Last night the Cubs signed Wesley Wright to a 1-year deal just a couple days after being non-tendered. Wright will be paid $1.425 million in 2014. He’s been quite good the last two seasons and this is a good signing for the Cubs.
Wright has struckout around 24% of the batters over the last two seasons and walked just under 8%. Steamer projects a 3.40 FIP and Oliver projects a 3.67 FIP. He has two years of service time left and will be arbitration eligible after the 2014 season.
Are the Cubs going to go with two lefties in the bullpen in James Russell and Wesley Wright or does this make Russell available in a trade? Nothing wrong with having two lefties in the pen, but both are probably best suited facing as few right-handed pitchers as possible.
Russell is arbitration eligible and will make more money than Wright. I see this as a move that allows the Cubs to freely explore trades involving James Russell.
Comments
I saw someone on Twitter say the Cubs shouldn’t blow the bank on Tanaka because he could be “another Kosuke.” Which got me thinking. What if the Cubs spend $100M+ on Tanaka and it turns out he’s just another Kobayashi? He’d eat himself out of the league in no time. Or what if he comes over and it turns out he’s another Ken Watanabe? He’d quit the team mid-way through his contract and become a dramatic actor featured prominently in Christopher Nolan films. Too risky, gunna have to say pass.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
Or he could become Mr. Miyagi and teach the bullied youngster how to karate.
In all seriousness, I hope the Cubs get Tanaka and he performs admirably. The huge pool of money is a risk I think they have to take.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ GBTS:
What if he becomes just another Akira Nishiguchi?
I love this (from Wiki):
And fraud! (dying laughing)
dmick89Quote Reply
@ GBTS:
I hope he’s another Morimoto, maybe the food at wrigley would get better.
sitrickQuote Reply
Also, if the posting system is such that Tanaka gets to choose his team, I hope Thoyer has their legal team already working around the clock demanding Google remove all traces of HORRY KOW images on trademark grounds.
GBTSQuote Reply
Cherington probably already has dozens of them saved for their Tanaka powerpoint presentation.
GBTSQuote Reply
Gotta disagree with you on that, right handed pitchers are pretty bad at hitting
AndrewQuote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
But did he eat dinner afterwards?
BerseliusQuote Reply
Remember that one time that Carlos Zambrano went out to dinner? That was awesome.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Remember when Jay Cutler went out to dinner after that playoff loss to the Packers? Apparently he wasn’t too injured to eat food. That quitter.
EdwinQuote Reply
Is it good or bad that Tanaka won’t know where to get dinner in Houston?
Suburban kidQuote Reply
I heard Ted Lilly had dinner with his manager once last season.
sitrickQuote Reply
My Dinner with Andre is an interesting film. I was going to watch it one time. But then I didn’t. I guess I don’t actually know if it’s interesting or not. I’m sorry.
EdwinQuote Reply
You’d rather live in dough than let the world see you work a rolling pin.
sitrickQuote Reply
[img]http://i.imgur.com/glj36aO.jpg[/img]
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
There’s no december in that word search.
sitrickQuote Reply
@ sitrick:
Shut me right up.
It does have Decem-meh. That’s what Satan says about Christmas time.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
While he’s being eaten by Krampus?
EDIT: Oh Satan, not Santa, nevermind. That makes my comment sound stupid.
sitrickQuote Reply
too bad the cubs can’t sign wesley willis.
EnricoPallazzoQuote Reply
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3NJwyzFlTE
Suburban kidQuote Reply
I’m just catching up on the last couple of days in the comments and I REALLY skimmed, so forgive me if I’m repeating anyone.
I was as hard on the Ricketts when they first bought the team as anyone and if they had come in from the start and overhauled everything, I agree that things would be worlds better right now. We wouldn’t have Theo, but we might have Luhnow instead and he’s been doing a hell of a job rebuilding their shit organization in Houston.
They would have traded Lee, Ramirez, Lily, Dempster, etc etc. when they had actual value. Might have recognized the holes with Jackson and Vitters and sold them high. Who knows EXACTLY how it would have played out, but it would have gone very different with an extra couple of years under the old CBA and without 2 years of drudgery that wore the fans’ patience down to the nub before Theo even got here.
So THAT is squarely on Ricketts. His deliberate pace when he got here cost 2 years in a fairly obvious rebuild situation. But now that that can’t be undone, I’m not sure how a Mark Cuban would be any better at this.
The financial models they built when they priced this team probably involved getting the damn stadium renovated by now or very soon. Instead, they’ve been caught in this quagmire where the neighborhood continues to hold them hostage. We can say that Crane has fucked this up and that would also be on the Ricketts, but given how difficult this has been, I don’t think we can say for sure that someone else would have been able to get through this any better.
