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Ken Rosenthal writes that the Cubs may be able to pay Craig Kimbrel from the savings gained by Ben Zobrist’s extended absence.
I saw that article this morning. It figures the Cubs would catch a lucky break like that (although not lucky for Zobrist). I mentioned months ago that I figured Epstein was chomping at the bit to get Kimbrel. A lock down closer is really all they need to be a legitimate world series contender.
BREAKING: #Cubs in agreement with free-agent closer Craig Kimbrel, pending physical, sources tell The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 6, 2019
Kimbrel deal with #Cubs will be three years and close to $45M, sources tell The Athletic.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) June 6, 2019
I still don’t think this puts the cubbies over the top. Even with Kimbrel, they still don’t have the look of a champion. Maybe they win 89 games now instead of 86.
I still don’t think this puts the cubbies over the top. Even with Kimbrel, they still don’t have the look of a champion. Maybe they win 89 games now instead of 86.
They may not be the favorite to win the NL but I’d put them about even with Milwaukee if the move works out. So either way we’ll be playing 3rd fiddle and likely screwed out of another playoff spot. Joy!!!
We can hope that Kimbrel is a bust like Holland but I wouldn’t count on it. He is a future hall of famer. I would say this move puts the Cubs in the NLCS against the Dodgers.
Once again Epstein is willing to do whatever it takes to put them in position. I hope our front office has an idea of how we are going to improve before July 31.
Just a reminder that over the winter, Theo took a lot of heat because “doing whatever it takes” amounted to signing Daniel Descalso and a couple of other even less important moves while their 2018 “steal” Daniel Murphy and other free agents went elsewhere. In the same period, the Cards added Goldschmidt. There was no debate over which team had the better off-season. Not even close.
Here, he got lucky. Because Zobrist is on an indefinite unpaid leave, it freed up the money to sign Kimbrel.
Bottom line, I still think you give the Cubs too much credit, gscottar.
Remember how the Cards declined each year even when they made the playoffs? Well, here is the Cubs trend. Downward.
2016 Won World Series
2017 Lost NLCS
2018 Lost wild card2019 Lame duck manager…
I am pretty sure of this. If they don’t do well, especially with the shiny new closer, Maddon will take the fall.
Brian, I might give the Cubs too much credit. I guess we will know by the end of October.
But what seems evident to me is that their front office is more willing to do whatever it takes to give their team a chance to win. It doesn’t mean it will always work but as a fan you appreciate it when you know your front office is trying everything possible to make it happen.
And perhaps the Cards still have a big move left in them. We shall see. I just hope we aren’t too far behind by then.
So some nameless Twitter critic agrees with you. Sorry, but that is not interesting.
No team should act in response to another. If the Cards improve their team (and there are rumors they are trying to do so) it should not be because the Cubs just signed a closer. Bad, emotional logic from impatient fans.
The Cubs clearly are spending to win while their core of talent is still young and cheap. It makes sense…in a couple of years their ancient rotation and paying the piper on guys like Bryant, Baez, Contreras, etc means Theo will be looking for some other downtrodden franchise to “miraculously” tank from the ashes to the mountaintop and back to ashes.
STL25, I think you are probably right in your prognostication. The problem is that means we just have to grin and bear it for the next 2 1/2 years.
Craig Kimbrel addition sends message to Cubs, opponents: ‘Our team’s legit’ https://t.co/SoA1I0MQqG
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) June 6, 2019
And the impact that has on team morale can’t be overlooked.
“Our front office, even this last offseason, they know what they’re doing,” Cishek said. “When I came over to the Cubs, I knew they had every intention to win baseball games. That’s why people sign over here. They’re always going to be looking for ways to improve the team. We trust in whatever they decide to do.”
“That was one of the main reasons I signed here,” Brach said. “They’re trying to win a World Series. That’s what everybody who is on a team wants. To see that they’re constantly trying to make the team better is definitely a great boost to the motivation of the team to know that we’re in this for the whole season and to be there at the end in October.”
“We’re trying to win the last game of the season this year, the World Series,” Rizzo said. “It’s not just get to the playoffs and hope for the best. Our expectations are through the roof.”
A different philosophy than the Cardinals for sure. Will it backfire eventually?
The #Cubs' addition of Craig Kimbrel continues a trend: They have 13 pitchers on their active roster, and none of them signed his first professional contract with the Cubs. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) June 6, 2019
No team should act in response to another. If the Cards improve their team (and there are rumors they are trying to do so) it should not be because the Cubs just signed a closer. Bad, emotional logic from impatient fans.
I don’t disagree with that but unless we are just playing for a wild card spot we will need to do something before we are too far behind.
Cargo isn’t what I’d call a “win now” acquisition. He became a must when Zobrist left (have we found out why yet? Hope he’s ok). I doubt he really moves the needle.
Where I think gscottar and others have expressed some frustration is with the little tinkering that the Cards seem to do. I understand it, although I don’t quite get to that same level. The players that St Louis seems to add are average or slightly above and then underperform. Then Chicago nabs an elite closer and it feels like the Cards are sitting in place. A nice stretch of winning would start to cure the ills, I think. The talent is there for St Louis to challenge, but it just can’t seem to come together at the same time.
gscottar said:
“…we will need to do something before we are too far behind.”
On May 12, the Cards were 3.5 games out. Since then, they have played six series plus the current Reds set. Despite going 8-10 in that time, they are still 3.5 games back. No one is running away with the division.
IMO, the current team needs to play better rather than expecting a savior from outside to fix all 25 roster spots.
stlcard25, don’t you remember the concern that came out of Chicago when the Cards “tinkered” around and acquired Goldschmidt? All the current angst is because of who made the most recent move. Today is June 6. Almost two months remain until the trade deadline, when many teams finally get serious about throwing in the towel on the season.
Zobrist is reportedly going through a very difficult divorce.
At this point, CarGo seems a bench piece. At this point in their careers, I’d much rather have Jose Martinez.
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