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***Official 2023 Chicago Cubs Thread***

Both are really good minor league signings in my opinion. Tells Belli we’re prepared to move on without him. Peralta and Smith can very ably play LF/1B as a hedge against the readiness of PCA/Busch, as Happ can slide over and be just fine in CF for a little while with Tauchmann.

Also lets you wait out all of the Boras four to see if a great value deal materializes.
 
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CYdTracked said:
Yes Boras greed. Usually good for both him and his clients as he has the reputation of getting top dollar but for some reason it feels different this time and these remaining guys aren't going to get the monster deals they thought they would.
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I would say it's more the greed of the players. How much ******* money do you need?
 
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What a weird ******* day.

Hendriks, linked to the Cubs, goes to Boston

Woodruff, cut by the Brewers, goes back to the Brewers

Ricketts say's he's happy with where we're at and thinks the money we have allotted towards 2024 is about where he expects us to be

Ricketts ***** on Scott Boras

His presser pisses off his fan base

Cubs sign two guys to minor league deals; both seem like great deals on the surface, but with both being announced 20 minutes from each other, makes me wonder if it was a "well, ****, we better act like we're doing something" moves.
 
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My read on tonights deals is fairly straightforward.

If you sign Bellinger, Canario and Mervis are gone.

Busch, Belli, and Smith can all handle 1B duties while Caissie and McGeary should be serviceable by 2025.

Tauchman, Belli, Happ, Suzuki, PCA, Smith, Peralta all eliminate the need for Canario.

I still think both are traded for a Mariners or Marlins SP and/or RP.
 
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They haven't been linked to much, but I still think the Cubs try and find a SP. In a (my) perfect world, Assad, Smyly, and Wesneski are bullpen guys who will have spot starts whenever Counsell wants while Wicks can grow a bit more in Des Moines strictly as a SP.
 
ISUCubswin said:
They haven't been linked to much, but I still think the Cubs try and find a SP. In a (my) perfect world, Assad, Smyly, and Wesneski are bullpen guys who will have spot starts whenever Counsell wants while Wicks can grow a bit more in Des Moines strictly as a SP.
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If Wesneski can make that changeup a serviceable pitch to combat lefties, he's a mid-rotation starter. I haven't given up on him sticking there.
 
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I'm not reading too much into the 2 signings today. They are minor league deals, these are just depth moves hoping we catch lightning in a bottle with 1 maybe. Would have to make some 40 man roster moves to add anyone at this point so they'd have to have a really hot spring training and one of the young guys just look horrible for them to make the opening day roster. Without a trade the next likely 40 man cuts are fringe pitchers that have struggled like Keegan Thompson possibly.
 
1UNI2ISU said:
If Wesneski can make that changeup a serviceable pitch to combat lefties, he's a mid-rotation starter. I haven't given up on him sticking there.
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His slider is nasty, he just needs to develop another pitch and locate his pitches better as when he misses he misses badly.
 
The Peralta and Smith adds make a ton of sense. Minimal investment, both can fill multiple positions of need: Peralta- LF/DH & Smith- 1B/DH.

If the Cubs can't resign Bellinger, then they might as well take a volume approach and hope they find their 1B, 3B, CF, DH and bench depth.

Last year Hoyer signed Bellinger, Hosmer and Mancini and found gold in Bellinger. This year he has Busch, Smith, Mervis, Morel, Madrigal, Wisdom, Peralta, PCA, Tauchman and Canario to win or split PT at 4 spots.
 
The Cubs aren’t winning a World Series this year so I like the idea of squeezing some baseball out of guys and trading them at the deadline if they are hot. You aren’t out anything if they don’t contribute and you don’t have to run them out there everyday because of a bloated contract.
 
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Saw an article today about the Cubs pivoting off Bellinger today and looking at JD Martinez. Personally I love that idea for 2 reasons. First, it basically tells Morel it's sink or swim at 3rd because DH is taken. Then the obvious Boras loses all his leverage and we could get a livable deal for Bellinger.
 
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isucy86 said:
The Peralta and Smith adds make a ton of sense. Minimal investment, both can fill multiple positions of need: Peralta- LF/DH & Smith- 1B/DH.

If the Cubs can't resign Bellinger, then they might as well take a volume approach and hope they find their 1B, 3B, CF, DH and bench depth.

Last year Hoyer signed Bellinger, Hosmer and Mancini and found gold in Bellinger. This year he has Busch, Smith, Mervis, Morel, Madrigal, Wisdom, Peralta, PCA, Tauchman and Canario to win or split PT at 4 spots.
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These signings are the Hosmer and Mancini spots from last season without the major league garuntees this time. At least these guys have to earn a 40 man spot and not just be handed one from opening day.

I assume they still have a line out there for Bellinger if the deal is right but at this point it seems to signal they want to see what they have in the system and have the depth to make trades if needed too. I said it going into the offseason Bellinger is too risky for a long term deal but I'd take him on a shorter deal as he's more of a luxury than a long term need for the kind of money boras wants. The Cubs traded away the core of the WS team to load up the farm system so the plan seems to be committing to seeing that plan through which maybe is not popular with the win now crowd but if we hit on some of these guys it could be a fun ride.
 
Cyforce said:
Saw an article today about the Cubs pivoting off Bellinger today and looking at JD Martinez. Personally I love that idea for 2 reasons. First, it basically tells Morel it's sink or swim at 3rd because DH is taken. Then the obvious Boras loses all his leverage and we could get a livable deal for Bellinger.
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JD would be a strange signing as he's basically just a DH at this point. With all the multi positional players the Cubs have they use the DH to maximize defense whike keeping a bat they want in the lineup.
 
CYdTracked said:
JD would be a strange signing as he's basically just a DH at this point. With all the multi positional players the Cubs have they use the DH to maximize defense whike keeping a bat they want in the lineup.
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Take a look at what we got out of the DH spot last year. It wasn't 33 & 106 w/ .900 OPS.

Guys can also get rest by sitting.
 
ISUCubswin said:
My read on tonights deals is fairly straightforward.

If you sign Bellinger, Canario and Mervis are gone.

Busch, Belli, and Smith can all handle 1B duties while Caissie and McGeary should be serviceable by 2025.

Tauchman, Belli, Happ, Suzuki, PCA, Smith, Peralta all eliminate the need for Canario.

I still think both are traded for a Mariners or Marlins SP and/or RP.
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Except we'll sign a cheap 35 yr old to play 1B instead and talk about what a great deal we got. Awesome.
 
Cyforce said:
Take a look at what we got out of the DH spot last year. It wasn't 33 & 106 w/ .900 OPS.

Guys can also get rest by sitting.
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It's not like the Cubs offense was a consistent last year, or last few years. Very much seemed boom or bust over the 6 month season. So I'd take a handful of seasoned hitters like Peralta, Smith, Martinez, etc. to compliment the touted prospects and see which hitters rise to the top during spring training.
 
RoseClone said:
The Cubs front office saying they are going to spend is like Campbell saying the OL is looking great in camp and is much improved.

I.DONT.BELIEVE.YOU. I won't believe you until you do it.

Now: "We are going to spend"
In a month: "We are going to spend but are going to be smart" (aka CHEAP)
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Seems appropriate to bump today. From Oct 3rd.
 
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