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Post by skokiejoe on Oct 21, 2024 13:39:22 GMT -5
Per #Cubs, Nico Hoerner underwent successful right flexor tendon surgery on Oct. 11th. Dr. Keith Meister performed the procedure.
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Post by Mike on Oct 21, 2024 13:45:47 GMT -5
Well, I guess we can't trade him to a team as a shortstop now.
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Post by batman66 on Oct 22, 2024 10:44:56 GMT -5
Off season already turning to shit , this probably kills off any potential trade with him.
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Post by bryzzobrist on Oct 22, 2024 12:54:27 GMT -5
The keithmeister
We didn't really need to trade Nico anyway, though he's still valuable for next season im sure
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Post by TheChico on Oct 22, 2024 13:15:26 GMT -5
Hoerner should be a 100% by Spring training,
This will not have that much if any impact on his value.
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Post by batman66 on Oct 22, 2024 13:22:47 GMT -5
The keithmeister We didn't really need to trade Nico anyway, though he's still valuable for next season im sure Need to , no, they don't "need to" but with 2 years left on his contract and a weak free agent shortstop class , now would be a better time rather than in his free agent year . He has more value to another team right now since he would not be a rental. They have multiple players who could step in and play 2b , I'm fairly confident between Shaw and Traintos one of them will be ready and there is also the option of playing Busch . |
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Post by happy on Oct 22, 2024 19:41:45 GMT -5
The keithmeister We didn't really need to trade Nico anyway, though he's still valuable for next season im sure Need to , no, they don't "need to" but with 2 years left on his contract and a weak free agent shortstop class , now would be a better time rather than in his free agent year . He has more value to another team right now since he would not be a rental. They have multiple players who could step in and play 2b , I'm fairly confident between Shaw and Traintos one of them will be ready and there is also the option of playing Busch . Why on earth would you think Busch at second is an “option”? Do you realize he was so awful at second they moved him to third and he was so bad at third they traded him to the Cubs. Busch has one position, 1st. |
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Post by batman66 on Oct 22, 2024 20:32:16 GMT -5
Need to , no, they don't "need to" but with 2 years left on his contract and a weak free agent shortstop class , now would be a better time rather than in his free agent year . He has more value to another team right now since he would not be a rental. They have multiple players who could step in and play 2b , I'm fairly confident between Shaw and Traintos one of them will be ready and there is also the option of playing Busch . Why on earth would you think Busch at second is an “option”? Do you realize he was so awful at second they moved him to third and he was so bad at third they traded him to the Cubs. Busch has one position, 1st. No , uh 2b was going to be Betts position remember Mookie was moved there during the 2023 season and then they signed a guy named Freeman which moved Muncy back to 3b, he wasn't going to beat any of those guys out of job, so it was looking like DH for him , and then they signed some guy named Ohtani , thats why he was traded to the Cubs. They also had Vargas who was rated ahead of him in their system . He came with the stigma of being a poor fielder because he was moved around , but in reality it was more about a path to the majors being blocked as to why he was changing positions because we saw how well he ended up being as a 1b after being given a chance and some time to adapt. From a scouting report .Defensively, Busch does not have a strong arm, and he grades as major league average as both a second baseman and first baseman. He likely won’t win a Gold Glove on defense. |
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Post by thisbuds4u on Oct 23, 2024 3:10:22 GMT -5
The keithmeister We didn't really need to trade Nico anyway, though he's still valuable for next season im sure Need to , no, they don't "need to" but with 2 years left on his contract and a weak free agent shortstop class , now would be a better time rather than in his free agent year . He has more value to another team right now since he would not be a rental. They have multiple players who could step in and play 2b , I'm fairly confident between Shaw and Traintos one of them will be ready and there is also the option of playing Busch . I would be more inclined to trade Busch over Hoerner. While Busch is a rookie, he is only 6 months younger than Nico. If Bellinger opts in he can move to 1st which opens up an outfield spot for Alcantara or Caissie. Busch would be more appealing to small market teams because of his contract status. |
