The Cubs have announced that top infield prospect Addison Russell has been promoted to the Majors. To create roster space for the 21-year-old, Arismendy Alcantara has been optioned to Triple-A and Mike Olt has been transferred to the 60-day DL in corresponding moves. Russell, usually a shortstop, will play second base, where the Cubs have struggled this season.
Russell was the No. 11 overall pick in the 2012 draft by the Athletics. He hit a combined .295/.350/.508 at the Class A+ and Double-A levels in 2014, spending part of the year in the Athletics’ system before they shipped him to Chicago as the key to the Cubs’ side of the Jeff Samardzija trade. He had been hitting .297/.308/.432 for Triple-A Iowa in a 39 plate appearances this season. Baseball Prospectus ranked Russell the No. 2 prospect in the game heading into the 2015 season, while Baseball America ranked him No. 3. MLB.com placed him at No. 5, praising his offensive game and noting that he’s received comparisons to Barry Larkin and Miguel Tejada.
The Cubs, of course, also recently promoted another top prospect, Kris Bryant, to play third base. The timing of Bryant’s promotion caused controversy due to the perception that the Cubs delayed his arrival so that they could control him for another season. Russell’s promotion could conceivably attract similar criticism, although he has less experience at Triple-A than Bryant and has not been nearly as dominant at that level. If anything, the Cubs could easily have postponed Russell’s promotion until June, which would have prevented him from being a Super Two player. If he sticks in the big leagues now, he will likely receive that designation, becoming arbitration-eligible for the first of four times starting in 2018 before becoming eligible for free agency following the 2021 season.
Nonetheless, Russell gives the Cubs yet another top young talent to go along with Bryant, Jorge Soler, and young veterans Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro. The Cubs’ future has looked very bright for quite some time, and now, with a team loaded with excellent young players and off to a strong 7-5 start, that future seems to be coming quickly.
Russell’s promotion was first reported by Jon Heyman of CBS Sports.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Owen Schoenfeld
Wow. This is unexpected
PLS
Overdue, actually. Russell’s ready and AA needs consistent ABs. The future appears to be now.
Phillyfan425
Overdue? The kid has 300 AB over A+ ball and is going to be in the majors less than 3 years after being drafted out of HS. He’ll probably be ok, but it’s not like this is his 2nd or 3rd year in AAA with the Cubs holding him down.
Alex Foltz
and, what, 30PA at AAA? hardly overdue.
jhosk
Actually it is not unexpected. Cubs` fans have seen this coming. Perhaps before the season began, one may not have anticipated Russell being promoted this early. But for the past 10 or 12 days, it has become obvious this dude has been on the fast track to `the show.`
wj58
Great name for Wrigley Field!
BENT_WOOKIE
heck yes. an absolute beast. alcantara prob goes down.
LuckyPenny1010
Seriously? Alcantara is a super utility player. Extremely valuable. Herrera gets sent down easily.
BENT_WOOKIE
AA is struggling, getting sent down and getting consistent ABs might be what he needs. he won’t be playing much 3B, 2B or CF.
jb226 2
Doesn’t really matter how many positions he can play with a -9 OPS+. He can’t hit a changeup and can’t stop himself swinging at it. I didn’t think Russell would be up so soon, but Alcantara definitely doesn’t deserve a roster spot.
MattHollidaysForearms
I’m really happy you aren’t running my favorite team. Making evaluations on 32 plate appearances would make for some curious roster shuffling.
jasonpen
Alcantara is good, but he was called up for his position flexibility. A .200 hitter needs more time at the mL level. He needs regular at-bats. This team is solid at every position now and there won’t be enough at-bats for Alcantara.
jb226 2
We don’t need his positional flexibility. Herrera can play 2B/SS/3B. He could probably play in the OF if we needed him to in a pinch, which we rarely would since we have a solid fourth outfielder in Denorfia. Plus, given the fact that Joe Maddon has played Chris Coghlan at both 2B and 3B so far this year, it’s clear 1) he has no problem playing people at unorthodox positions and 2) he doesn’t have much faith in Alcantara.
