The Cubs had the best offseason according to FanGraphs’ David Cameron. The additions of Jason Heyward, Ben Zobrist, John Lackey, and Adam Warren to the talented ball club will help even out the performances of younger boom or bust talents. Cameron had only one critique – signing a true center fielder would have let the Cubs put Heyward in a more comfortable spot while taking pressure off Kyle Schwarber and Jorge Soler. Cameron graded the offseason of all 30 teams in his post so go ahead and see what he has to say about your favorite. The Brewers rebuild ranked second.
Here’s more from the NL Central:
- Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts plans to once again make Theo Epstein the highest paid executive in baseball, writes Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago. When Epstein originally joined the franchise on a five-year, $18.5MM contract, it was the largest ever signed by an executive. Since then, others have surpassed him – most notably Andrew Friedman of the Dodgers. Ricketts emphasized that Epstein has delivered on his promises to build a perennial contender and therefore deserves to be compensated as the best. He also noted that it’s a low stress conversation because of their good working relationship.
- The Cardinals won’t be making any decisions on Matt Holliday’s 2017 club option until after the season, writes Derrick Gould of the St. Louis Dispatch. Holliday is in the final guaranteed year of a seven-year, $120MM contract. Notably, his $17MM option for 2017 comes with just a $1MM buy out making it a $16MM decision for the club. Holliday has also approached the club in the past about deferring money in his contract.
- Pirates chairman Bob Nutting spoke to reporters about the next CBA, writes Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. As a low revenue club, access to talent is the team’s top concern. In the past, they used large amateur budgets to build their current contending roster. The most recent CBA closed off these avenues of spending. Further, the club’s recent success has compounded the issue since they receive lower draft picks and budgets for winning. Nutting declined to comment on specifics. Nutting also reiterated that the club will “try to find an opportunity” to extend Andrew McCutchen.
- Reds manager Bryan Price hopes speedy outfielder Billy Hamilton can grow into a leadoff role, writes Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. Hamilton is just a career .242/.287/.324 hitter. Despite excellent base running, including 126 stolen bases in 1,087 plate appearances, few players could earn regular reps with that triple slash. With Hamilton, his elite defense guarantees him a regular role, per Price. Now it’s just a matter of finding where his bat plays. FanGraphs’ WAR metric agrees with Price. Hamilton has compiled 6.1 WAR putting him on a 3-4 WAR pace per full season.
Does Hamilton do any thing that much better than Jarrod Dyson? Why is he given 500 AB’s a season. Would Dyson be starting on a worse team? Hamilton seems like a great 4th OF at this point how long can you hold out hope hes going to be a dynamic lead off hitter.
Hamilton Hasn’t even fully developed yet. Dyson is 31 yrs old, Hamilton is 25. He’s gonna end up being a .260, .270 hitter 5 homers 40-50 rbis, 50 steals, he’s a good number 8 hitter but idk about #1.
Dyson only has 200 more MLB PA than Billy Hamilton, Billy Hamilton Ceiling is that of Ben Revere offensively, which he is also unlikely to ever reach, I would not rule out a lucky season of .270 + average with his speed to get infield hits. He is not going to be Dee Gordon.
I think that’s a bit optimistic. His career slash line, .242/.287/.330, looks a bit more realistic. He needs to start hitting more ground balls, similar to Dee Gordon. Otherwise, he’s never going to hit for a high average, and with his plate discipline (or lack thereof), he’ll never get on base enough to make the most of his speed.
Dude, he’s 25
Normally I’d agree with you but he got worse not better he is actually regressing not progressing.
You might as well see what you have in Hamilton and start him every day this year. There’s nothing to lose and they’ve got no one else to play center
You might as well see what you have in Hamilton and start him every day. There’s nothing to lose and no one else to play center
Be ause the Reds have no one better
Zobrist was declining prior to his contract season. Lackey couldn’t pitch for 200 innings for a few years and is in his late 30’s, his peripherals have been far worse than his actual ERA in 2015. Heyward is a 13 HR bat who is defensively not utilized properly in CF. The Cubs deserve an F for an offseason where they went after big names not quality. Mark my words the Cubs will miss the playoffs.
1) Zobrist has been a model of consistency with an OPS of 113, 119, and 120 over the last three years.
2) You really based a player solely on his HR total??? Really???
3) Lackey’s WHIP decreased last year, his FIP has been under 3.85 every year since 2009, with the exception of his injury plagued 2009, his GB% has been increasing every year, and his K% have been completely consistent with his career marks.
So which is it? You’re a Cards’ fan or a White Sox fan?
Cards fan or Sox fan?
I can disprove every one of those statements…
Modern day Sox/Cub fans are friends Cardnals fans can’t handle being top dog or bird so haters will be hateful
What are you even saying????
Those stats may be true thetruth, but I think your last statement about the Cubs missing the playoffs is incorrect. Even as a Cards fan, I must admit they will be a force in the division. Whether or not they win the division is up for grabs, but nothing is set in stone. So just like trying to count the Cards out, don’t count the Cubs out, never a good idea to underestimate your opponent.