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Post by batman66 on Oct 23, 2024 8:36:07 GMT -5
Need to , no, they don't "need to" but with 2 years left on his contract and a weak free agent shortstop class , now would be a better time rather than in his free agent year . He has more value to another team right now since he would not be a rental. They have multiple players who could step in and play 2b , I'm fairly confident between Shaw and Traintos one of them will be ready and there is also the option of playing Busch . I would be more inclined to trade Busch over Hoerner. While Busch is a rookie, he is only 6 months younger than Nico. If Bellinger opts in he can move to 1st which opens up an outfield spot for Alcantara or Caissie. Busch would be more appealing to small market teams because of his contract status. I'm not really opposed to that but what happens beyond 2025 if you do that? Bellinger could opt out or stay one more year , if he opts out after 2025 ....then who's on first in 2026? And then Nico if he stays is here to play out his free agent year in 2026 . I highly doubt they have any plans of keeping him here longer with a shit ton of very good middle infield prospects ranging from AAA all the way down to low A. Nine of the top 20 prospects are middle infielders and atleast 4 of them very highly rated. I mean they have Shaw their #1 prospect, Traintos #5 , Rojas#8, Fernando Cruz #9, Ramirez #11, Valdez #14, C Hernandez #15, Ronnie Cruz #16, Southisene #20. So again my point in trading Nico this winter is he will likely have more trade value because he goes to a team with 2 years of control . They could trade both Busch and Nico if Belly stays and open up spots for one of Caissie/Alcantara and or Shaw/Triantos and then there is possibly still Canario in the picture. I mean Alcantara probably needs more AAA time so you don't have to find a spot for him yet , but Caissie, Shaw and Traintos look like they could be ready. I like Nico a lot , it's just that I don't see him being here beyond 2026 so I think now would be the best time to move him. |
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Post by chubbycub on Oct 23, 2024 12:14:21 GMT -5
Per #Cubs, Nico Hoerner underwent successful right flexor tendon surgery on Oct. 11th. Dr. Keith Meister performed the procedure. Not surprised, he'd been dealing with it all year. |
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Post by happy on Oct 23, 2024 15:08:12 GMT -5
I would be more inclined to trade Busch over Hoerner. While Busch is a rookie, he is only 6 months younger than Nico. If Bellinger opts in he can move to 1st which opens up an outfield spot for Alcantara or Caissie. Busch would be more appealing to small market teams because of his contract status. I'm not really opposed to that but what happens beyond 2025 if you do that? Bellinger could opt out or stay one more year , if he opts out after 2025 ....then who's on first in 2026? And then Nico if he stays is here to play out his free agent year in 2026 . I highly doubt they have any plans of keeping him here longer with a shit ton of very good middle infield prospects ranging from AAA all the way down to low A. Nine of the top 20 prospects are middle infielders and atleast 4 of them very highly rated. I mean they have Shaw their #1 prospect, Traintos #5 , Rojas#8, Fernando Cruz #9, Ramirez #11, Valdez #14, C Hernandez #15, Ronnie Cruz #16, Southisene #20. So again my point in trading Nico this winter is he will likely have more trade value because he goes to a team with 2 years of control . They could trade both Busch and Nico if Belly stays and open up spots for one of Caissie/Alcantara and or Shaw/Triantos and then there is possibly still Canario in the picture. I mean Alcantara probably needs more AAA time so you don't have to find a spot for him yet , but Caissie, Shaw and Traintos look like they could be ready. I like Nico a lot , it's just that I don't see him being here beyond 2026 so I think now would be the best time to move him. Does Nico have more trade value now or in the middle of the season when teams are dealing with injuries and struggling prospects? That is why I think, as the team currently stands, you keep Hoerner and see what happens with him, Shaw and Paredes (and Swanson). If Shaw earns a starting spot, then you can deal away Hoerner or Paredes. You mentioned that you don’t necessarily believe in Paredes power playing in Wrigley in a different post. As said, I’m in favor of the Cubs pulling out the stops and going all in for Soto or trading for Vlad. If either of those moves happen, then I’m in favor of dealing Hoerner. I fully believe the Cubs lack true impact talent. Steele and Imanaga are great pitchers, I want another though and then I’m trading Taillon. I think the Cubs have talent to be a playoff team and if you can get into the playoffs then you can win a title but they lack that scary presence in the line up and they lack the dread of entering the laters inning behind being a lost cause. I believe, with the prospect depth they have, I would try like heck to add either Miller or upgrade catcher via trade and sign Soto as well as Burnes. It’s a pipe dream but no team would feel good facing a front three of Burnes, Imanaga and Steele and a 8/9 of Hughes and Miller. |