Now, with Russell up, he’ll be playing 2B, he’s a SS, he has played a little bit of 3B… in other words, he can fill in whatever flexibility Alcantara had anyway.
jb226 2
Then I guess you hate Joe Maddon too. The decision was made several games ago: Alcantara is on the bench. He’s not getting ABs. When he gets one, he looks completely lost at the plate. “I’m wildly overmatched every time up to bat” isn’t something you resolve with 1 AB per game at the major-league level.
And my evaluations are from watching him be completely overmatched game-in, game-out, not looking at a stat line. He’s clearly not ready.
MattHollidaysForearms
I hate Joe Maddon too? Darnit.
OldStyle
Herrera is out of option years, so he can’t get sent down. Alcantara needs playing time and he won’t be getting that at the major league level, while Herrera makes more sense as a player getting sporadic playing time.
Bob 26
Not very valuable when you are hitting below .100
redseanation
I have not seen a ton of either players but they seem to be about the same. Herrera seems a little better swinging the bat but I could be wrong. I like the infield the Cubs started last night. That high chopper Russell fielded was tough, he can glove it for sure.
SDFriars
wow… thats big
MB923
That’s what….(well you know the rest).
Yankeeboy11
To drop Elvis Andrus on my fantasy team for Russell or not
alex navarrette
I would, I just picked him up.
Steven Garrison
I know off topic, but I am not happy with the angels right now
alex navarrette
Don’t stress man, it’s just early season struggles that many teams experience. Plus, the angels have always started the year out slow under Scoscia as manager.
Steven Garrison
Yea they have but right now I am not liking the kendrick trade, look at him with the dodgers, on fire. Freese making errors, Maybe if Kubitza keeps it up they can call him up. But they need to get the hamilton situation fixed.
alex navarrette
Kendrick has always been a great player. We knew we were making this year’s team worse when we made that trade, only to improve future teams.
Steven Garrison
Yea I agree, I just hope they can get hot soon, so far 0-4 at home after they had the best record last year and the best home record. I hope they can get hot, Trout and Giavotella are the only ones swinging the bat, and Santiago seems to be our best pitcher right now, Wilson and Weaver have to pick it up.
alex navarrette
To be fair, they have played 2 teams who have started the year out hot. Baseball is a 162 game season, not a 16 game season. They’ll be there at the end, no need to worry right now.
Steven Garrison
Yea true, Im not but I am only worried about Wilson, I am pretty sure weaver will get back on track, he always does.
alex navarrette
Yup
Steven Garrison
I know they get off to slow starts in april, but I hope they get it together soon, I wonder what they will do about Hamilton.
alex navarrette
He’s a sunk cost right now. The only things I can see happening right now are he is either allowed to return and play and gain some sort of trade value or he’s cut.
Steven Garrison
If he comes back and then goes on a tear, It will help them a lot. But imo they need another bat because Joyce is getting off to a slow start and so Is Cron.
Jesus Gutierrez
SS is very weak position in Fantasy i would take the chance
Denny Kissane
You don’t drop Segura for Addison Russell whose proven nothing and won’t be seeing the opportunities Segura does at the top of the order.
johansantana15
The question was whether he should drop Andrus for Russell, not Segura for Russell.
Andy
At this point, I would. Elvis isn’t setting the world on fire, and if he doesn’t get on base much, his main asset (speed) is limited. Also, in 5 (or 10?) games Russell will have multiple position availability.
Mikel Grady
I picked him up last night. I’m a die hard cub fan so be careful with my advice:-). Upside is high on Russell. If you pick him up find some die hard like me and get farm for him . I think he will put a smile on your face as you move up the standings
Yankeeboy11
I picked him up in some of my leagues, (drafted Bryant in some >=] paying off now.
canikickit
Figured it was only a matter of time when Maddon said that he had nothing else to work on and to keep doing what he was doing.
The Left Shark
Bryant Rodon and Russell all in like a 4 day span. Exciting week in Chicago.
