With the bullpen-needy Cubs facing a budget crunch, acquiring even a mid-tier reliever would require removing payroll from elsewhere on their roster, per Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic (subscription required). Thus, as the Cubs look for ways to improve this offseason with little to no spending space, the club has “bandied about the idea of trading” second baseman/outfielder Ben Zobrist, Sharma writes. In jettisoning some or all of Zobrist’s $12.5MM salary, the Cubs would give themselves some room to upgrade their bullpen – a unit that has lost Jesse Chavez and Justin Wilson to free agency while gaining no one this offseason – and hopefully not experience much an offensive drop-off, Sharma notes.
“I don’t have a no-trade clause at this point, so I could be traded,” Zobrist acknowledged Saturday.
Although Zobrist realizes he’s vulnerable to a deal, it may be unrealistic for the Cubs to better their roster while subtracting him. Set to turn 38 in May, Zobrist is the Cubs’ oldest player, but he’s also one of their best. Aside from a poor 2017, Zobrist has more than delivered on the four-year, $56MM investment Chicago made in him entering 2016 – a season in which he helped lead them to a World Series title. Zobrist is now coming off a year that saw him finish second among Cubs position players in fWAR (3.6), trailing only NL MVP candidate Javier Baez, and bat an outstanding .305/.378/.440 (123 wRC+) with nearly as many unintentional walks (55) as strikeouts (60). He also posted an 86.6 percent contact rate, the game’s 15th best, making him something of an outlier for a team that ended up just 22nd in the majors in that category.
Between Zobrist’s offensive adeptness and defensive versatility (he was a plus player at second and in the corner outfield over fairly large sample sizes last year), it’s clear losing him would be a major blow for the Cubs. That’s especially true given that the Cubs’ middle infield is already down a regular, as Addison Russell will sit out the first month of 2019 because of a domestic violence suspension. To its credit, Chicago does have multiple other second base/outfield possibilities in Ian Happ and the recently signed Daniel Descalso, and those two could help fill Zobrist’s void.
If the Cubs are confident in a Zobrist-less middle infield/outfield mix which would include Baez, Russell, Happ, Descalso, Kyle Schwarber, Jason Heyward and Albert Almora for most of the season, perhaps we’ve seen the last of him in their uniform. But for a team whose offense “broke” in 2018, when the switch-hitting Zobrist put up above-average production from both sides of the plate and logged quality numbers in each of the season’s two halves, replacing his output would be no easy task.
thought Cubs “print their own money.”?
downvoted, already.
you dont need to keep saying when you downvote a comment. it’s irritating to keeo seeing, and youre opening yourself up to a verbal fight.
What he wants is to be irritating.
Key is a clepto. Enough said.
I downvote anything he posts.
I’m not sure age is applying to the downvoting here… pure boredom seems to be the more likely scenario
Is this a posting posed for baseball or an all girls sorority?
Get a larger thong—your brain is being robbed of oxygen.
I think it’s laughable that any of you are still using the website at all. The app is the only way to go. Who gives a crap about up or down votes
If you used the website, you’d have just been able to upvote his comment rather than posting that.
Functional for app users..
Clepto ^^
They pretty much do and the richer will get richer with the new tv deal next year, but ownership has tightened the purse strings a little.
They do, they’re just choosing not to spend it for whatever reason.
X, stop commenting on Cubs articles. You seriously contribute nothing to this earth. Nobody needs, nor wants your opinion. Go away.
That’s probably the fastest way to get your account banned. Seriously, that’s probably the worst comment I’ve ever seen. You should be ashamed, and if you’re not… that’s concerning
upvoted!
You are an embarrassment to Cubs fans. I’ve read more interesting posts from X than you
@johnrealtime
Be careful johnrealtine. baseball1600 is armed with countless shill accs and not afraid to use them. Cross him at your own peril.
not this s*** again
Xabial only comments to troll everyone. People just need to learn to ignore him.
“Xabial only comments to troll everyone. People just need to learn to ignore him.”
I’ve been commenting here over the yrs, before things started getting personal.
I kindly ask mlbtr to continue zero tolerance policy and remove ban off-topic harassment.
well on the recent survey, i asked them to ban you, basically for spam.
Once again X, I’m not baseball1600. Mlbtr got rid of westcoastryan, my hope is they realize how toxic you are and get rid of you, too.
I do not think they banned WestCoastRyan… Stop making s*** up. I think WCR just left… Who knows? Maybe WCR made a new acc.
Really? Is that you Ryan? It couldn’t be because he’s a diehard padres fan and was never as bad as you. I know for a fact they banned him. Nice try tho
How do you know for a fact they banned him? Could be the case but I’d look for an announcement one way or another by the mods. Only guys I’ve seen explicitly confirmed as banned were bigpapi4ever, ookashfa and Casey’s Partner.
@cubsfan2489 not banned fool
We all can’t stand X, but we all couldn’t live without him.
Been living fine without his comments lately, then he ruined it today. Speak for yourself.