As a Cub fan I picked nationals to win 100 games last year and glad I didn’t bet money on it:-). I am excited the Cubs have the opportunity to be very competitive for a long time . It’s fun to see Cubs compete at Cardinals level, it’s good for baseball. Cards are the defending division champs and they will be a force to dethrone. Injuries and players having bad years happen all the time, on paper Cubs should make playoffs.
Things to remember about the Cubs last year: Arrietta had a career year. He was unbelieveable the last two months…..kind of like Orel Herschsher’s incredible season. But can Jake maintain that? Is he a real ace? Keep in mind that Lester had a losing record, Heyward — while outstanding in the field has just been mediocre at the plate most of his career especially the last 2-3 years. Zobrist has been a valuable utility player a long time but he’s 35 and his power numbers have dropped a lot the last three years. Lackey was the bargain of the century last year for STL, but he’s 37. Getting Folwer back helps a lot. Rizzo & Bryant are the real deal. Schwarber? We’ll have to wait and see but a hitter without a real position. Ya just never know 🙂
“Mark my words the Cubs will miss the playoffs.”
What little credibility you had left just went out the window.
Awesome Seinfeld reference lol ^^^^
Hamilton is a media created star that never was more than a minor league base stealer. The Reds rebuild has left little else to hang their hat on right now and Price – like all managers – has to publicly be optimistic and supportive.
Hamilton is an awful leadoff man and survives in CF because of his speed not skill in the outfield. It was interesting to read the Jose Peraza – another over hyped player – is going to get reps in CF. The Braves tried and quickly abandoned that idea. Peraza could in fact be Hamilton lite which is a scary projection for a team like the Reds in the first stages of rebuilding
While I agree with the premise, Hamilton is a fantastic center fielder, and it’s not just because of his speed. He makes good reads and has a pretty solid arm as well. He was first in the NL in assists as a CF in his only two seasons in the bigs. He has almost no value with the bat, but his baserunning and defense put him well above replacement level. He should just bat 8th (or 9th.)
I agree with those who say: put Hamilton in CF and let him play himself out of the position. Reds have nothing to lose by giving him the AB’s.
16.2 defensive runs above average according to FanGraphs, sandwiched right between Kevin Pillar (#2) and Lorenzo Cain (#4) among CF with 200 PAs last season. And keep in mind that’s a counting stat, and Hamilton played in 45 fewer games than Pillar and 26 fewer than Cain.
Maybe it is just his speed that makes him a fantastic center fielder right now. But if it’s just speed that makes you a top 3 defensive center fielder in all of baseball, imagine what he could do as he grows as a player and an overall defender.
I respect Dave Cameron and all (and he knows way more than me of course LOL), but I just can’t agree with some of these. The Mets 3rd? (way way way too high) The Braves 5th? (way way way too low, they are either 1 or 2) The Astros 26th? DBacks 29th?
He seemed to way over value single deals then completely ignore major deals in other cases. No one knows what the Padres are even doing they have to be 11th based on the Kimbrel deal alone,
I agree with you on the Mets being too high and I can see the Braves being top 3, but what exactly did the Astros or D-Backs do to warrant being any higher? The Astros were pretty stagnant and the D-Backs drastically overpaid for Miller and Segura (and some feel Grienke as well). I also think that the Angels seem to be way too high at #12. Simmons was an ok get for them, but they had much bigger holes to fill than SS and are now sitting with the worst farm system anyone has seen in years.
For the Astros, Fister is a low risk/high reward, and they got one of the best young relievers in baseball in Giles. How much did they really need to do to begin with do you think?
As far as the DBacks go, yes they overpaid for Miller in that trade, and yes they overpaid for Greinke, but they are certainly a win now team and should definitely compete with the Dodgers and Giants.
I have very little doubt that the Astros will be way better in 2016 than in 2015 which is obviously in large part due to the moves they made (even though if they overpaid for the most part). They absolutely did not have the 2nd WORST offseason in the league
Astros did not fill any holes. They had a good bullpen, now its potentially a great one. A high k rate team that will depend on progression everywhere. Fister may seem low risk, until he is being depended on for 180 innings of the 2013 version, not the guy throwing mid 80 flat fastballs.
AZ made more holes than they filled
“Astros did not fill any holes.”
They had very few
“AZ made more holes than they filled”
You’re joking, right? For their farm, yes. On their MLB roster, no.
Robbie Ray led the team with 180 IP last year. Greinke has thrown 200 innings in 6 of the past 8 seasons. Miller threw 183 innings in 2014 and 205 innings in 2015
They have one of the best 1-2 punches in baseball. That my friend, is an Upgrade, not a downgrade. You can call the loss of Inciarte a downgrade, but picking up 1 of the best SP in baseball along with another good young SP improves the team instantly.
You can’t bash a team for having a bad off season when they have very few holes to fill. The Astros OF is probably top three in the league, they also have a top three SS/2B combo. That’s already five spots in the lineup. They have question marks in the corner infield but have enough depth that it can be rectified in-house. They add Fister on a cheap deal to fill in for Feldman and McCullers who is on a innings limit. They wanted a flame thrower in the bullpen and only got a young pitcher with plenty of team control. Now I haven’t seen the rankings but the Yankees better not be ahead of the Astros, because they added an unnecessary bullpen piece just to make a splash along with the Red Sox.
