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Post by batman66 on Aug 21, 2023 12:40:19 GMT -5
At the point they cut Hosmer I think they also wanted to try to get Mancini more at bats to try to get him going , and hoped Mervis would come around so Hosmer was kind of a spare part that they felt the roster spot could be better used . I think they should have nrought up Mervis last season. I got the 40 man thing and fear of losing guys they didn't want to in the rule 5 , but they read it wrong , a LOT of teams were in the same boat and the rule 5 really wasn't as active as predicted so I think they would have been better off giving Mervis some time last season when they did not care at all about winning , and they could also get a better read or atleast a head start on how he might fare against major league pitching which could have given them a better idea what to do last winter with 1b. Instead they went in with the mindset they needed to have some veteran stop gap insurance when they could have either passed on it if Mervis did well , or went after a more longer term guy if they felt he might not be the answer. To me that was more important to the teams future than losing a prospect they were on the border with protecting or not in the rule 5 . Don't believe Mervis will be part of the Cubs org next year. If they re-sign Belli , it's likely mainly to be the 1b moving forward unless they trade Suzuki and open up RF for Belli , so if a Suzuki trade doesn't happen and they do sign Belli then Mervis has no future here really because I also don't see him having a future as a long term DH with guys like Canario around , unless he's traded too ......and Caissie is more than likely the future DH , I don't think he is going to need much AAA time.
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Post by TheChico on Aug 21, 2023 13:18:12 GMT -5
Don't believe Mervis will be part of the Cubs org next year. If they re-sign Belli , it's likely mainly to be the 1b moving forward unless they trade Suzuki and open up RF for Belli , so if a Suzuki trade doesn't happen and they do sign Belli then Mervis has no future here really because I also don't see him having a future as a long term DH with guys like Canario around , unless he's traded too ......and Caissie is more than likely the future DH , I don't think he is going to need much AAA time. Caissie can likely convert to 1B and be really good if they choose to go that route as well. Waste of his cannon arm though.
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Post by batman66 on Aug 21, 2023 14:02:29 GMT -5
If they re-sign Belli , it's likely mainly to be the 1b moving forward unless they trade Suzuki and open up RF for Belli , so if a Suzuki trade doesn't happen and they do sign Belli then Mervis has no future here really because I also don't see him having a future as a long term DH with guys like Canario around , unless he's traded too ......and Caissie is more than likely the future DH , I don't think he is going to need much AAA time. Caissie can likely convert to 1B and be really good if they choose to go that route as well. Waste of his cannon arm though. Right, that's what people say , but they've shown no movement at all at this point to start to convert him. His OF play has been better and like you mentioned, the strong arm , but it's also going to be wasted as a DH which is his only real path to the Cubs , so ......... If they don't re-sign Belli , then I would not be surprised to maybe see them make the move to convert Caissie to 1b next season Gotta find a spot for him , I don't think he will be a guy who needs a full AAA season.
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Post by cfin on Aug 21, 2023 14:07:08 GMT -5
Don't believe Mervis will be part of the Cubs org next year. If they re-sign Belli , it's likely mainly to be the 1b moving forward unless they trade Suzuki and open up RF for Belli , so if a Suzuki trade doesn't happen and they do sign Belli then Mervis has no future here really because I also don't see him having a future as a long term DH with guys like Canario around , unless he's traded too ......and Caissie is more than likely the future DH , I don't think he is going to need much AAA time. I would like to see Canario get called up as well. Perhaps more so than PCA, for the same reasons that Mervis should have been called up last year. Call him up expecting him to struggle, but so he can go into the offseason and see what he needs to work on.
This is why I hate the new 40 man September call ups rules. Let teams call up youngsters from the minors and see what they offer - cap the daily active rosters at 25 man but you can choose from any 25 that's on your 40 man roster.
Got to figure that Wisdom and Mastrobuoni are next on the chopping block.
