I was able to talk to the Gregs about prospects and the Cubs future on the last Dreamcast, and everything from the various projections (including FanGraphs playoff odds and ZiPS), to the way the Cubs themselves are speaking to the press and whatever this damn slogan is, confirms what we discussed, which is that the Cubs are likely nowhere close …
Unfinished Business
The Cubs had just announced their spring training roster, which includes the non-roster invitees. So that’s 72 total players officially in the dugout, not including the random minor leaguer they pluck from the other camps to complete the game once the roster guys are done for the day, and not including the extra lefty or split-neutral reliever they should probably …
Whither Leadoff?
Here we are at the end of January, trying to avoid work while awaiting the coming of Spring Training. We’ve talked at length about the tall mountain the Cubs must climb to not just be plucky underdogs but actually get into the postseason, and a lot of that is because of the barely above average offense they have constructed. There …
A Winning Pitch (We Hope)
We’ve reached the phase right before Spring Training where it’s mostly claims and minor league contracts while the residue of the free agent barrel lingers until teams and agents finally settle on something. For all intents and purposes, the roster is set (very similar to what we did last time, minus some DFAs and outrights and what not) and the …
The Shifting Narrative
I’m bored because nothing major is really happening in terms of baseball transactions, Cubs or otherwise, and spring training is still a few weeks away, so I thought I’d explore the coming rules changes again. Last time, we discussed mostly the pitch clock and how either side could try to game the system to gain whatever advantages they can within …
The Division is a Pipe Dream
Projections are just projections, and as they say, it’s in the hands of the players to play well and buck the narrative. Although it hasn’t been officially published yet, as we all surmised, the Cardinals are likely to repeat as NL Central division champs again: FanGraphs already has the projections for the other four teams in the division, including the …
Cubs Lineup Readjustment
See, I told you it was too early to set a lineup because just a few days after this post, the Cubs did a thing: The Cubs have agreed to sign Trey Mancini to a two-year contract, according to ESPN’s Jesse Rogers (Twitter link). Mancini, a client of the Frontline agency, can opt out of the deal following the 2023 season if …
Probably Too Early Pre-Convention Cubs Lineup Construction
One reason this is probably too early is because of the overall feeling that the Cubs are done tinkering with the position players after they reportedly agreed to a deal with Eric Hosmer (yay) and won’t be in the running for Carlos Correa anymore since he signed with the Twins (dying laughing) and will likely just look for ways to …
Eat at Arby’s: Or Just a Quick Look at the Cubs Arbitration Guys
This Friday is the Cubs Convention, and also happens to be the deadline for teams and arbitration-eligible players to submit their salary figures for 2023 (other key dates remain but this is probably the biggest one coming up). The gist is that if they can’t come to a compromise, the team submits one number, the player submits another, and then …
Diving Into the Bargain Bin
The Cubs have probably finished building their roster via free agency for the most part, and we covered the biggest signing plus the basic plan for 2023 in our last podcast. Based on the official signings and Cots Contracts, the Cubs still have about $20MM to spend (if they choose to) before they hit the first luxury tax threshold, but …