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Post by batman66 on Oct 23, 2024 15:23:30 GMT -5
I'm not really opposed to that but what happens beyond 2025 if you do that? Bellinger could opt out or stay one more year , if he opts out after 2025 ....then who's on first in 2026? And then Nico if he stays is here to play out his free agent year in 2026 . I highly doubt they have any plans of keeping him here longer with a shit ton of very good middle infield prospects ranging from AAA all the way down to low A. Nine of the top 20 prospects are middle infielders and atleast 4 of them very highly rated. I mean they have Shaw their #1 prospect, Traintos #5 , Rojas#8, Fernando Cruz #9, Ramirez #11, Valdez #14, C Hernandez #15, Ronnie Cruz #16, Southisene #20. So again my point in trading Nico this winter is he will likely have more trade value because he goes to a team with 2 years of control . They could trade both Busch and Nico if Belly stays and open up spots for one of Caissie/Alcantara and or Shaw/Triantos and then there is possibly still Canario in the picture. I mean Alcantara probably needs more AAA time so you don't have to find a spot for him yet , but Caissie, Shaw and Traintos look like they could be ready. I like Nico a lot , it's just that I don't see him being here beyond 2026 so I think now would be the best time to move him. Does Nico have more trade value now or in the middle of the season when teams are dealing with injuries and struggling prospects? That is why I think, as the team currently stands, you keep Hoerner and see what happens with him, Shaw and Paredes (and Swanson). If Shaw earns a starting spot, then you can deal away Hoerner or Paredes. You mentioned that you don’t necessarily believe in Paredes power playing in Wrigley in a different post. As said, I’m in favor of the Cubs pulling out the stops and going all in for Soto or trading for Vlad. If either of those moves happen, then I’m in favor of dealing Hoerner. I fully believe the Cubs lack true impact talent. Steele and Imanaga are great pitchers, I want another though and then I’m trading Taillon. I think the Cubs have talent to be a playoff team and if you can get into the playoffs then you can win a title but they lack that scary presence in the line up and they lack the dread of entering the laters inning behind being a lost cause. I believe, with the prospect depth they have, I would try like heck to add either Miller or upgrade catcher via trade and sign Soto as well as Burnes. It’s a pipe dream but no team would feel good facing a front three of Burnes, Imanaga and Steele and a 8/9 of Hughes and Miller. It's possible he might have more value in the middle of a season if a team gets desperate, but who is trading a guy like him if they are winning , which the Cubs hope to be. Even if Shaw is in AAA and pounding on the door , are the Cubs going to make the move and trade Nico if they are sitting in first place in the middle of a season? Thats why I think the best time is now. EVERYBODY is in favor of signing Soto and most are for trading for Vlad , but the chances it happens are next to none unless Vlad is made available, the Cubs have what it would take to land him and they have asked about him before from what we've heard. I just don't want it to be as a rental. Taillon I'd only trade if it came down to them not being able to sign somebody like Burnes and his 18 million was a payroll issue. I get the sell high aspect of trading him, but I think the 3.27 ERA guy we saw is who he is now , that's what the Cubs hoped for when they signed him , so not sure why they'd move on now after that Taillon showed up. Sign Burnes which I'm reading lot of stuff that it could be a realistic move for the Cubs and there aren't many better 1-4's around with him Steele, Imanaga and Taillon and Assad could fight for the 5th spot or I like him better out of the pen as a swingman. |
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Post by happy on Oct 24, 2024 7:57:44 GMT -5