I still think every effort will be made to move one of Happ or Suzuki in the offseason. Their NTC will play a role in that, but that doesn't mean they can't be traded. Neither have really provided the slug that this team needs. And Canario, Mervis, and Bellinger all fit that mold a bit better. Resigning Bellinger (which is no sure thing) and also having someone like Canario or Mervis in the lineup as a thumper will really help the offense. But all of that depends on how well Canario, Mervis, and PCA take to major league pitching.
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Post by batman66 on Aug 21, 2023 14:19:04 GMT -5
If they re-sign Belli , it's likely mainly to be the 1b moving forward unless they trade Suzuki and open up RF for Belli , so if a Suzuki trade doesn't happen and they do sign Belli then Mervis has no future here really because I also don't see him having a future as a long term DH with guys like Canario around , unless he's traded too ......and Caissie is more than likely the future DH , I don't think he is going to need much AAA time. I would like to see Canario get called up as well. Perhaps more so than PCA, for the same reasons that Mervis should have been called up last year. Call him up expecting him to struggle, but so he can go into the offseason and see what he needs to work on.
This is why I hate the new 40 man September call ups rules. Let teams call up youngsters from the minors and see what they offer - cap the daily active rosters at 25 man but you can choose from any 25 that's on your 40 man roster.
Got to figure that Wisdom and Mastrobuoni are next on the chopping block.
I still think every effort will be made to move one of Happ or Suzuki in the offseason. Their NTC will play a role in that, but that doesn't mean they can't be traded. Neither have really provided the slug that this team needs. And Canario, Mervis, and Bellinger all fit that mold a bit better. Resigning Bellinger (which is no sure thing) and also having someone like Canario or Mervis in the lineup as a thumper will really help the offense. But all of that depends on how well Canario, Mervis, and PCA take to major league pitching.
I think it's possible we see both PCA and Canario . There are 2 spots currently open I think and a 3rd could be opened by a DFA of Wisdom which makes too much sense now not to happen. Canario already being on the 40 man makes it easier for him to be added , and they can still add PCA and Little or Wicks by giving one Wisdom's spot, But I don't see the situation where Canario would get enough playing time to get a good reading on him though. I hated the shit ton of call ups in the past because we'd see managers use 10 pitchers a game , but it should have been settled on adding more than just two guys to the roster, that's not enough when a lot of playoff caliber teams have some prospects that could really help them. I doubt Happ is traded, he seems to be a team /clubhouse guy they value, but it would not totally surprise me if Suzuki is this winter. It's either going to be him or some prospects, not enough room for them all and you can only keep so many in Iowa , where Caissie should already be.
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Post by cfin on Aug 21, 2023 14:28:54 GMT -5
Canario could pretty easily step into RF in place of Suzuki or LF for Happ to get some at-bats.
Suzuki has heated up a bit in the last couple of weeks, but we've seen this song and dance before. Happ also hasn't set the world on fire, and Suzuki has actually outperformed him the last couple of weeks (although to be fair, Happ has probably had less lows than Suzuki this year).
But you are also correct, I'm not sure how many consistent at-bats Canario or Mervis or PCA would get. Obviously if any of those guys come up and hit then that's a good thing. But you can't really allow them to work out of their struggles in the midst of a pennant race. But I do think it's important to give them some at-bats to see where their struggles might be.
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Post by rvn11 on Aug 21, 2023 14:40:54 GMT -5
I doubt they move Suzuki or Happ this offseason, neither are living up to their contracts IMO and would be a hard sell for a trade partner; I'm continually confounded by the Happ extension this spring. It would have been perfect to work one of the prospects into LF along with PCA in center, and it's not like these prospects have shown up just this year. It seems someone like Canario could bring more to the plate than either current corner OF.
But I don't see that happening, I think Canario and Mervis get packaged for an SP this offseason. I just hope they find a good one, not a lot of pitching available at the moment and too many teams unsure of their direction either up or down. If not an arm then find a way to trade depth for 1 high end offensive piece, perhaps at 3b.