Cosmo3
Plus Rodon on the other side of town. Very exciting week
The Left Shark
I said that haha
Steven Garrison
If I was the white sox, I would put Rodon in the rotation right now
MattHollidaysForearms
It’ll be a pity if nobody is able to ransom the first Home Run balls of Russell/Bryant since there are no seats in the outfield..
jasonpen
They’ll each have one before the next homestand…
Dave Pierce
Kind of bold. Not outrageous but still [internet] bold.
Andy
It’s happening.
Slightly Biased A's Fan
So glad he went to a team outside of the AL so I can root for him.
garyleet
Still, the “what could have been” may be a tough pill to swallow for As’ fans.
Alex Foltz
Tough pill for sure. But despite the results, I’m glad they went for it last year. If they hadn’t traded for Shark and Lester, we probably would have been playing the “what could have been” game all offseason anyways.
Portland Micro-Brewers
2012 draft had some great hitting SS in it. Carlos Correa, Addison, Gavin Cecchini, Corey Seager, and Deven Marrero all in the 1st round. 3 of those guys look like future studs, in the majors by ’16 summer. I was lower on Seager’s hitting (K’s & BB’s) than the others until seeing his swing more this spring. Russell is so fast on the basepaths but thick for his speed and height. Correa is so young for his ability, it’s hard to project. All 3 have similar results vs MLB top 20 team prospect pitchers. I see all 3 developing more power and moving off SS before 30. Anybody want to guess at ranking the future hitting production from Correa, Russell, and Seager? You’re likely splitting hairs.
TheRealRyan 2
Don’t forget Daniel Robertson. There are some questions if he can remain at SS, but his bat has been above average at just about every stop so far.
tesseract
I would: Correa -> Russell -> Seager. That’s my take
nickc
Yeah but only Russell looks to stick at SS (even with the switch the 2B in the short-term). Seager and Correa likely will end up at 3B
Portland Micro-Brewers
I don’t see it that way at all, at least not anymore. Russell’s weight fluctuates more rapidly than the other 2. I saw him much larger in the AFL last fall than the previous year in Stockton. I think he looked thinner again in ST though (on TV). Huge shoulders on him (on all 3 SS). He may be shorter but he’s still 200 LBS. FG has Russell listed heavier and 4 inches shorter. They’re all very similar in the field from 2012 on. Corey is slightly slower now but I think Correa’s still faster than Russell even after the broken leg. Both have stronger arms than Addison. I’d agree with BA who ranks both higher in defense. The parts of Russell’s glove work that were 1st praised now have become future holes. Kiley recently wrote his actions and release wouldn’t work long term at 2B. I personally think he can play quality SS for a while but the eye test doesn’t tell me he’s any better than Correa and Seager. Seager and Correa have improved their gloves while Russell was a better fielder his year in Oak’s system. The knocks on Correa and Corey defensively are too much height. I get why 6’4 is considered too tall for a SS but neither guy moves like a tall person.
nickc
That’s some good insight, my knowledge of the other two moving to 3B was due to height, like you mentioned. I don’t agree with that assessment but I’m not the one who gets to decide. Wish I was…
MattHollidaysForearms
I’d like to take a guess at how many of them you’ll be calling a shortstop in 2020.
Pinstriped Empire
Yankees: SS Starlin Castro
Make it happen.
Cosmo3
No reason for that on Cubs end. Their infield of the future has come together now, and the perceived surplus had seemingly worked itself out with Baez out of the picture at least for the tI me being
BenRoethig
Plus the Yankees really don’t have anything to offer. If Castro goes it’ll mean A) Baez has his strikeout problem fixed and B) the Cubs get a late 20s Top of the rotation pitcher in return.
tesseract
Yankees: SS Javier Baez
Blah blah blah
Gregorius is much better
mauryfeldman
Most people would probably disagree, although I think there’s a discussion to be had. Baez’ contact numbers are historically bad. He probably can’t stick at SS. He might not stick at 2B. He might top out as a high-K high-power corner OF like Richie Sexson, but with fewer HRs. Gregorius is definitely going to stick at SS; he’s very good defensively. He hasn’t hit with the Yankees yet (and might not), but it’s early and he’s a lefty pull hitter, so he might hit adequately,
I would definitely take Baez for Gregorius, but it’s not as much of a joke deal as it was 1 year ago at this time.