Yes, the Cubs tried to get public money, but now even when they are barely taking anything, they STILL can’t do anything without having the whole thing gummed up in a massive lawsuit that will take forever to clear up. They could have started the process sooner instead of going for public funds, but I bet they’d still be in the holding pattern they’re in now.
At this point, they may be actually trying to starve the rooftops out by continually putting a shitty product on the field that nobody wants to watch. They have the season ticket holders by the balls, and TV/Radio contracts will get done no matter what (nobody will want to miss out being the broadcaster of winning Cubs baseball so the fear will get them to pay up while Theo can show organizational progress). The rooftop owners have to make money NOW because there is no way on God’s green earth that the Ricketts are going to re-up that shitty contract the Tribune signed with them and then they’ll put signs wherever they want and fuck the sight lines.
I really want to hope that’s what they’re doing.
Aisle424Quote Reply
It appears the Mariners are willing to go 10 years 240MM for Cano. Yankees won’t go over 200MM.
If 10 years and well north of 200MM is where this ends up, then no wonder the FO’s stance is what it is this offseason. Fuck that.
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
@ Suburban kid:
Drag. RIP, Madiba.
uncle daveQuote Reply
I like the Wright signing. Russell really struggled in the 2nd half last year.
Royals just acquired Aoki for next to nothing. That guy always destroyed the Cubs.
JQuote Reply
@ Smokestack Lightning:
Methinks the new line is that Seattle offered no more than $200MM while Cano himself wanted $240ish. Yankees were suggested to go no higher than $170MM.
Also, RIP Mandela 🙁
Rice CubeQuote Reply
Berselius wrote:
But you’ll be in plenty of time for Memphis-style BBQ.
@ Aisle424:
Most of those points weren’t really covered in the last round of this discussion. Good points, too.
Remember that time dmick’s dog had a rabbit for dinner?
SVBQuote Reply
How in the hell does Crane Kenney still have a job anywhere in professional baseball?
One might think that he has compromising pictures of his bosses, but he has lasted through three different ownership groups (Tribune, Zell, Ricketts) so it is unlikely he has dirt on all of them.
Jim LQuote Reply
Aisle424 wrote:
This would be a positive side effect of the slow rebuild.
GBTSQuote Reply
Jim L wrote:
“And to conclude this meeting, I once again bring for a vote the proposition that we fire Crane Kenney for gross incompetence.”
“And I keep telling you, we can’t fire him! Every Friday he brings in those amazing sandwiches wrapped in the white paper, and nobody else knows where he gets them from! He says they’re from a secret sandwich shop that only he knows about!”
“Todd, those are meatball subs from Potbellies.”
GBTSQuote Reply
Aisle424 wrote:
Suburban kidQuote Reply
I used to know a bitch named Wesley Wright.
DreQuote Reply
This is a good signing. I think it’s safe to say he’s the Wright man for the job.
MuckerQuote Reply
Mucker wrote:
This is the worst thing every done on this blog.
Aisle424Quote Reply
Reports I have read suggest that Jay-Z done fucked up.
Rice CubeQuote Reply
@ Aisle424:
LMAO
MuckerQuote Reply
@ Rice Cube:
Yeah, i just read that. Cubs should offer him 8 years at $180 million and if he doesn’t want it, then move on. Mariners seem out and the Yankees don’t seem to want him.
MuckerQuote Reply
I can do much worse, Aisley.
Jay Bruce has a 1.423 OPS against Wright in his career (16 PA). I guess you could say he’s a Wesley Crusher.
MylesQuote Reply
@ Myles:
[img]http://www.thejanedough.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Headdesk.jpg[/img]
sitrickQuote Reply
I hear that the Cardinals were trying to get Wesley for a 2B prospect and his clone, but the Cubs turned them down. I guess two Wongs really don’t make a Wright.
MylesQuote Reply
I hear the Cubs are really pushing hard to add a reliever from Colorado. If so, I think they’ll probably air it out with Wright/Brothers.
MylesQuote Reply
Cano ———————–> Mariners
10 years/240MM
Smokestack LightningQuote Reply
Rice Cube wrote:
Sounds like Cano is getting $240M/10Y from the Mariners. That sounds pretty damn good.
WaLiQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/jay-z-blows-robinson-cano-mariners-bid-sources-article-1.1539636
Complete with awful photoshop of Cano in Mariners uniform.
WaLiQuote Reply
Granderson —–> Mets, 4/60
BerseliusQuote Reply
I think I’d probably still rather spend $24M per season on Cano for 10 years than $22M per season on Ellsbury for 7.
GBTSQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
Plus Washington has no income tax whereas NY has like 8.82% income tax so that’s another huge boost of “income” (even though I think tax rate is dependent on the state that the game is played).
WaLiQuote Reply
GBTS wrote:
Would you rather have McCann and Ellsbury for 5 and 7 years or Cano for 10? I think I’d rather have McCann and Ellsbury, even if the AAV is worse for the Yankees in the short term.