Does Nico have more trade value now or in the middle of the season when teams are dealing with injuries and struggling prospects? That is why I think, as the team currently stands, you keep Hoerner and see what happens with him, Shaw and Paredes (and Swanson). If Shaw earns a starting spot, then you can deal away Hoerner or Paredes. You mentioned that you don’t necessarily believe in Paredes power playing in Wrigley in a different post. As said, I’m in favor of the Cubs pulling out the stops and going all in for Soto or trading for Vlad. If either of those moves happen, then I’m in favor of dealing Hoerner. I fully believe the Cubs lack true impact talent. Steele and Imanaga are great pitchers, I want another though and then I’m trading Taillon. I think the Cubs have talent to be a playoff team and if you can get into the playoffs then you can win a title but they lack that scary presence in the line up and they lack the dread of entering the laters inning behind being a lost cause. I believe, with the prospect depth they have, I would try like heck to add either Miller or upgrade catcher via trade and sign Soto as well as Burnes. It’s a pipe dream but no team would feel good facing a front three of Burnes, Imanaga and Steele and a 8/9 of Hughes and Miller. It's possible he might have more value in the middle of a season if a team gets desperate, but who is trading a guy like him if they are winning , which the Cubs hope to be. Even if Shaw is in AAA and pounding on the door , are the Cubs going to make the move and trade Nico if they are sitting in first place in the middle of a season? Thats why I think the best time is now. EVERYBODY is in favor of signing Soto and most are for trading for Vlad , but the chances it happens are next to none unless Vlad is made available, the Cubs have what it would take to land him and they have asked about him before from what we've heard. I just don't want it to be as a rental. Taillon I'd only trade if it came down to them not being able to sign somebody like Burnes and his 18 million was a payroll issue. I get the sell high aspect of trading him, but I think the 3.27 ERA guy we saw is who he is now , that's what the Cubs hoped for when they signed him , so not sure why they'd move on now after that Taillon showed up. Sign Burnes which I'm reading lot of stuff that it could be a realistic move for the Cubs and there aren't many better 1-4's around with him Steele, Imanaga and Taillon and Assad could fight for the 5th spot or I like him better out of the pen as a swingman. So let me get this straight, you wouldn’t trade Hoerner mid season because he would be too valuable to the Cubs during a playoff run BUT you would trade him now. You would trade Nico because he is getting more expensive and has two years left of control but wouldn’t trade Taillon who is more expensive, less valuable and has two years of control. Makes sense. |
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Post by batman66 on Oct 24, 2024 9:10:48 GMT -5
It's possible he might have more value in the middle of a season if a team gets desperate, but who is trading a guy like him if they are winning , which the Cubs hope to be. Even if Shaw is in AAA and pounding on the door , are the Cubs going to make the move and trade Nico if they are sitting in first place in the middle of a season? Thats why I think the best time is now. EVERYBODY is in favor of signing Soto and most are for trading for Vlad , but the chances it happens are next to none unless Vlad is made available, the Cubs have what it would take to land him and they have asked about him before from what we've heard. I just don't want it to be as a rental. Taillon I'd only trade if it came down to them not being able to sign somebody like Burnes and his 18 million was a payroll issue. I get the sell high aspect of trading him, but I think the 3.27 ERA guy we saw is who he is now , that's what the Cubs hoped for when they signed him , so not sure why they'd move on now after that Taillon showed up. Sign Burnes which I'm reading lot of stuff that it could be a realistic move for the Cubs and there aren't many better 1-4's around with him Steele, Imanaga and Taillon and Assad could fight for the 5th spot or I like him better out of the pen as a swingman. So let me get this straight, you wouldn’t trade Hoerner mid season because he would be too valuable to the Cubs during a playoff run BUT you would trade him now. You would trade Nico because he is getting more expensive and has two years left of control but wouldn’t trade Taillon who is more expensive, less valuable and has two years of control. Makes sense. No, no no no no you got that all wrong. It's not that I wouldn't. It's that the Cubs would not trade him during the season if they are winning , teams don't usually trade a starting player off a winning team to make room for a rookie during a season if they are winning. And I'm not trading him because he's getting more expensive, I'm trading him because I think Shaw can give them more with the bat and his trade value to another team is more because they can have him