Chris 60
Baez is actually very good defender at SS and 2B. I would be surprised if he could stick there with another team. He has power that Gregorius can only dream about. His issues is, as you say, his contact ability. If he can learn to lay off pitches out of the zone, he will be a monster. I don’t see the Cubs trading him for anything the Yankees have though. I think they’d package him with more to get someone like a Cole Hammel.
mauryfeldman
Baez is not a good defender, and his contact problems are profound.
Chris 60
Well, you’re not correct. His strikeouts are an issue, his defense is very good.
mauryfeldman
Says you, and not many other people. Show some actual legitimate evidence that Mr. 44 errors-and-moved-to-2B is “very good” defensively.
tesseract
It was meant to be a joke
John Cate
A bit of a risk. He’s only played about 75 games above A-ball in his career, and hardly any in AAA. But he’s probably better than what they have, and even if he’s not, they can send him back to get more AAA at-bats.
FrankRoo
I’d rather they get on with it and move Bryant to LF already and let Russell develop over at 3B. From what scouts have been saying he could be very good over at 3B, better than at an other position. LaStella is coming back soon and I’d assume they’d want him to get some ABs as well. I guess if Coghlan has out hit is terrible defense this still makes sense to keep Bryant out of LF, but I’d rather have LaStella, Castro, Russell in the IF and Bryant, Fowler, Soler in the OF. LaStella proved he could play 3B as well in spring training so maybe that is another option. Either way out of all the Cubs’ infield options Bryant makes the most sense to move.
Portland Micro-Brewers
I was thinking this earlier and the first thing I could think of was how scouts have slightly downgraded Russell’s arm. Maybe they expect Baez to fill out more than Russell and move to 3B. Alcantara, Baez, Russell and LaStella all fighting for 2B seems like a waste of athletic SS prospects.
Steven Garrison
imo I think they trade baez down the road, I don’t think he will pan out for them. He needs to change his swing and approach.
FrankRoo
Russell’s arm isn’t rated a cannon like Lake’s was, but I’ve seen enough people who say it is plenty strong for SS and SS requires long throws as it is anyways. From what I saw in the spring I think he has plenty of arm to play 3B and enough range to make him a very above average one if his reactions are up to snuff to handle the corner.
I’d honestly like to see some of them getting some work in the OF. Someone will have to move and right now it looks like Bryant will move first. But given Baez’s speed and arm I’d think he’d fit fine in LF and occasionally in CF if he was willing to go that route. Either that or the Cubs trade him, it is looking more and more like he is the odd man out.
Portland Micro-Brewers
I’ve always thought Russell fits better at 3B but moving Baez to LF seems silly considering his plus arm and above average speed. Too many good prospects, great problem to have.
wrigleyvillefaithful
IMO I dont think Baez will pan out and Theo/Maddon wont wait very long on him to turn it around.
MattHollidaysForearms
Ya Maddon doesn’t have a long track record of managing and being patient with rookies at his previous job, so that makes sense… #Nawt
wrigleyvillefaithful
How long do you plan on them waiting for Baez to find the patience at the plate then??
MattHollidaysForearms
Baez’ problem is making contact. Baez could take more pitches, and be more ‘patient’, but that’s never been his skill set. He’s been massively successful at many levels of professional baseball, but like every hitter, his foundation to success relies on him making enough contact for his power to play.
He didn’t in the big leagues last year, and he was exposed a bit, and that’s okay.
wrigleyvillefaithful
If Im not mistaken he opened the spring with 54 AB’s and struck 23 of them…..That’s 43% of his Plate Appearances. Yeah he has power, but what good is it if he cant harness it????
MattHollidaysForearms
Did you read my response to you?
He has problems making contact. Strike outs are going to happen for Javi. He’s going to have to find a way to manage those strike outs and get them back to somewhere manageable (~30%).
