Cubs thread

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  • #76279
    gscottar
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    Brian Walton
    Brian Walton

    Keymaster
    Just another reminder to those who want the Cards to get Harper how difficult it may be. If the Cubs went in on him, they wouldn’t let the Cards get him. No way.

    You mean they would block us? 🙂

    #76280
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    Wouldn’t that be something if Harper was on waivers for anyone to claim? Of course, that is an entirely different situation. You have picked a strange hill to defend to the end, but it is all yours. I think we already knew the Cardinals were not buyers, but sellers last July, but yes, this is another reminder. Long live Daniel Murphy! 😉

    #76281
    gscottar
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    Supposedly the Dodgers made a claim last August but the Nats wouldn’t do a deal.

    #76287
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    That cannot be. A player can only be claimed off waivers after July 31 once. If a deal cannot be worked out with the claiming team, that is it.

    If the Nats could keep putting him on waivers over and over, there could be no block.

    #76292
    stlcard25
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    Harper was claimed by the Dodgers, not Murphy… right?

    #76294
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    Whoops. My bad. Yes, thanks for clearing that up, stlcard25. Two different Nats on waivers. Sorry gscottar. (Block is his code word for bringing up Murphy, who did go to the Cubs on waivers. That is why I thought he was still talking about Murphy.)

    #76296
    gscottar
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    Paid - Annual
    #76359
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    #76413
    gscottar
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    My attempt at humor was just a reminder that blocking does actually happen contrary to what some might believe.

    #76452
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    Apples and oranges, IMO, but we can agree to disagree.

    #76453
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    Sounds like Theo has gotten more realistic in representing the Cubs’ lack of payroll flexibility.

    #76458
    PugsleyAddams
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    Tommy Hottovy…..Terrmel Sludge…..not exactly household names in the Pugs’ household…..nor I doubt in most anybody’s.

    #76466
    gscottar
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    If you look at it on paper it sure doesn’t look like the Cubs have much payroll flexibility. I just hope Theo isn’t lulling everyone to sleep only to pull a fast one at the end.

    More likely they will try the trade market. A writer on ESPN.com today posed a Schwarber and Happ for Kluber trade.

    In my opinion their biggest weakness is bullpen.

    #76468
    stlcard25
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    In my opinion their biggest weakness is bullpen.

    Maybe at this exact moment, but that old rotation is going to fall apart one of these days. We saw the first wobbles by Lester this year, a la Waino in 2014/15. I wouldn’t be shocked if the rotation is the division’s worst by 2020.

    #76473
    PugsleyAddams
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    Kluber in Chicago scares the daylights out of me. If that were to occur, it would pretty much force our hand to go out and counter the move by landing a Bumgarner. Fortunately, I don’t see Cleveland getting the least bit giddy with Schwarber and Happ for their ace.

    #76476
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    I am confused by that trade idea. If the Cubs are tight on money, how does trading two minimum salary guys in Schwarber and Happ for a pitcher making $13 million work out?

    #76488
    Bob Reed
    Participant

    Free

    The Cubs have a trio of $20M starters, plus Quintana and Hendricks. That’s their five, I would have to assume.

    If Darvish can’t go, then they default to Chatwood or Mike Montgomery — one of the highly underrated utility pitchers in all the majors.

    So I don’t see either the budget or compelling motivation for Kluber. And besides all that, I cannot imagine the smart Indian front office falling for a trade like that. Ian Happ is a very good bench piece, but that’s all; not enough bat to start. And Fat Boy is a platoon bat with no defensive position, which should hold very little appeal for a team with a $20M designated hitter already in the fold in Encarnacion.

    #76509
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    I saw an ESPN trade ideas article that tried to put it all together, suggesting that by trading Schwarber and Happ for Kluber, that would open up an outfield spot for Harper – with no mention of the financial problems that would cause and how the Cubs would resolve them. Weak.

    #76585
    gscottar
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    None of these trade ideas or Harper signing make sense for the Cubs financially unless they come to the conclusion that they just don’t care about the luxury tax and will spend whatever they want. That is what Boston did last year.

    #76701
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    #76732
    PugsleyAddams
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    I think Schwarber has been a big time disappointment. A poor man’s Dave Kingman…..except Schwarber whiffs at a higher rate. Coming up thru the minors it looked as if the cubs had themselves a real superstar on their hands. I wouldn’t trade Bader straight up for both Schwarber and Happ.

    #76793
    gscottar
    Participant

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    PugsleyAddams

    Participant
    I think Schwarber has been a big time disappointment. A poor man’s Dave Kingman…..except Schwarber whiffs at a higher rate. Coming up thru the minors it looked as if the cubs had themselves a real superstar on their hands. I wouldn’t trade Bader straight up for both Schwarber and Happ.

    Wowzers. That is quite the statement Pugs.

    If Theo offered us Schwarber and Happ for just Bader I imagine Mo and Girsch would tear rotator cuffs by lunging so hard to grab the pen in order to sign the deal.

    #76827
    PadsFS
    Participant

    Cardinals2016

    Cubs payroll situation

    This seems to have everything to do with their payroll. According to Roster Resource, it’s projected at more than $219 million in 2019. In the eyes of the luxury tax, it’s nearly $232.5 million. That puts them in range for second-tier penalties, with third-tier penalties (starting at $246 million) not far away.

    I have the Cubs sitting at $206.2M for next year.

    Roster Resource has the wrong salaries in for several players like Lester and Heyward to the tune of $6.0M. Then, they include 2020 buyouts into the 2019 payroll ~ another $6.0M. Then they include estimate payroll for pre-arb players at $7.5M, which is high for a team with so many non-pre-arb players on the roster, I count 7 @ $0.6M each for $4.2M. That’s a $15M difference right there. Then they include something called estimated player benefits at $14.5M, whcih takes you up to the $230M range.

    Either way, I think your post is correct in it being something that is certainly going to hinder them from a player acquisition standpoint.

    The big problem for the Cubs has been the complete failure of their farm system to produce anything after the trades of Jimenez (Quintana) and Torres (Chapman). They have nothing in the pipeline to supplement the roster and are forced to get mediocre guys like Duensing, Kinzler, and Chatwood to fill out the roster and those guys even turned into below-average players exacerbating the situation.

    #76848
    CariocaCardinal
    Participant

    Paid - Monthly

    I am not an expert on luxury tax calculations but I am pretty sure buyouts do roll over into the next year as they have it.

    #76857
    PadsFS
    Participant

    Seems silly to include 2020 buyouts for players onto the 2019
    payroll. It’s not exactly like they aren’t going to exercise the options for Rizzo or Quintana either. The third, Morrow, will be paid, but it should go to the 2020 payroll.

    I guess they are technically “bought out” in the previous year at years’ end so that’s the thinking behind it.

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