2020 Spring Training Thread

anotheridiot

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well, Kris is a big boy now, he does not need to listen to his father for everything, so if he wants to stay, its simple, drop Boreass.
 

CSF77

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I doubt that he stays a Cub over the haul. He is a 5 WAR player going forward and Boras won't accept 25M AAV over a shorter term deal. At bare min he pushes 10/300 which is a Trainwreck signing. I see Theo offering 7/175 with team controlled options past that. (Control over his age 30-36 age seasons)

Now IMO it can be bumped up with PA and other clauses to bring each season to a 30 AAV based off of performance. But that offer should go to both him and Javy this off-season with Jon's 10 mil buy out and Q and Chatwood coming off the books.

I expect Boras to pass trying to strike F/A. Baez most likely takes the deal. At that point it would be on Bryant for turning down the offer. Justifying the trade.
 

anotheridiot

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they just keep waiting on Baez and are missing out. Could have been had for 6/100 after his MVP runner up season, probably 140 this year. They keep waiting he is going to need that 175 deal.

You just know they are all looking at the 182 heyward deal as a low point right now.
 

CSF77

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they just keep waiting on Baez and are missing out. Could have been had for 6/100 after his MVP runner up season, probably 140 this year. They keep waiting he is going to need that 175 deal.

You just know they are all looking at the 182 heyward deal as a low point right now.

He is counting as 10M vs tax and they are over. That deal would superceded and would be a 16.67M hit.

I fully expect a 3/5th turnover in the rotation. That should free up 35 mil. At that point signing Baez makes more sense and he would get his fair market value going forward. He would take up 15 mil of that free up. After that they should trade Bryant and move Baez to 3B and go after Adnrelton Simmons who is a slight upgrade at SS but Baez becomes a major upgrade at 3B.

At that point they back fill the rotation with Azolay and Mills. There should be some open payroll at that point to target Robbie Ray and have Marquez in Iowa to replace Mills.

To me this is a better thought process with the team in the next chapter.
 

CubsFaninMN

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He is counting as 10M vs tax and they are over. That deal would superceded and would be a 16.67M hit.

I fully expect a 3/5th turnover in the rotation. That should free up 35 mil. At that point signing Baez makes more sense and he would get his fair market value going forward. He would take up 15 mil of that free up. After that they should trade Bryant and move Baez to 3B and go after Adnrelton Simmons who is a slight upgrade at SS but Baez becomes a major upgrade at 3B.

At that point they back fill the rotation with Azolay and Mills. There should be some open payroll at that point to target Robbie Ray and have Marquez in Iowa to replace Mills.

To me this is a better thought process with the team in the next chapter.

I like the idea. It assumes people like Alzolay and Mills will be able to take up positions on the big league club and not be total disasters.

This path is one or two pitchers, whose ceilings are really at AAA and not at MLB, to force the Cubs back to a to-the-studs rebuild. IMHO.

-Doug
 

CSF77

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I like the idea. It assumes people like Alzolay and Mills will be able to take up positions on the big league club and not be total disasters.

This path is one or two pitchers, whose ceilings are really at AAA and not at MLB, to force the Cubs back to a to-the-studs rebuild. IMHO.

-Doug


I posted sign Robbie Ray.

So the rotation would be:

Yu
Ray
Hendricks (soft tosser)
Alzolay (hits upper 90's)
Mills (lower 90's control guy)

then back to a upper 90's guy in Yu.

Over all teams will be adjusting every day to a different typecast starter vs the same old thing. IE 3 lefties that have little variance.

Add to it I posted Marquez pending. IE he should be at AA this year and should be pushing Iowa in 2021. So if he just keeps dominating the comp they will push button him.
 

SilenceS

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Couple of notes I have read:

Bryzzo will be 1st and 2nd in the batting order

Bryant will be moved all around the field. Primary position third, but Ross wants to see him at first and likes his long legs in the OF.

Bote will play a lot of third this spring.

Happ will play mostly CF this spring.

Hernan Perez and Nico Hoerner are options for back up SS. Perez dropped 15 pounds

Chatwood, Alozay, and Mills will be the first three starters this spring. Dont know order
 

CubsFaninMN

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I posted sign Robbie Ray.