for 2 years . They have many guys capable of playing 2b. Starting pitching depth , don't mess with it , the guy became what they were hoping for when they signed him , so do you think they trade him now ? Who steps into his spot as a solid #3 or 4 type if they sign Burnes and trade Taillon? Brown ? Maybe , but we still have not heard about this "neck" thing and why it kept him out so long. Assad ? He didn't have a great second half and was pretty damn lucky to have the ERA he did the first half with all the traffic he allows and he's kind of a long shot to give you more than 5 innings . Wicks? I still like him , but the injury thing got a little worrisome last season. Horton? Don't know where he is at with his progress from the shoulder issue. Birdsell ? maybe |
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Post by happy on Oct 24, 2024 9:39:11 GMT -5
So let me get this straight, you wouldn’t trade Hoerner mid season because he would be too valuable to the Cubs during a playoff run BUT you would trade him now. You would trade Nico because he is getting more expensive and has two years left of control but wouldn’t trade Taillon who is more expensive, less valuable and has two years of control. Makes sense. No, no no no no you got that all wrong. It's not that I wouldn't. It's that the Cubs would not trade him during the season if they are winning , teams don't usually trade a starting player off a winning team to make room for a rookie during a season if they are winning. And I'm not trading him because he's getting more expensive, I'm trading him because I think Shaw can give them more with the bat and his trade value to another team is more because they can have him for 2 years . They have many guys capable of playing 2b. Starting pitching depth , don't mess with it , the guy became what they were hoping for when they signed him , so do you think they trade him now ? Who steps into his spot as a solid #3 or 4 type if they sign Burnes ? Brown ? Maybe , but we still have not heard about this "neck" thing and why it kept him out so long. Assad ? He didn't have a great second half and was pretty damn lucky to have the ERA he did the first half with all the traffic he allows and he's kind of a long shot to give you more than 5 innings . Wicks? I still like him , but the injury thing got a little worrisome last season. Horton? Don't know where he is at with his progress from the shoulder issue. Birdsell ? maybe Ah, so you are unwilling to trade from starting pitching depth after I said we should sign Burnes (which is the answer to “who replaces Taillon”) but are willing to trade from our position player depth even though the Cubs biggest weakness last season was position depth/bench… If Shaw was playing well enough, proving he belongs at the big league level by hitting and playing defense at the big league level then the majority of teams would move a veteran to make room for him, regardless of standings. The issue I have, with your philosophy, is being unwilling to put an unknown at the bottom of the rotation, even though we have more options with ML track record but are more than willing to put an unknown on the field that has zero experience at the big league level. The Cubs issue was not pitching, Burnes to replace Taillon is an upgrade, anyone to replace Hendricks is also a huge upgrade. The issue was positional depth. When the Cubs were banged up, we didn’t have the positional depth to win. Replacing Hoerner with Shaw does not remotely fix that issue, it makes it worse. Shaw certainly has more power upside than Nico, but Nico is a steady 4 WAR player and provides above league average offense and elite defense. If the benchmark for the offense was last season, we need to raise the ceiling WITHOUT lowering the floor. We have a slightly higher floor with Paredes at third to start the season vs Morel but replacing Hoerner for Shaw significantly lowers the floor. We know Nico can play at a high level in the majors and we all saw the dynamic him and PCA can produce batting close to each other. Shaw’s a complete unknown. So if we raise the floor and ceiling, that’s going to cost, unless the Cubs can trade for a guy like OHoppe. Vlad is over 30 million, Soto is going to be 45+ million and the Cubs have a finite amount of financial resources with even more roster tweaking to do. If you sign Burnes and do not trade Taillon, you’re stuck with the same offense as last season and potentially cannot improve the bench via free agency or bullpen. If you add a big bat, you pretty much have to move Hoerner because of the same reasonings. Assuming, of course, Bellinger stays and eats up 30 million. If he opts out, you can add a big bat, keep Taillon and sign Fried or someone similar. |
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Post by happy on Oct 24, 2024 9:44:05 GMT -5
