Fangraphs had Quero as a FV (Future Value) of 50 and Bush at 40.
To compare, Cubs have 5 prospects at 50 or higher and 25 prospects at 40+ or higher.
***Official 2023 Chicago Cubs Thread***
- Thread starter BigJCy
- Start date
To compare, Cubs have 5 prospects at 50 or higher and 25 prospects at 40+ or higher.
The best approach (in my opinion) is to build for next year. If that means getting an upgrade in relief pitching while trading away some mid-tier prospects, go for it. If it means getting a solid, every day 3rd basemen, go for it. If it means trading Stroman for someone who can contribute next year along with a top prospect , go for it.
In the end, the Cubs won’t go one extreme or the other on buying/selling because they don’t need to. They’re not going to give up any top prospects and they shouldn’t be selling for only prospects that are multiple years off from being MLB ready. However, they should be making some moves to set themselves up for a playoff run next year.
Exactly. You can easily talk yourself out of being sellers, but I can't see talking yourself into being buyers. This run has been fun, but it's been against some truly bad competition. If they stand pat, I'm fine it with. If they get a decent haul for Stro, I'm fine with it. If they make some smaller deals for some depth that can play 3rd or 1st, awesome. But I'm with you in hoping they don't try to do something splashy and give up key prospects.
I've been looking a bit into 3B that
1) Are from teams looking to sell right now
2) Are cost controlled
3) Would confidently contribute to the team
And there's only one name that I would be comfortable trading for.
Ryan ******* McMahon. Solid defender. Splits show his stats are consistent with all parks, not just a beneficiary of Coors. Would be a really good 6/7/8 hitter. He'd start right away and be here until 2028.
I would guess he wouldn't be cheap, given he has a team-friendly contract and is a proven player.
1) Are from teams looking to sell right now
2) Are cost controlled
3) Would confidently contribute to the team
And there's only one name that I would be comfortable trading for.
Ryan ******* McMahon. Solid defender. Splits show his stats are consistent with all parks, not just a beneficiary of Coors. Would be a really good 6/7/8 hitter. He'd start right away and be here until 2028.
I would guess he wouldn't be cheap, given he has a team-friendly contract and is a proven player.
The one guy I would love to get but there is no way the Cubs would get him without a ridiculous trade offer is Arenado. There is no way the Cards would trade him in division and if they did they Cubs would have to send a ton of prospects in return which at that point it's not worth it to deplete the farm system even if it would be a huge upgrade.
McMahon would be a nice upgrade but like any Colorado player you worry about production outside of Coors field. His splits this year are about even home and away other than his hits for slightly better average at home but the power numbers are practically identical this year.
I would guess they Cubs would look at Matt Chapman in free agency in the offseason.
If the FO wants to keep the elite defense mentality, Chapman is the way to go.
Happ hits Contreras on a back swing, Contreras comes out. Mikolas throws at Happ, misses with the first attempt, hits him with the second, and then is tossed. I guess that's just the Cardinal Way. Even their announcers said it was the right way because it only hit him in the ass. Could be a spicy series.
Do they think Happ did that on purpose? Why the **** would they throw at Happ like that. Stupid. Cardinals suck.
My Cardinal hate is the closest thing I have to Hawk hate for another sport.
I don't know if you could say they are "in the same spot". The Angels have a hell of a lot more pressure to go for it than the Cubs do.
The Angels had the best player in baseball for years in Trout and have had possibly the other best player in baseball (Ohtani) for nearly 5 years. Despite that and previous debacles (Pujols) they have zero to show for it. Their window is also closing
The Cubs meanwhile had little in the way of expectations and are in the middle of a rebuild. Yes, they are in comparable spots standings wise but the Cubs aren't in the same predicament and they won't sacrifice the vision to get a mediocre team, one that likely can't win it all, into the postseason.
Now, I could see the Cubs "buy" some pieces with expendable capital if someone is willing to sell for the right price, but I can't see them paying for rentals unless those rentals can also figure in to their medium and long term plans. They will either sell or stand pat, especially if the market for Stroman cools (and if they feel like Bellinger is worth and extension).
The Cubs are in a great position, basically where they can play all sides and pick the option with the greatest "return". The Angels have to go all in, even if their odds are relatively ******.
If you told me the Cubs would have the 5th best run differential in baseball just past the 100 game mark before the season I would have said you were crazy. But here they are, back at .500, and playing very competitive baseball.
Barring any unforeseen knucklehead move, this season was a rousing success. Short of injury they are playing with "house money" the rest of the way.
Barring any unforeseen knucklehead move, this season was a rousing success. Short of injury they are playing with "house money" the rest of the way.
After the bat caught his helmet he took like two small steps towards him out of initial concern IMO. Then when Wilson comes out, Ian hugs him.
So plunking him was kinda dumb.
I’m riding a pretty good high right now after what, 6 straight?
But we only had 2 decent starting pitchers the first 3 months of the season, an inexperienced bullpen who still has big struggles outside of this streak, 2 of our 3 highest paid position players have not performed to their contracts, and our corner infield situation was a joke at the end of last year and remains a joke now.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited for where we’re at now, but still a ways to go
I keep asking why does Ross DH a catcher? Or keep giving starter at bats to Tauchman and Mastrobuoni? Or if Bellenger is healthy, why play him at first.
But just shows sometimes having guys that grind is more of a winning lineup than elite prospects not ready for the big time.
I'm with you on C batting as a DH. But playing Bellinger at 1B gives them a GG caliber 1B, as opposed to Mancini. They can't really afford giving Mervis another shot while they're in the race and Tauchman is providing solid CF defense and roughly league average offense (103 wRC+). If and when they fall out of contention, Mervis should be up the next day and getting all of the 1B starts the rest of the way.
What's funny is I think what got him tossed was trying to hit him on a prior pitch but not being accurate enough to do it.
Maybe Mikolas just wanted a short day. Was stupid to throw at Happ twice. He didn't mean to hit Contreras and they even hugged it out before he left. The 1st one high and tight was enough of a message, the plunk him with the next pitch just stupid and the umps made the right call to toss him without a warning as that was no accident. Marmol could be fired after this season so maybe he just wanted an early night too LOL
Well, that was a hell of a way to end the game!