy Jiminez and Eddy Julio Martinez further away. Also, like you mentioned Bryant could easily end up in the OF as well.
 
Clark said:
I think it might be time to end the pitcher hitting 8th experiment. I understand why he did it since Russell was a rookie and they didn't want him batting with the pitcher behind him but the 9 spot is an awful place to put Baez and there's nobody else who is both good enough to be in the every day lineup and also in a similar situation that Russell was in last year.

Batting Baez 9th might be the dumbest thing Maddon could do because he'd be an awful "second leadoff" hitter and you're wasting his biggest asset, which is his power. Baez needs to bat 6th/7th.

The ideal lineup is the best OBP guy leading off. Speed doesn't matter, i don't want anyone trying to steal in front of Schwarber(2nd), Bryant(3rd), & Rizzo(4th) anyway. 5&6 depends on who is still on the team next year but if we assume castro is traded, Russell bats 5th, Soler 6th, and Baez 7th. Montero finishes things off at 8th.
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Speed isn't just good for stolen bases. A guy like Fowler, for instance, is a constant threat to score from first base on a base hit to the gap. That's a valuable attribute in a leadoff hitter, IMO. Especially in games where hits and runs are tough to come by, like basically every game of this NLCS and any other game where the team isn't clubbing it over the wall six times.

Whoever hits leadoff obviously needs to get on base, but I really prefer to have a guy who can steal/score from first/etc. in that spot, too. It might not be a tool you utilize frequently, but it can really bite you in the *** if there comes a time that you need it and you don't have it.
 
CyJack13 said:
Buying quality free agent pitching is really expensive and you're usually paying for past performance. I don't think the Cubs want another massive pitching contract on their books like it would take to get Greinke or Price or Zimmerman. I think they will sign a middle/back end of the rotation free agent starter and target another front line starter through a trade. They wouldn't be trading for a huge contract, they would be trading for a younger, cost controlled pitcher.

The Cubs have a ton of OF depth in the minors right now too. Billy McKinney will probably be ready by the end of next year. Ian Happ, Mark Zagunis, Albert Almora are fairly close too with high upside guys like Eloy Jiminez and Eddy Julio Martinez further away. Also, like you mentioned Bryant could easily end up in the OF as well.
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Correct, I just expect them to trade from that depth instead of trading major league ready players like Soler in the OF. Baez and Castro are a different story.
 
cloneteach said:
Correct, I just expect them to trade from that depth instead of trading major league ready players like Soler in the OF. Baez and Castro are a different story.
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If you're trading from those guys, it's going to limit what kind of return you get. If you want a top of the rotation arm, you're going to need to move a Soler or Schwarber.
 
Like I said yesterday, a few Cub fans are bringing up Sonny Gray's name.

Of course he interests me, but with how cheap he is right now, I fear what the Cubs would give up for him, though it would make sense for the A's to talk to the Cubs, as the A's best OF prospect is the #19 prospect in their entire organization, and they lose 2 starting outfielders over the next year. They also need starting pitching badly.

Maybe this is where the Cubs try and bite the bullet on Hammel. Give up Hammel and Soler plus a top outfield prospect or two and maybe this is where they get rid of Vogelbach as well.
 
The White Sox actually match up really well as a trading partner for the Cubs, but I think the Sox front office would be very hesitant to trade with the Cubs because of the fan reaction (which is a terrible way to run a team). I'd love to get Quintana and the Sox have holes all over and no depth in the minors, the Cubs could give them a combo of a major league ready position player plus quality minor league depth. I'd ask about Rondon and Sale too, just to see how much it would take.
 
CyJack13 said:
The White Sox actually match up really well as a trading partner for the Cubs, but I think the Sox front office would be very hesitant to trade with the Cubs because of the fan reaction (which is a terrible way to run a team). I'd love to get Quintana and the Sox have holes all over and no depth in the minors, the Cubs could give them a combo of a major league ready position player plus quality minor league depth. I'd ask about Rondon and Sale too, just to see how much it would take.
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I agree, but sounds like the Sox front office is expecting to contend this next season just like they were this last season.

In which case they need to focus on a starting outfielder and a starting middle infielder.

I wonder if there are any teams that would be able to part with either/or...

The White Sox truly have one of the stupidest front offices in the MLB so I doubt they'd show any interest in trading with the Cubs. With a depleted farm system, trading Quintana for two Cub position starters wouldn't be awful but I doubt they'd show interest.
 
ISUCubswin said:
I agree, but sounds like the Sox front office is expecting to contend this next season just like they were this last season.

In which case they need to focus on a starting outfielder and a starting middle infielder.

I wonder if there are any teams that would be able to part with either/or...

The White Sox truly have one of the stupidest front offices in the MLB so I doubt they'd show any interest in trading with the Cubs. With a depleted farm system, trading Quintana for two Cub position starters wouldn't be awful but I doubt they'd show interest.
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The stars and scrubs approach doesn't usually work out, especially when you're scrubs can't hit or field. They very much remind me of the later year Hendry-run Cubs teams. Keep trying to sign a few free agents to cling to the hope of being able to compete while not addressing the huge underlying, foundation issues with your team.
 
tm3308 said:
Speed isn't just good for stolen bases. A guy like Fowler, for instance, is a constant threat to score from first base on a base hit to the gap. That's a valuable attribute in a leadoff hitter, IMO. Especially in games where hits and runs are tough to come by, like basically every game of this NLCS and any other game where the team isn't clubbing it over the wall six times.

Whoever hits leadoff obviously needs to get on base, but I really prefer to have a guy who can steal/score from first/etc. in that spot, too. It might not be a tool you utilize frequently, but it can really bite you in the *** if there comes a time that you need it and you don't have it.
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Not to mention what having a set of speedy wheels frequently at first while trying to make good pitches to the meat of the lineup can do to a pitching staff. I like having a distracted pitcher miss a pitch or two to the middle of the zone with Schwarber, Bryant or Rizzo at the dish.
 
NL Rookie of the Year
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NL Manager of the Year
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NL Cy Young Award
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