So let me get this straight, you wouldn’t trade Hoerner mid season because he would be too valuable to the Cubs during a playoff run BUT you would trade him now. You would trade Nico because he is getting more expensive and has two years left of control but wouldn’t trade Taillon who is more expensive, less valuable and has two years of control. Makes sense. No, no no no no you got that all wrong. It's not that I wouldn't. It's that the Cubs would not trade him during the season if they are winning , teams don't usually trade a starting player off a winning team to make room for a rookie during a season if they are winning. And I'm not trading him because he's getting more expensive, I'm trading him because I think Shaw can give them more with the bat and his trade value to another team is more because they can have him for 2 years . They have many guys capable of playing 2b. Starting pitching depth , don't mess with it , the guy became what they were hoping for when they signed him , so do you think they trade him now ? Who steps into his spot as a solid #3 or 4 type if they sign Burnes and trade Taillon? Brown ? Maybe , but we still have not heard about this "neck" thing and why it kept him out so long. Assad ? He didn't have a great second half and was pretty damn lucky to have the ERA he did the first half with all the traffic he allows and he's kind of a long shot to give you more than 5 innings . Wicks? I still like him , but the injury thing got a little worrisome last season. Horton? Don't know where he is at with his progress from the shoulder issue. Birdsell ? maybe The Cubs have so many options it makes the conversations fun. It’s a flawed but solid and pretty complete team with a deep farm system |
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Post by Returnofstevefitz on Oct 24, 2024 9:52:48 GMT -5
Nobody's opinion is right or wrong, in the end we're a bunch of message board fans giving our opinions that mean nothing to the organization.
So, my opinion, is that the Cubs biggest mistake was not trading Tallion at the deadline. You all know how much I wanted the Cubs to move off that contract and they would not have gone over the tax with Paredes.
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Post by happy on Oct 24, 2024 10:19:38 GMT -5
Why on earth would you think Busch at second is an “option”? Do you realize he was so awful at second they moved him to third and he was so bad at third they traded him to the Cubs. Busch has one position, 1st. No , uh 2b was going to be Betts position remember Mookie was moved there during the 2023 season and then they signed a guy named Freeman which moved Muncy back to 3b, he wasn't going to beat any of those guys out of job, so it was looking like DH for him , and then they signed some guy named Ohtani , thats why he was traded to the Cubs. They also had Vargas who was rated ahead of him in their system . He came with the stigma of being a poor fielder because he was moved around , but in reality it was more about a path to the majors being blocked as to why he was changing positions because we saw how well he ended up being as a 1b after being given a chance and some time to adapt. From a scouting report .Defensively, Busch does not have a strong arm, and he grades as major league average as both a second baseman and first baseman. He likely won’t win a Gold Glove on defense. I appreciate your optimism but that isn’t true. First, Betts was playing shortstop to start the year, not second base. So your initial argument is invalid. Second, the Dodgers thought because they were able to deploy a sloth like Muncy at second some, Busch, who was more athletic, could possibly be moved there. He was so bad he was moved across the diamond, where he was equally bad. He was also equally bad in the outfield. It’s fun to think otherwise but it’s simply not true. Now, it certainly is possible to improve defense, Busch proved that at first base but there is a very valid reason he played first base in college and was given a 30 grade on defense. You can quote the google recommendation all you like but it won’t make it true. |
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Post by batman66 on Oct 24, 2024 10:36:18 GMT -5