The league knew he had trouble on breaking balls down, and they exposed that. Like I said, that’s okay. There are going to be bumps in the road. Every player has their challenges. But Baez is massively talented, and I think a lot of Cubs fans forget that.
wrigleyvillefaithful
Yes I read your response to me, Im not illiterate. It’s all on Javi if and when he is ready to join the big league club. I agree that he is very skilled at his position. What I am saying is if he doesnt figure out his flaws soon his time may be short lived with the Cubs.
MattHollidaysForearms
He knows his flaws. He knows exactly what he’s poor at. If tightening up weaknesses were as easy as snapping your fingers and wishing on a star, we would have more Mike Trout’s than you could shake a stick at.
Hitting is hard. Baseball is hard. He got to the big leagues because he’s powerful at a position where power is rare. Now people are telling him to stop swinging so hard and control the strike zone more, but he’s never needed to do that before.
If I’m the Cubs, I’m more patient with Baez than almost any other player in the organization, because if he figures it out, he’s an all-world baseball player.
FrankRoo
I don’t know Marte looks pretty good out there with his plus arm and above average speed. The IF is jammed, someone has to move. Either to the OF or to another team.
paqza
With Bryant in the outfield, I like Castro at 3B and Russell at SS.
wrigleyvillefaithful
Who is gonna fill the void @ 2B?
paqza
No idea
Michael 22
“Off to a strong 7-5 start”? Gee, it doesn’t take much to get Cub fans jazzed up, does it?
trespa
thats on pace for a 94 win season which would make the playoffs so yes strong start
MeowMeow
It sounded silly to me too, but the Cubs haven’t had a winning record after 12 games since 2009. 2012-2014 had records of 3-9, 4-8, and 4-8 respectively to this point, so it’s a much better start.
jb226 2
A strong start is a strong start. Should we avoid saying the Tigers are off to a strong start because they’re not going to keep the 137 win pace they’re on?
Like trespa pointed out, 7-5 is on pace for 94 wins. That’s a strong start. Whether or not it is sustainable, we’ll all have to watch and see. Before the season I would say we were about a .500 team, but it’s really hard to predict what we will get out of Bryant or Russell.
MattHollidaysForearms
Grabs Calculator*
Extrapolates 12 game record*
Profits
jb226 2
Do you ever have anything valuable to contribute, or is this your peak?
MattHollidaysForearms
What.
MattHollidaysForearms
Before you go saying the Cubs are on a ’94-win pace’ because of a 7-5 record in 12 games, perhaps take some time to think about how that sounds.
If Kris Bryant was playing opening day and he hit 3 home runs on opening day, would he be on pace to hit 486 home runs in a full season?
Or would you just move the needle a little bit within your expectations for expected Bryant home runs, let’s say from 35, to 38?
To say the Cubs are on pace to win 94 games this year is a failure to understand how regression to the mean (however positive or negative) means, or how projection systems operate in general.
mlbfan
I don’t see how Kris Bryant gets another year. I understand the 172 days of service time and the 183 day season. However, if a player is optioned down less than 20 days, the player is credited for a full service year. The player’s time during the minor league assignment is counted toward major league service time.
Per the CBA, Article XXI(B)
“If a Player is optionally assigned for a total of less than 20 days in one championship season, the Player shall be credited with Major League service during the period of such optional assignment(s). (See Article XIX(E).)”
MeowMeow
The days spent in the minors to start the season don’t count as being optioned down. In order to be optioned down you need to have been in the majors in the first place.
mlbfan
I see now. Since he was not on the 40 man, he wasn’t optioned down. Gotcha.
Kevin Brummer
To be optioned, the player must be on the 40-man roster. Bryant was not on the 40-man roster in spring training. He was “invited.” He was assigned to Iowa and added to the MLB roster when he was brought up. Article XXI(B) did not apply to him until he was on the big league roster.
mlbfan
Thanks Karkat and Kevin Brummer for helping me clear that up.
MattHollidaysForearms
Come on MLBFAN, gonna request a name change with this madness.
slider32
The 2016 Cubs, Russell- Castro- Soler- Bryant- Rizzo- Schwarber- McKinney, and Almora – Awesome line- up. Starting pitching Lester- Price or Zimmerman- Arietta- Hammel- and Hendricks.