So the rotation would be:

Yu
Ray
Hendricks (soft tosser)
Alzolay (hits upper 90's)
Mills (lower 90's control guy)

then back to a upper 90's guy in Yu.

Over all teams will be adjusting every day to a different typecast starter vs the same old thing. IE 3 lefties that have little variance.

Add to it I posted Marquez pending. IE he should be at AA this year and should be pushing Iowa in 2021. So if he just keeps dominating the comp they will push button him.

I wasn't thinking about who do you realistically replace Lester with (in your projection, Ray). I was talking about Mills and Alzolay not being projectable yet as big league starters. This team, as I said, goes into full to-the-studs rebuild mode if either or both Alzolay or Mills end up being AAA pitchers at best.

And you can't tell if a guy is really topped out at AAA until you play him in the bigs for a year and watch his ERA blow up to 15 after three or four crucial outings, or watch as he can't find the strike zone for two months straight. We have no idea if Mills or Alzolay will have ERAs below 4, or above 8. The former, we compete. The latter, we start a 5-year rebuild cycle.

See what I mean? has nothing to do with the tiny incremental improvement you *might* get by replacing Lester with Ray. You're still betting the farm that Alzolay and Millls are not only major leaguers, but are better-than-average in their roles. Which is why the Cubs needed to turn some of their talent into MLB-ready pitching in the off-season in order to be sure to complete.

Which they did not. So, Theo is handing Rossy a team based on a roll of the dice on two untested starters.

-New Doug
 

CSF77

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I wasn't thinking about who do you realistically replace Lester with (in your projection, Ray). I was talking about Mills and Alzolay not being projectable yet as big league starters. This team, as I said, goes into full to-the-studs rebuild mode if either or both Alzolay or Mills end up being AAA pitchers at best.

And you can't tell if a guy is really topped out at AAA until you play him in the bigs for a year and watch his ERA blow up to 15 after three or four crucial outings, or watch as he can't find the strike zone for two months straight. We have no idea if Mills or Alzolay will have ERAs below 4, or above 8. The former, we compete. The latter, we start a 5-year rebuild cycle.

See what I mean? has nothing to do with the tiny incremental improvement you *might* get by replacing Lester with Ray. You're still betting the farm that Alzolay and Millls are not only major leaguers, but are better-than-average in their roles. Which is why the Cubs needed to turn some of their talent into MLB-ready pitching in the off-season in order to be sure to complete.

Which they did not. So, Theo is handing Rossy a team based on a roll of the dice on two untested starters.

-New Doug


As I posted it would be Ray, Alozay and Mills with Marquez in AAA.

Your presumption is winning > payroll in check

That has been proven wrong.

The way that I look at it is they might sign a journey man as a NR and give him a place to toss in spring. But it would be more so as a back up plan.

Mills is high floor. I see him as a 1.5 WAR pitcher.

Alozay has a higher celling but comes with durability issues.

That is the situation going in and that doesn't go into this year and what they do. Which factors more going into 21.
 

CubsFaninMN

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As I posted it would be Ray, Alozay and Mills with Marquez in AAA.

Your presumption is winning > payroll in check

That has been proven wrong.

The way that I look at it is they might sign a journey man as a NR and give him a place to toss in spring. But it would be more so as a back up plan.

Mills is high floor. I see him as a 1.5 WAR pitcher.

Alozay has a higher celling but comes with durability issues.

That is the situation going in and that doesn't go into this year and what they do. Which factors more going into 21.

Okay. What I'm hearing from you, and let me make it clear if I'm hearing you right, is that you want to put two almost completely untested arms in the rotation, replacing an arm that is provably a #4 arm in Quintana and who could still be #3 arm in Lester, because you think that will be helpful in 2021.

What I hear you saying is that, no matter what you'd like to do with the team this year, you have given up on them competing for the playoffs in 2020. What I've been saying is that your move is a complete toss-off of 2020 and will create a full 5-year rebuild unless the AAA arms both turn out to be fully MLB rotation-capable.