No, no no no no you got that all wrong. It's not that I wouldn't. It's that the Cubs would not trade him during the season if they are winning , teams don't usually trade a starting player off a winning team to make room for a rookie during a season if they are winning. And I'm not trading him because he's getting more expensive, I'm trading him because I think Shaw can give them more with the bat and his trade value to another team is more because they can have him for 2 years . They have many guys capable of playing 2b. Starting pitching depth , don't mess with it , the guy became what they were hoping for when they signed him , so do you think they trade him now ? Who steps into his spot as a solid #3 or 4 type if they sign Burnes ? Brown ? Maybe , but we still have not heard about this "neck" thing and why it kept him out so long. Assad ? He didn't have a great second half and was pretty damn lucky to have the ERA he did the first half with all the traffic he allows and he's kind of a long shot to give you more than 5 innings . Wicks? I still like him , but the injury thing got a little worrisome last season. Horton? Don't know where he is at with his progress from the shoulder issue. Birdsell ? maybe Ah, so you are unwilling to trade from starting pitching depth after I said we should sign Burnes (which is the answer to “who replaces Taillon”) but are willing to trade from our position player depth even though the Cubs biggest weakness last season was position depth/bench… If Shaw was playing well enough, proving he belongs at the big league level by hitting and playing defense at the big league level then the majority of teams would move a veteran to make room for him, regardless of standings. The issue I have, with your philosophy, is being unwilling to put an unknown at the bottom of the rotation, even though we have more options with ML track record but are more than willing to put an unknown on the field that has zero experience at the big league level. The Cubs issue was not pitching, Burnes to replace Taillon is an upgrade, anyone to replace Hendricks is also a huge upgrade. The issue was positional depth. When the Cubs were banged up, we didn’t have the positional depth to win. Replacing Hoerner with Shaw does not remotely fix that issue, it makes it worse. Shaw certainly has more power upside than Nico, but Nico is a steady 4 WAR player and provides above league average offense and elite defense. If the benchmark for the offense was last season, we need to raise the ceiling WITHOUT lowering the floor. We have a slightly higher floor with Paredes at third to start the season vs Morel but replacing Hoerner for Shaw significantly lowers the floor. We know Nico can play at a high level in the majors and we all saw the dynamic him and PCA can produce batting close to each other. Shaw’s a complete unknown. So if we raise the floor and ceiling, that’s going to cost, unless the Cubs can trade for a guy like OHoppe. Vlad is over 30 million, Soto is going to be 45+ million and the Cubs have a finite amount of financial resources with even more roster tweaking to do. If you sign Burnes and do not trade Taillon, you’re stuck with the same offense as last season and potentially cannot improve the bench via free agency or bullpen. If you add a big bat, you pretty much have to move Hoerner because of the same reasonings. Assuming, of course, Bellinger stays and eats up 30 million. If he opts out, you can add a big bat, keep Taillon and sign Fried or someone similar. oK, we can go round and round with this forever. The ENTIRE premise of me thinking NOW would be the best time to trade Nico is about the probably fact he's not going to be here beyond 2026 with the amount of middle infield talent they have in the system. So the entire thing is WHEN do you part ways with him? So , do you #1 keep him and let him play 2b for the next 2 seasons and try to find Shaw and whoever else is ready at bats and then let him walk in free agency possibly with no compensation because I'm not sure they slap a QO on him because who knows if he'd take the QO which is going to be higher than any AAV he'd probably get in free agency. They are not going to sign him to another extension , it would make no sense at all with all the infield prospects they have, so again it's all about when do you part ways with him? #2 start the season with him and if Shaw is killing it in AAA decide to trade Nico during the season. This I'd actually maybe be in favor of this one , but again I don't think the Cubs would trade him if the season is going well during the season , The only way I see them trading him during the season is if they are not contending , #3 trade him now when he has 2 full years value to a team he's going to which likely gets you a better return and run with Shaw or Triantos. We don't know what Shaw is going to do in the majors, but when you have a top 25 prospect who's minor league career numbers are .303 avg .384 obp .522 slg .906 ops and has shown no real red flags anywhere I don't think it's a huge gamble to chance he takes off with the job and you also have Triantos as another option. And Taillon , all I'm going to say is if it comes down to having to move him and his contract to fit Burnes or another better starter in, it's a no thought move, trade him. If they aren't signing Burnes, sure there are others out there, Snell, and Fried might be worth trading Taillon away to be able to sign, but not guys like Flaherty and some others. |
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