Steven Garrison
Going all in as if the cubs go after Price or Jordan Zimmermann, I wonder if C.J Edwards will be ready
mauryfeldman
They’re trying him in the pen, so he may be closing, but more likely one of the guys on the relief staff.
ATL_Mindset
Don’t forget Zambrano
Portland Micro-Brewers
Schwarber is likely a LF, his catching skills won’t be ML ready in a year.
wrigleyvillefaithful
I dont see them Schwarber from Catcher with the lack of depth at that position.
Portland Micro-Brewers
Most talent evaluators think Schwarber’s hot bat and poor catching skills will force Theo’s hand on that. Maybe Schwarber makes big strides behind the dish or his bat cools and slows his progress. I could see him sticking at catcher, I just think he’s more likely to make the Cubs in LF. Catcher is the most important defensive position and teams have tough standards to meet there with the glove. His bat is very close to MLB ready.
wrigleyvillefaithful
I’m not saying I disagree with you. I’m just saying that this kid was only drafted last year. These “talent evaluators” need to realize that to become a great catcher it takes time behind the plate. While he is getting reps in AAA there is nothing wrong with riding Castillo’s hot streak and Montero’s glove.
Portland Micro-Brewers
To become a great catcher it takes years but his bat won’t take years. He could always develop more as a ML back-up utility catcher. Splitting time between LF/C.
MattHollidaysForearms
This is why Bryce Harper, Wil Myers, and now Alex Jackson all moved off of the position. The bat is too valuable to get stuck in the minor league for multiple years, when the team can use you now.
Steven Garrison
Now with Russell up, where is castro going? or are they going to move him to second
ChiefIlliniwek
They’re not moving a guy with 6500 innings at SS and 0 at 2B to 2B in the middle of a season, so that a rookie can play SS. Granted, that rookie is GG-quality at SS. But they leave Castro at SS for now.
Plus, Castro retains more future trade value, if they decide to go that route, if he remains at SS.
If you do move him off of SS, you do it in the offseason so he can acclimate.
MattHollidaysForearms
Ya Russell probably hits enough to be eligible for a gold glove award.
Niekro
Was La Stella’s injury worse than expected?
Steven Garrison
now they have castro and russell, I guess they will move castro to second or put russell at short?
Steve
they were grooming Russell at 2B the last week, i would say he’s coming up to play 2B.
Steven Garrison
I am just shocked that he got called up since the cubs are doing well in the first 3 weeks. I wonder if they are in it at the deadline, do they go out and make a trade for a pitcher?
jhosk
No; Russell is going to play second for the immediate future. That is why he`s been playing 2B at Iowa of late. Castro has been performing well until now in these early days of the 2015 season. Why upset the apple cart? But things need to remain fluid. The Cubs have a plethora of capable infielders and Joe Maddon, the best skipper in the game, has multiple options.
stl_cards16
Wow. I am shocked and admit I was wrong. No way I thought he’d be up before July.
Ryan D
Same here. I thought he’d be a September call-up to be honest.
Steven Garrison
I am shocked as well, but I wonder if they make a move for a pitcher at the deadline
stl_cards16
Their pitching is better than it gets credit for. They just need Lester to pitch like a #1 like they paid him to.
Steven Garrison
Yea, but right now I’m watching lester, his stuff is not panning out well in the national league after three starts.
stl_cards16
Lester will be fine. I’m not saying they won’t trade for a pitcher, but I don’t think they need to. Their rotation is pretty solid. If the offense hits, this team is going to the playoffs.
Steven Garrison
imo I think the only way that they make the playoffs is if the cards or pirates have an off year, which I don’t see happening. But I have the padres winning the nl west over the dodgers. If the cubs can win some games and lester gets on track, they can make the playoffs, I had the marlins and the pirates as the wildcards. But the marlins are off to a bad start.
stl_cards16
You could argue the Cubs are better than the Pirates at every position besides CF and LF, that’s including the rotation.
wrigleyvillefaithful
It’s three measly starts.