Just to be clear, you're giving up on 2020, right?

-New Doug
 

CSF77

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Okay. What I'm hearing from you, and let me make it clear if I'm hearing you right, is that you want to put two almost completely untested arms in the rotation, replacing an arm that is provably a #4 arm in Quintana and who could still be #3 arm in Lester, because you think that will be helpful in 2021.

What I hear you saying is that, no matter what you'd like to do with the team this year, you have given up on them competing for the playoffs in 2020. What I've been saying is that your move is a complete toss-off of 2020 and will create a full 5-year rebuild unless the AAA arms both turn out to be fully MLB rotation-capable.

Just to be clear, you're giving up on 2020, right?

-New Doug


Q falls off the books. Lester is slatted 21:$25M mutual option ($10M buyout) So I just expect the buy out here. 25M for Lester is too much. This year he is making 15M which is inline to what his current worth is.

but going into 2021 they will be 117M under tax before going into arb cases. So they will have some space to makes some decisions. But if they lock up Bryant and Baez (60M AAV) and pull Rizzo's opt $14.5M club option (or $2M buyout due 1/15/21) That absorbs the majority of it. They would only have 34M left to fill a roster including arb cases. Adding another 15M to Lester makes it impossible.

So yes they will have to make hard choices and trading Bryant. Moving Baez to 3B signing Simmons and Ray makes plenty of sense. It adds a younger SP and it upgrades the D of the left side of the IF. IMO those 2 will cost closer to 40 mil then signing Baez to a 25AAV keeps it intact. That is a 65M hit for 3 players. Then pulling Rizzo's opt pushes it to 80M which is doable.

Anywho Yes I did say sign a journey man type on a split deal.

Ivan Nova (34)
Tyson Ross (34)
Jordan Zimmermann (35)

etc. There will be guys looking to rebound for sure. The guy that I would avoid is Bauer. Over rated. 1 great year rest Homer Bailey (whom will be on the market also for cheap)
 

CubsFaninMN

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Not a Cubs note, but I'm watching the Nationals installment of MLB Network's 30 Clubs spring deal, and they're making such a big deal out of Carter Kieboom they're even talking the guy up for ROY. And yet, all I can ever think of when his name is mentioned is the old Katie Ka-boom cartoon theme song, from Animaniacs. With the following alterations:

Carter Kieboom!
Carter Kieboom!
Plays in a ballpark
With flowers in bloom!
His teammates all know
Than anytime soon,
Carter's pro career
Will go...
Kie-boom!

:D

-New Doug
 

SilenceS

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Cubs startling lineup for tonight

Bryant
Rizzo
Baez
Heyward
Contreras
Kipnis
Souza Jr.
Bote
Almora

Alec Mills gets the start. Bote is the DH

This is going to be what we see in the top 5 but add Schwarbs and subtract Heyward.

I think we would see Happ in the 6th hole when starting.
 

SilenceS

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I feel for the guy in a lot of ways. But, it cost the Cubs nothing but the invitation and the minor league deal to see what he can do.
I didnt realize he is type 1 diabetic since high school. Probably why his body hasnt held up.
 

Spunky Porkstacker

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Couple of notes I have read:

Bryzzo will be 1st and 2nd in the batting order

Bryant will be moved all around the field. Primary position third, but Ross wants to see him at first and likes his long legs in the OF.

Bote will play a lot of third this spring.

Happ will play mostly CF this spring.

Hernan Perez and Nico Hoerner are options for back up SS. Perez dropped 15 pounds

Chatwood, Alozay, and Mills will be the first three starters this spring. Dont know order

Regarding Ross moving Bryant around he played CF in HS and college and then there's this

The latest twist in the Kris Bryant story is that the Cubs have had internal conversations about moving him to center on an everyday basis.

4695
 

zack54attack

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  1. Chicago Cubs
  1. Chicago Fire
  1. Chicago Bulls
  1. Chicago Bears
  1. Chicago Blackhawks
  1. North Carolina Tar Heels
Woof Morrow
 

zack54attack

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Just saw the Contreras HR. Hoping he has a monster season.
 

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