Yankees:
38/38/38/38/38/21/26
Mariners:
24/24/24/24/24/24/24/24/24/24
MylesQuote Reply
I will say that this probably is a push for the Cubs, because I think Seattle was always the stealthy favorite for Tanaka (in fact, I would have given the Mariners about 2:1 in signing Tanaka before this, and that’s probably the highest I’d give anyone).
MylesQuote Reply
Feldman –> Astros (3/30)
MylesQuote Reply
Myles wrote:
So you are paying $237M for McCann and Ellsbury over 7 years and $240 for Cano over 10. I think you’ll probably have the same overall production, so I rather spread out my costs and stick with Cano.
WaLiQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
I’d rather have Cano than those two for sure. I’ve still got one position I can add value. Give me a league average league minimum guy and I’m coming out way ahead.
In all honesty, I’d probably take Cano at $275 million over Ellsbury at what he got. Not sure I’d hesitate in choosing between the two contracts either. Ellsbury contract was a horrible one. Cano is right at what he should have been paid.
This can’t be overlooked: Over the next 7 years using CAIRO, you can expect Cano to double Ellsbury’s production.
dmick89Quote Reply
Why even have Winter Meetings? Oh wait it’s at Disney World! Fuck, they’ve already done all the trades and shit, might as well hang out in the pool and play on Splash Mountain the whole week before Rule 5 😀
Rice in limboQuote Reply
GBTS wrote:
Better question: you’re paying Ellsbury $22 million per over 7 years, how much over that would you pay Cano so that you’d rather have Cano?
$24 million is easy for me to pick. $30 million? I think that’s probably a similar overpay so that’s where my break-even point would be. Flip a coin and take either one (Ellsbury at what he is actually being paid vs. Cano at $30 million). Anything under $30 million would be an easy choice for me.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Rice in limbo:
Yeah, there’s really no point this year with all the best players already gone. Wouldn’t even be surprised to see Choo sign before they start.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Myles:
MLBTR says that Seattle will make a push for David Price. If that’s accurate, I’d say the M’s are pretty much out on Tanaka. I’d rather have Price than Tanaka since Price has actually faced MLB hitters.
dmick89Quote Reply
I guess the Yankees got the pool of money they need to go after Tanaka if he’s posted.
Rice in limboQuote Reply
So if the Cubs don’t land Tanaka or Choo, who do they end up signing? Or do they just look to the trade market?
EdwinQuote Reply
@ Edwin:
Looks like they’ll just wait for some bargains.
dmick89Quote Reply
Ten years? What the fuck is this, the NHL?
Hearing that Cano got a full NTC. Ballsy.
uncle daveQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
[img]http://gifrific.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Dwight-Schrute-Shakes-Head-and-Rolls-Eyes.gif[/img]
WaLiQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
Meh. Are the Mariners likely to try and deal Cano in the first 5 years anyway?
EdwinQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
If the actual win costs $7 million as it has been for several years now, that’s not a bad deal at all. Even at $6 million in 2014 with inflation, that’s still a good deal. Those kinds of players just take a lot to sign anymore.
I do wonder, though, would Cano have settled at 5 years and if so, how much would it have taken? Starting at 5 WAR next year you get 20 wins over 5 years. $140 million? Probably take considerably more, right? Start at 6 wins, which is reasonable, you get 25. $175 million.
FWIW, I think 5 wins is probably a bit low on the projection end and 6 is maybe a bit high, but based on previous 3 years, it might even be a bit better than 6. So say it’s 6.25 and you get $185.5 million.
That’s interesting. My initial thought was that it would take $180 million to get him for 5 years and I wouldn’t complain a whole lot. That’s probably somewhat fair.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Edwin:
Probably not and the overall cost of the NTC isn’t as much as it’s made out to be. By giving him a NTC, he took a bit less. It’s not like it’s not included in what he gets. The M’s just wanted to pay less and agreed to the NTC. If Cano had asked for daily caviar and steak dinners served with a truffle sauce, it would just come out of the money he’d get.
Yeah, I realize that it makes it a bit harder for the team to trade him, but the team is benefitting too.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ Edwin:
@ dmick89:
Yeah, I wasn’t serious about the NHL line. The money involved doesn’t strike me as outrageous, though having him locked up through age 41 was a bit surprising.
The NTC represents more of a risk for Seattle than it would for, say, the Yankees. Cano will represent a significant portion of their payroll for the next decade. The Yankees could just laugh it off, cut him if they need to. But it’s hard to argue with taking the best player on the market.
uncle daveQuote Reply
Anybody think the Cubs will re-sign Garza? How about Jiminez? The Cubs’ pick is protected right?
