Cubs News and Rumors

Not much happening in the hot stove league as far as the Cubs are concerned, so much so that people are making things up, like when they ask Cubs officials if they would listen on guys like Soler and Baez, it becomes a big deal when they respond affirmatively but with a lot of qualifiers.

Anyway, Kris Bryant was named Rookie of the Year.  Not exactly a surprise.  Nor was the selection of Joe Maddon as Manager of the Year.  Both awards were well deserved.  I'd like to see Arrieta get the Cy Young, but there is stiff competition there, especially from Greinke.

Back to the off-season moves, I sure hope they do not trade Soler, as I have noted before.  Baez I can live with trading, though, on the whole, I would prefer to see Castro moved instead.  Castro redeemed an awful season in the last month or so.  However, during that spell, he had an unusually high BABIP, something that cannot be sustained over an entire season.  Castro would bring less that Baez, for sure, but there are a couple of scenarios where the Cubs do not really need to bring back that much ready talent.

The most likely scenario is they go out and sign a top free agent pitcher like Price or one of the other first tier guys.  Bear in mind they already have two #1 pitchers in Arrieta and Lester, so they do not have to get another.  Just a really good starter, somebody a lot better than Hammel, for instance, would do.  Getting such a player makes Hammel your #5 starter, which is something the team can live with, although I don't think Hammel is a long term option in the rotation.  The Cubs, in fact, may be wrong in thinking they can get a lot out of him.  Hammel has always been a first half pitcher even when he has been healthy after the break, so he may really be a candidate for a July trade if the team can find a younger replacement.

The Cubs real need now, other than at least one excellent starter, is to bring back Fowler or find someone to play center field.  If Fowler cannot be brought back, my guess is the Cubs will try to bring back Jackson as a fourth outfielder and trade for a left-handed hitter like Jackie Bradley who can dominate on defense and is more of a project as a hitter.

The other real need is talented minor league pitching, preferably players at AA who have a chance to develop rather quickly.  Castro in a package with minor leaguers who are blocked right now or have no position would get you that.  Baez would probably get you more talent.

It will be interesting to see where the team goes, though again, I want to see Soler stay put.

On another note, David Ross has indicated next season will be his last.  Ross is a solid backup, though he is certainly an automatic out these days.  Pretty sure he is valuable not just as the official catcher for Lester, but as a tutor to develop Schwarber's skills.

Royals Win Series

Maybe I am prejudiced, but there is nothing particularly attractive about either of these teams which are, in their own ways, deeply flawed.  The Royals were clearly the better team, though.  They actually remind me of some of the eighties Cardinals and Royals teams, kind of old-fashioned hard hitting teams with not a lot of power, but good speed and balance.

There will be a lot of second-guessing with the Mets decision to let Harvey pitch the ninth inning.  I am not necessarily troubled by that decision per se, but once you saw how he was over-throwing when he walked the first batter, you had to pull him.  Instead they let him pitch to another hitter and the result was a double that scored a run.  Kind of a shame, as he had pitched really well and I personally wanted the series to go at least six games.

The Mets real undoing was their awful defense, which we had noted in an earlier post.  In this case, Wright cut in front of Flores to field a grounder.  He attempted to check the runner at third, but this effort was bound to be useless, as there was no one to cover third base.  He then threw to first, getting the out.  Duda, however, threw wildly to home, allowing the tying run to score.  Later, in the twelfth inning, Murphy made another key error that opened the flood gates to a five run rally and the Mets chances were shot.