One of the biggest surprises of the Cubs’ 2018 first half was the emergence of utility infielder David Bote. Bote, an 18th round pick in the 2012 draft was never a serious prospect or a ballplayer with significant major league expectations. But, after a red-hot start to his big league career, Bote is raising eyebrows […]
Tag: Trade Deadline
The Cubs Can’t Compete in a Manny Machado Bidding War
Repeat after me. “The Chicago Cubs can win without Manny Machado.” Now that you’re sad, let’s talk about why it’s necessary to be ready for that. The Baltimore Orioles are in a really good spot. The team’s superstar shortstop has crushed the baseball over the first two months of the season and is the hottest […]
Trade from the 25-man, or pay for Verlander?
There are just four days until the MLB Trade Deadline, and the Chicago Cubs are actively shopping and looking to add pieces for the stretch run. The Cubs made the first big trade of the season two weeks ago when they acquired Jose Quintana from the Chicago White Sox in exchange for their top two prospects […]
After the Slow Start, Is Quintana Recovering?
This might already be a silly question because Jose Quintana may already have recovered from what was a really wonky start to the season. To wit, Quintana had a 1.09 WHIP and 3.21 FIP in his June starts.. You’ll take that for the rest of the season and feel pretty good about it. Still, that […]
Young Cubs: Finding MLB Value One Way or Another
We’re now in the middle of July, which means that you won’t open up your browser much over the next few weeks without seeing trade speculation. Much of this will be wild—hopefully at least some will be measured—but there is no doubt that some trades will be made this month, and there is little doubt that much […]
Montero or Hammel Could Be Casualties of Cubs’ Long-Term Plan
Quietly, Miguel Montero and Jason Hammel have been huge parts of the Cubs’ success over the last two seasons. Montero was worth 3.9 WARP in relatively modest playing time last year, and has been worth 1.3 WARP already this year—in addition to which, he’s been Jake Arrieta’s partner in crime, Willson Contreras’s mentor, and one […]
Why Dan Haren Was The Right Choice
Every season, a lot of rumors and countless hours of speculation ensue during the weeks preceding the trade deadline. With the Cubs closer to contention than they’ve been in quite some time, and the need to add another starter growing more evident by the day, this year’s deadline was particularly nerve wracking for Cubs fans. Everything from rumors […]
Why the Cubs Should Target a Struggling Samardzija
Last season, the Cubs reportedly offered Jeff Samardzija a contract extension worth 5 years, $85 million to lock him up long term. It was thought then, by many, that Samardzija was on the verge of becoming an ace and that the Cubs couldn’t let go of the opportunity to get their homegrown guy locked up. […]
Cubs Outfield: Help Wanted
I did a podcast last week with Gary Hill, the pre-and post-game host on the Seattle Mariners’ flagship radio station, 710 ESPN Seattle (you can find it here, #188). We discussed Brad Miller and Kyle Seager, and I tried to get Gary to speculate about my completely unrealistic desire to see the Mariners trade Felix […]
The Cubs Have Holes to Fill… and the Right People to Decide How to Fill Them
The Cubs are entering a very crucial part of the season. They’ve wrapped up one of the tougher stretches of play that they’ll likely face all season, and despite entering Tuesday on a five-game losing skid, things aren’t as bad as they appear. Yes, the losing stretch exposed some of their holes, but that may […]