MuckerQuote Reply
@ uncle dave:
Agreed. I’m rather surprised to see Seattle go after him, but maybe they’re counting on one of those regional tv deals. Do they have one already?
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
Yep, they re-upped this year and bought a stake in the network to boot. I can’t imagine that their deal will stand up as lucrative in the long term simply because nobody lives in most of their broadcast footprint, but for the time being it’s probably been good for them competitively.
The Cubs have a couple of years before their current deal is up, right?
uncle daveQuote Reply
@ Mucker:
The Cubs pick is protected, but I don’t see them signing Matt Garza.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ uncle dave:
I believe their TV contract is up after 2017. is that correct?
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
The cost of putting protective netting up behind first base would be prohibitive.
uncle daveQuote Reply
Ugh at all the Dustin Pedroia contract comparisons that abound today.
BerseliusQuote Reply
I don’t know, the more I’ve thought about it, I could definitely see them going after Garza if they went after someone like Tanaka. I don’t see them doing so unless they add additional wins or trade Jeff Samardzija.
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
WGN through 2014, CSN through 2019. I suspect that they might pursue a buyout of CSN and try to consolidate, and they do own a stake in CSN which may make life a bit easier. Who knows, though.
There seems to be a metric fuckton of stuff to take care on the business end of the organization right now.
uncle daveQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
Jimenez is the QO’d guy, Garza didn’t have a QO. But I wouldn’t sign Jimenez even if the Cubs didn’t care about the lost money for their second rounder.
Rice in limboQuote Reply
uncle dave wrote:
Is a metric fuckton significantly more or less than an imperial fuckton?
WaLiQuote Reply
@ WaLi:
Dunno, but you can divide it by 10 more easily.
uncle daveQuote Reply
One of these days the Cubs are going to do something. That will be fun.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
dmick89Quote Reply
The Cubs could sign Carlos Zambrano. That would be interesting.
EdwinQuote Reply
@ dmick89:
You had it right the first time.
Suburban kidQuote Reply
Is every other Cubs blog just WAY more in love with Vogelbach than the stuff I read here? I don’t think super highly of him yet but places like BN and Cubs Den get PISSED when someone implies he might not do very well at the pro level.
I thought the consensus was that he still has a long way to go?
AkabariQuote Reply
@ Akabari:
He does have a long way to go and from everything I’ve heard, is already a horrible defensive 1st baseman destined to become a DH. Things can change in a hurry for minor league players and he can hit, but it’s worth pointing out that he didn’t hit as well as you’d expect for someone who profiles as poor a defender as he’s likely to be.
I think a lot of what you’ve run into is from commenters who are relatively new to following prospects. Top prospects to them = guys who work out and become stars.
It’s not that simple. Top prospects fail regularly. They’ll learn, but it will take them awhile and if the Cubs get lucky with all their prospects as we hope they do, it will take longer. Remind them of the 2001-2002 Cubs minor leagues. It was more stacked than this one is and it’s not even close. This one has more potential impact bats, but not by much. The one from more than a decade ago had more pitching (Prior, Cruz, Zambrano and probably someone I’m forgetting). Patterson was more highly thought of than anyone in the Cubs system right now. Prior was as highly thought of (probably more) than Patterson. That farm system was stacked.
dmick89Quote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
Edit: never mind, you said Cruz (dying laughing)
BerseliusQuote Reply
dmick89 wrote:
All true, but I think the expectation is that the development process the Cubs have now throughout their minor league system is better than whatever the Cubs were doing before. Maybe that would have made a difference or maybe not, but part of the dream is that Theo is also working magic in the development process, and I think you’re right that disappointment is coming.
I personally have really been rooting for Vogelbach, because I think he would be so fun to watch play if he could reach that white Prince Fielder projection, and he seems like a fun-loving kid on Twitter. He has the makings of a fan favorite IF he he can pan out like we all hope. But the FO may value him more as a trade chip now than as a piece that would reach projections. He didn’t hit as well as you’d want and he isn’t their prospect, he’s a Hendry pick.
Aisle424Quote Reply
@ Aisle424:
I would hope it’s better, but I’m not convinced the difference is that much. I’m rooting for luck and I’d love to see Vogelbach hitting the shit out of baseballs at Wrigley Field.
dmick89Quote Reply
new shit: http://obstructedview.net/commentary-and-analysis/more-on-the-potential-mlb-and-npb-posting-system.html
dmick89Quote Reply
@ dmick89:
I think it is better (more consistent anyway, which I think is huge), but the end result isn’t going to suddenly turn ALL of our prospects into all-stars. We know that and the FO knows that, but the common meatballs expect Theo to be magic. To them, you either make 100% right decisions all the time and turn every high pick into a star or you’re an idiot.
Aisle424Quote Reply
http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/12/market-re-set-2013-14-free-agent-spending-to-date.html
Aisle424Quote Reply