http://wrigleyville.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/11/16/the-cubs-should-act-like-the-dodgers-this-offseason-part-1/ Just another Baseball Prospectus Local Sites site Sat, 16 Feb 2019 21:04:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1.1 http://wrigleyville.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/11/16/the-cubs-should-act-like-the-dodgers-this-offseason-part-1/#comment-21070 Sun, 19 Nov 2017 18:25:23 +0000 http://wrigleyville.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=22252#comment-21070 I don’t think the Cubs can spend indiscriminately, they are still under some MLB debt load restrictions due to the Zell purchase debt swap, and they will be until 2019. (A complex deal that for tax purposes doesn’t allow them to pay down the debt despite insane profitability).
I agree that trading their youngsters would be a huge mistake, as they have no more in the pipeline after Caritini and Zagunis. They have a cost controlled core with Russell, Baez, Happ, Schwarber, Bryant, Rizzo, Almora, Contreras, Hendricks, Quintana, Montgomery, CJ Edwards all 28 and under.
With 3 solid starters Cobb and Sabathia would mike nice 4 and 5 starters and solidify the back of their rotation.
Adding relievers is imperative Davis, Duensing and McGee would be nice to mix in with CJ and Strop.
Giving Arrieta or Darvish long term contracts is not really needed, and the dead money on the end of those contracts would hurt the Cubs when they need to sign the core to contracts in a couple of years.

]]> http://wrigleyville.locals.baseballprospectus.com/2017/11/16/the-cubs-should-act-like-the-dodgers-this-offseason-part-1/#comment-21045 Thu, 16 Nov 2017 13:45:30 +0000 http://wrigleyville.locals.baseballprospectus.com/?p=22252#comment-21045 Thx for some sanity. All this talk of trading Baez, Schwarber, Russell, Happ, Almora…just pay some dudes instead. Cubs should also act like Dodgers in another sense: don’t let greatness walk out the door. Last yr, LA was faced with Turner, Jansen, and Hill in FA. They brought each of them back for $16 MM AAV, regardless that all would be in mid 30s/Hill pushing 40 shortly. Cubs should do same on Arrieta. Bring him back, even if it takes Lester money, for Jake is better, then pick up Lynn or Cobb at $15 per. Figure out pen after that, but don’t need to break the bank there.

]]>