The Astros may not have had a lot of holes to fill, bit the corner infield and catcher were positions that they could have easily addressed even with some minor signings and they didn’t. Plus they sold off Villar who could have been some decent depth at 3rd or SS in case of injury for a low pitching prospect. They are still a good team and will probably be in the hunt again, but it seems that a few small moves could have given them some improvement.
So tired of hearing people talk about Heyward HR numbers. SCHWARBER, RIZZO, BRYANT, BAEZ, SOLAR, I think they have plenty or HR hitters they need avg, obp guys which is why they brought in Zobrist and Heyward. You don’t need 8 HR hitters in your starting lineup, you need guys that can get on in front of the HR hitters.
Agreed… Otherwise you have a repeat of what happened in the NLCS last season. You need table setters, the problem I see on this Cubs team is still an aweful lot of ‘swing for the fences’ guys.
Zobrist, Heyward, Fowler, Bryant, and Rizzo will/could have OBPs around or north of .350 for the season. Schwarber can get there. Montero can get there (maybe not anymore). All five of the first set of players are above average base runners as well, with Bryant and Heyward being 4th and 5th in all of baseball last year. Rizzo is in the mid-50s, which is huge for a 1B (only Goldschmidt and Hosmer were better at around 40th). And don’t forget about Addison Russell. He’s not supposed to just be a defensive wizard at short.
The Cubs have ‘table-setters’. Their table-setters can just also hit dingers.
I know that both sides don’t seem too concerned and that it’s just a formality, but I still don’t like seeing Theo without an extension. It would help me sleep a little more easily.
If the contact status of a baseball exec has you up at night, you’re doing it wrong.
Lol
Fun fact about Billy Hamilton. Over the past 100 years, there have been 280 instances in which players have posted a 60 wRC+ or lower over 450 PA. Billy Hamilton is one of them. Of the remaining 279, only 4 others have posted a higher fWAR in their respective seasons than Hamilton’s 1.9 fWAR. They are:
1. Tommy Thevenow (1926; 2.5 fWAR)
2. Jimmy Cooney (1926; 2.2 fWAR)
3. Eddie Miller (1944; 2.2 fWAR
4. Omar Vizquel (2007; 2.0 fWAR)
Really speaks volumes about Hamilton’s speed and defense doesn’t it?
I can agree that Hamilton might not have fully developed yet as a hitter but the Reds haven’t doing him any favors by keeping him atop the lineup the last two seasons. He has struggled to consistently get on base since leaving double-A Pensacola. I really think it would have helped his long-term growth to spend a good chunk of last season at triple until he showed he could be more than a strikeout machine that runs like the devil.
One team he never seems to have trouble getting on base against though is the Pirates. Always seems to either somehow walk or beat out a chopper and suddenly is always standing on 3rd very shortly thereafter.
The Cubs being a perennial contender? Now, this team looks to be on an upward trend, but last I checked, you have to be successful for more than one season to be able to say that.
Not saying it cannot happen, but I think it is easy to gloss over possible pitfalls for this Cubs team this season. The two glaring ones I see:
Can the youngsters repeat what they did last season (with no wide spread ‘sophomore slumps’)?
Can the rotation (which is not getting younger) hold up all season with no injuries (as one could argue one prolonged injury to the rotation and the Cubs could be in trouble)?
What are these sophmore slumps everyone is talking about? Bryant was a 6 win player last year? Let him slump to a 4 win season which is basically the minimum his elite obp/power tools allow for. Schwarber only played half a year to begin with. So if he is only worth 1 or 2 wins thats another 2 win downgrade, and yet thd heyward signing alone would make up for thosr dosngrades. Add in zobrist, and lackey and phelps. Sure arrietta might not win the cy again but he is a top 10 pitcher in the game now period. People are high, they might regress small amounts, not fall off cliffs.
Theo and Dexter Fowler must have read Dave Cameron’s article today
@miggypop44 I was just going to write the same thing. Go after Sales or Grey @theo Epstein before trade deadline Theo Epstein pleaseeeee
@thetruth you sound like a complete fool. You shouldn’t even post. You must be Card fan still mad bro? Don’t worry the Cubs will be in the playoffs. The big question is will the Cards. I doubt it tbh. Well dw now you can sleep at night since your so worried about Heyward on CF. Lol. It’s like a nightmare keeps getting worse and worse. The Cubs are deepest in MLB. Their 5 man rotation is ranked #1 going in the season. Not to mention even with an injury anywhere can fill that spot. Sol can play LCR Heyward can play RC. Fowler can play LCR. Swar can play L we have 3 catchers he also can play first. Zorb can play 12ss3LCR take ur pick. KB can play 3LR Swarb can okay first as Zorb n KB Russle can play ss or 2 as Zorb. Bez can play 3 SS 2 CF any questions. Really we could go 7 deep in rotation – go bed kid ur talking out ur a$$
why even play the season? let’s just go ahead and give the trophy to the Cubs!
Lol still got to win it. Guess Golden State said that the beginning of the NBA season lol