Blah blah blah
told ya.
stl_cards16
The “I admit I was wrong” wasn’t enough, eh?
MattHollidaysForearms
Getting an apology doesn’t feel as good as cyber-slamming someone.
Blah blah blah
No. Your ego especially needs to be grounded, more so than what you may deem as necessary.
stl_cards16
My ego? I just flat out admitted I was wrong and have many times on here. It’s baseball and people have strong opinions on it. That’s what has made this place so popular. There’s been some awesome members here over the years that I have learned a ton from. I’m just here to talk/debate baseball.
Brian Baker
Cubs mean bidness
Niekro
Who will be the next big call up? Lindor?
stl_cards16
For the cubs or just in general?
Niekro
just in general
ToTheMaxy
I’ll say Seager
Steven Garrison
Not sure Seager gets called up this early, probably a september call up.
stl_cards16
Hmmm. Kind if hard to guess since you’re pretty much guessing who will be injured. Haha. I’ll say Francisco Lindor
Niekro
Yeah it will probably end up being a pitcher like Folty,Heaney or Syndergaard you know a rotation is going to face injuries sooner than later plus the bullpen option always exists.
Steven Garrison
The angels could call up Heaney , I am impressed with Newcomb so far
Brian Baker
Aaron Judge when the Yankees overpay in a trade for Castro 😉
wrigleyvillefaithful
Why does everyone want the Cubs to trade Castro???? I dont get it. If anyone goes, it will be Baez.
Ryan D
As far as I’m concerned, Castro has been killing it so far. He’s been pretty clutch and his defense hasn’t been too shabby either.
wrigleyvillefaithful
I agree. Castro has been playing superb baseball so far this season. I guess everyone wants what they cant have. haha
DippityDoo
He’s been looking sharper on defense, its like he can feel the heat now, finally!
Voice of Reason
Castro isn’t going anywhere.
paqza
Plawecki’s on Top 100 lists and will also be debuting today.
PI by Nature
I don’t blame the Cubs for delaying Bryant’s callup for another season of control (same for Russell). Some teams will even delay a callup until they are sure that the player will not qualify for Super Two status.
Ryan D
And the Cubs could’ve easily delayed for Super Two reasons with Russell because nobody was really complaining that he wasn’t up yet.
They’re making wise decisions, it’s not just all about the money like many have suggested.
MattHollidaysForearms
It’s mostly, almost exclusively, about service time (and money).
Ryan D
Service time I agree with, not money.
If they could pay $20M and still have Bryant for that extra year, they would’ve started him on Opening Day.
MattHollidaysForearms
My valuation of Kris Bryant’s age-30 season would be higher than $20,000,000.
MattHollidaysForearms
Oh the humanity! Teams manipulating service time! It’s almost like the process saves them millions of dollars. If I was an owner of a franchise I sure as heck wouldn’t want my GM pulling a Fernandez or Heyward.
TheMick 2
The future has definitely arrived. The Cubs bringing up Bryant (expected) and now Russell (not expected) in effect have said they’re going for it this year. They might need some pitching help at the deadline, but they’re in it to win it.
Steven Garrison
If they are in It, What if they did trade for Hamels? or another ace
TheMick 2
With another good pitcher the Cubs obviously improve their chances, but still have to overcome their lack of experience come the stretch drive and playoffs – if they get in. Getting playoff experience this year will help them immensely next year and the years to follow.
wrigleyvillefaithful
We dont want Hamels…or for atleast the current asking price. Plus there are too many Pitchers soon to be FA.
Voice of Reason
If they trade for Hamels they could go to the World Series this year.
Niekro
I think even if they don’t make playoffs just being in contention for the WC late would be a great experience for all the young players, so they can see how important every game really is.
Steven Garrison
I forget where I saw it, I think it was on High Heat with Chris Russo, Sombody sent him a tweet saying that the rays should trade longoria to the cubs for their prospects.
wrigleyvillefaithful
I’ll pass on Longoria.