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Post by bryzzobrist on Aug 21, 2023 14:42:03 GMT -5
Yonathan Perlaza though... Crush baseballs much? I wish he was doing this last season in AAA in a rebuild year he may have gotten a look. Poor guy deserves a call up but it probably won't happen and he may never see the Cubs OF Season numbers are excellent 34 doubles 3 triples 19 homers 64 rbi's mostly , leading off 11 stolen bases .294 avg .388 obp .557 slg .945 ops But probably gets pushed aside and traded because of PCA I hope we hold onto him, since we've already let Velazquez go. Can never have too much quality depth.
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Post by batman66 on Aug 21, 2023 14:44:44 GMT -5
I wish he was doing this last season in AAA in a rebuild year he may have gotten a look. Poor guy deserves a call up but it probably won't happen and he may never see the Cubs OF Season numbers are excellent 34 doubles 3 triples 19 homers 64 rbi's mostly , leading off 11 stolen bases .294 avg .388 obp .557 slg .945 ops But probably gets pushed aside and traded because of PCA I hope we hold onto him, since we've already let Velazquez go. Can never have too much quality depth. He needs to be added to the 40 man I think or he's probably a sure loss in the rule 5 .
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Post by TheChico on Aug 22, 2023 10:53:37 GMT -5
I hope we hold onto him, since we've already let Velazquez go. Can never have too much quality depth. He needs to be added to the 40 man I think or he's probably a sure loss in the rule 5 . He is a minor league free agent after the season, so he is not subject to the Rule 5 as he can just sign with any team who will give him a chance. Luis Vazquez is also in the same boat and he has a better chance to make the 40 man roster due to his ability to play SS at a high level. So some really tough roster decisions this offseason, my bet is they add Perlaza but more in the intention to add him in a trade in hopes not losing him for nothing as the offseason goes along.
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Post by batman66 on Aug 22, 2023 15:04:49 GMT -5
He needs to be added to the 40 man I think or he's probably a sure loss in the rule 5 . He is a minor league free agent after the season, so he is not subject to the Rule 5 as he can just sign with any team who will give him a chance. Luis Vazquez is also in the same boat and he has a better chance to make the 40 man roster due to his ability to play SS at a high level. So some really tough roster decisions this offseason, my bet is they add Perlaza but more in the intention to add him in a trade in hopes not losing him for nothing as the offseason goes along. Damn , then he's probably as good as gone unless they add him to the 40 man . I'm sure he likes the Cubs system and Iowa , but the man deserves a chance at a major league roster with the season he's having so they'd probably have a tough time signing him since he'll want a clear path to the majors and I'm not totally sure they'd want to keep him around because OF's are going to need to be promoted eventually. Roederer is also having a fine season and can't stay in AA forever. I think you're probably right , he will be added and dealt.
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Post by kfidd on Aug 23, 2023 8:30:32 GMT -5
The pitching is ready for help any day now, Jed. Let’s go.
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Post by batman66 on Aug 23, 2023 9:33:32 GMT -5
The pitching is ready for help any day now, Jed. Let’s go. They can't give Smyly another start. Either put Wesneski back in the rotation with a piggyback in his starts or call up Wicks. What I could see happening is them calling up Shane Greene because of his experience and he's pitched pretty damn good in the 4 starts he recently made in Iowa 2.84 ERA , last night 5 innings 4 hits 0 mruns 6 k's 1 walk
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Post by TheChico on Aug 23, 2023 12:11:01 GMT -5
The pitching is ready for help any day now, Jed. Let’s go. They can't give Smyly another start. Either put Wesneski back in the rotation with a piggyback in his starts or call up Wicks. What I could see happening is them calling up Shane Greene because of his experience and he's pitched pretty damn good in the 4 starts he recently made in Iowa 2.84 ERA , last night 5 innings 4 hits 0 mruns 6 k's 1 walk Wicks had a healthy scratch from his start today. hmmmmm......
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Post by Mike on Aug 25, 2023 2:03:14 GMT -5
Waiting on how much bullpen we burn this weekend before the series against the Brewers most likely.
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