Earlier this week, Jeff Paternostro released BP’s top-10 Cubs prospects, and many of the expected players peppered the list. At the top were Eloy Jimenez, Ian Happ, and Albert Almora (who has not yet lost prospect status), further down we saw Jeimer Candelario, Dylan Cease, Oscar de la Cruz, and Eddy Julio Martinez. There were […]
Author: Zack Moser
Jason Heyward Must Seize the Means of Production
[NOTE: Social media videos are hyperlinked, not embedded, for ease of navigation.] There is a smoldering crater where Jason Heyward’s 2016 was supposed to be. Line them up: a series of solid .285-ish TAv seasons, highlighted by moderate power, stolen base totals in the 20s, and league-best fielding gave way to a vast chasm of […]
The Right Field Drought and Sammy Sosa’s Hall of Fame Pickle
Hitting a home run is the best and coolest thing a player can do on a baseball field. Sammy Sosa was very good at hitting home runs. Better than just about everyone else in the history of Major League Baseball, in fact. Sosa’s 1998-2002 was one of the most remarkable stretches for a player all-time, but […]
With Ross Retiring, to Whom Will Lester Turn?
Few, if any, of us will forget Jon Lester’s “gutsy” performance in Game Seven of the World Series. Just three days after helping win an air-tight Game Five at Wrigley Field with six solid innings, Lester threw three innings of one-run ball in the biggest game of even his postseason-studded career. Although a few miscues […]
Santo’s Nixed Trade
Five home runs, a batting average of .221, and on-base and slugging percentages each south of .300: 1974 was an unceremonious end to a remarkable career for Ron Santo, his first and last on Chicago’s South Side after fourteen seasons at Wrigley Field with the Cubs. He’d been a National League All-Star just the year […]
Player Profile: Justin Grimm
Position: Relief Pitcher 2016 Stats: 52.2 IP, 28.9 K%, 10.2 BB%, 4.10 ERA, 3.52 DRA, 0.9 WARP Year in Review: Much like the man whom I profiled last week, Pedro Strop, Justin Grimm was pushed out of the Cubs’ latter season and postseason bullpen plans due to the acquisition of Aroldis Chapman and the resultant […]
Player Profile: Pedro Strop
Position: RP, slightly cocked to the left 2016 Stats: 41.1 IP, 32.1 K%, 8.0 BB%, 2.85 ERA, 2.39 DRA, 1.4 WARP Year in Review: The above numbers are… good. Strop had, statistically, his best season as a major leaguer in 2016, with career bests in strikeout and walk percentage. His 2.39 DRA was good for […]
Cubs Don’t Wade in Free Agent Waters, Trade for Davis
Late Tuesday night, at the Winter Meetings in Maryland, the Cubs addressed their most pressing issue for 2017 by acquiring top reliever Wade Davis from Kansas City in exchange for Jorge Soler. With physical exams to be conducted and medical records reviewed—Davis suffered a forearm injury this season and Soler has been off the field […]
Jon Jay Roosts with Cubs, Signs One-Year Deal
The Dexter Fowler era in Chicago is over. Long live the Dexter Fowler era. The Cubs plugged their center field hole today by signing former Cardinals and Padres outfielder Jon Jay to a one-year contract worth $8 million, effectively ending hopes that the club would shell out the simoleons for a Fowler return. He’ll back […]
An International Draft Serves Only the Owners
The Cubs’ World Series championship would not have been possible without the contributions of several international free agent signings. Six of the 25 players on the World Series roster arrived in American professional baseball as international free agents, and two of them (Willson Contreras and Jorge Soler) initially signed with the Cubs. While Contreras made […]