MattHollidaysForearms
I mean I’ll listen on Longoria, he’s kinda sorta one of the best players in the world.
wrigleyvillefaithful
Well he sorta is almost on the wrong side of 30 and The Cubs have Kris Bryant.
MattHollidaysForearms
he’s almost on the wrong side of 30? Have all the rookies in Chicago made you think decline phase happens at 30?
The Cubs do have Kris Bryant. Longoria is better than Kris Bryant.
All I’m saying is you definitely listen on a player as good as Longoria. He would be the best player on either side of Chicago. And he still has many highly productive years left, this isn’t the NFL.
wrigleyvillefaithful
Did I say that the decline phase starts at 30? No. I’ve begin to notice that no matter what I reply with you automatically take it out of context. All I was saying is a player at the age of 29-30 isn’t the same as a player in his early 20’s. No where at all did I mention the NFL. Why would I??? Sadly you can’t begin to compare Kris Bryant to Evan Longoria. One has only played 4 games, the other has played 8 seasons. Who’s to say that one day Bryant won’t surpass Longoria??? So listen on Longoria all you want. I’m sticking with the young blood.
MattHollidaysForearms
Having one does not preclude you from having the other. Kris Bryant in LF is still a highly valuable player. If you’re the Chicago Cubs, you absolutely listen on high-impact talent like Longoria, that much I can assure you. If they ask for Bryant you can say no. But hey maybe not. You at least listen, which was my original point.
Ryan D
Longoria isn’t even a Top 10 position player in the league.
MattHollidaysForearms
I filtered for the last five full seasons (2010-2014) on Fangraphs, and he’s been awfully impressive. Zobrist is 7th, Longoria is 9th in total WAR. Turns out defense matters.
Justin Timberpond
Lineup should be –
Fowler
Russell
Soler
Rizzo
Bryant
Castro
Coghlan
Montero
Pitcher
wrigleyvillefaithful
What’s wrong with batting the pitcher 8th like they have been??
stl_cards16
It’s funny how much TLR got made fun of by Cubs fans for batting the pitcher 8th. Now all of the sudden everyone thinks it’s genius.
wrigleyvillefaithful
Well this Cubs fan thinks its genius. I mean why not give yourself two leadoff men behind the pitcher?? haha
stl_cards16
I’ve always liked it. But I’ve also known that the 2 hole is the spot for your best hitter. So it makes sense to maximize those opportunities with guys on base
wrigleyvillefaithful
It even works like a charm when your pitcher can atleast make contact or knows how to work the count.
MattHollidaysForearms
Ya but wasn’t Mark Ellis batting 2nd for the Cardinals during the TLR pitching batting 8th expirement?
slider32
I would switch Castro and Russell for now!
Voice of Reason
Not the way Maddon rolls.
It will look something like this:
Fowler
Soler
Rizzo
Bryant
Montero
Castro
Coghlan
Pitch
Russell
Think like Maddon.
He wants the 9th place hitter to be like a second lead off man. Plus, having Russell hit 9th takes some pressure off him as opposed to hitting second. HIs future is definitely higher in the order.
Also, look how I have lefty/right/lefty/righty.
You have Coghlan/Montero back to back. Maddon will avoid that, too.
MattHollidaysForearms
this guy.. this guy gets it.
Voice of Reason
The Chicago Cubs will be in at least one World Series by the end of the 2017 season.
bleedCUBSBLUE14
I did not see this coming but I am extremely happy it did!
DippityDoo
Wow, didn’t realize Olt’s wrist was that bad. Always hoped things would come together at the plate for Olt, and he would push Bryant to LF for an even more powerful line-up.
selw0nk 2
I wish he was still with the A’s -_-
joe j. 2
hey does that mean Castro is on the move? hopefully yes and to my Padres.
BenRoethig
No and the Padres don’t have the pieces to get him.
wrigleyvillefaithful
Hahaha. Castro isnt going anywhere.
redseanation
KB seems to be beyond his years and ready, but Russell I am not so sure of. Either way if the starting rotation can hold it down the Cubs will be contenders this year. IMHO
willywater88
Whats going on with Javier Baez? Is he playing 2B when he gets back?