Don’t worry I hate him as much as the next guy. He’s the reason my first account was banned. Personally I’d love him to get a taste of his own medicine, but MLBTR employees just don’t understand how much harm he brings to the comment section. He’s made it into a toxic war.
Amazing, baseball1600.
Ur unbanned, yet still land a bunch of attacks.
You’re more toxic, than any user here.
I was never banned. And I only have 1 account. You’re the embodiment of what’s w/ comments
Ignore the haters. They have nothing better to do than pick apart comments on a baseball rumors website
He definitely hasn’t made it into a toxic war. I mean, you’re the one making fun of him and getting your account banned. All he’s doing is expressing his opinion. If you don’t like it, why can’t you just ignore it and move on?
Yes indeed.
How does it ruin anything. It literally takes .69 seconds to scroll past. Curious for an explanation
People have learned from X’s aggressors. Now anybody with a bad trade proposal will be bashed. Since X posts junk, people naturally react because most of what he says is outrageous. I tested this theory with one of my comments on an Evan Longoria thread, and what do you know, people lined up telling me my trade proposal sucked. It’s the troll revolution, MLBTR has become full of a**holes.
I could hypothetically propose a trade of kluber for sonny gray Chance Adams and Greg bird and I’d literally probably get 20 people explaining to me why that’s a terrible trade offer… as if they need to explain. Point is just ignore it and move on! It takes less than a second of your time to just scroll past! If he wants to comment just let him. You are literally just wasting your time
Yes, that’s what they should do. Since X has constantly posted outrageous trade proposals such as “Sonny Gray for Taylor Trammel” people start to get annoyed that it’s the same person posting these awful trades as the FIRST comment on every thread. People start making it personal. Now, innocent people proposing bad trades are being treated the same way. People ridicule trade proposals with malice instead of offering insight as to why the trade is bad, because when somebody posts a bad trade proposal people automatically assume they’re a Xabial-like troll, when in reality they may not be.
True it’s probably almost impossible to post a blockbuster trade proposal without getting major hate. Even if it’s a realistic JTR or kluber proposal
I’ll always support x because of his avatar.
And that’s my fault?!! @baseball1600
Is that a joke? I seldom post trade proposals. The one you’re referring to was made in jest to this article, which I’ve said numerous times:
nypost.com/2018/12/10/yankees-asked-for-stud-reds-…
You’re a joke. Keep up-voting your own posts with multiple accounts. It’s all you’ll ever have.
Some people are willing to take the 30 mins or whatever time out of their day to be a keyboard warrior and explain why someone’s comment (whether trolling or just don’t know baseball very well) is stupid. I personally scroll past and it baffles me as to why others don’t do the same.
The fact that you don’t realize how much you’re hated is why you need to be stopped. Whenever you accumulated mass downvotes, you’re first assumption is “baseball1600 must have made 20 accounts!” That is really sad, and just 1 reason out of hundreds why you need to be banned. No one can stop you, you will never learn.
Ironic, considering you do the exact same thing with your multiple accounts.
Not defending the owners or players, but what is asinine is fans screaming about a team (company) not spending money and saying they have tons of it, or are “extremely profitable” when you have no idea about their finances. The Cubs, like every MLB team, is a private company and does not report finances. None of us—not you, not me, not Forbes—truly knows how much revenue the Cubs take in, and what their expenses are to make that determination.
Not sure if you’ve noticed but the group of you has ruined the comments section of this site. It’s the same crap every post. Do us all a favour and take a break from the site and then come back and read the comments and realize how much better it is without all this.
Baseball1600 , I couldn’t agree more. He has ruined the comment section for me as well
Lol X makes a harmless comment that I don’t agree with it and you and others turn it into a —-show and then blame him for it, acting like he made you make all of your hateful comments.
Baseball1600 and others have pulled off the biggest troll-heist. They are trolls that have convinced others that they are battling a troll. I can’t wait for the plottwist in book 3 where everyone realizes that they were the trolls all along and X just posts about baseball
Lol X makes a harmless comment that I don’t agree with it and you and others turn it into a s***show and then blame him for it, acting like he made you make all of your hateful comments.
Baseball1600 and others have pulled off the biggest troll-heist. They are trolls that have convinced others that they are battling a troll. I can’t wait for the plottwist in book 3 where everyone realizes that they were the trolls all along and X just posts about baseball
He brings it on himself more often than not. Reminds me of female on social media constantly posting things for attention. He stirs the pot and then tries to play the victim afterwards.
Especially since most trades that actually are made are even weaker than some of the proposals that get bashed. It’s quite humorous how many people on here think they know everything about baseball.
Fantasy, I do have better things to do, I actually contribute to society and work 40+ hours a week. But when I want to read up on baseball and what’s happening, it’s maddening to see the same troll post time after time because he doesn’t have a pair to reply to people. Instead he just posts trash on every article to call out people when it’s not needed.
They will print money when tv deal kicks in 2020. Zobrist money 12 mil off, if trade Hamels 20 mil or other contract . Harper or machado is a possibility
Even though the team has clearly stated they are not in on harper! Funny!
I guess Cubs and NY Donkee fans will keep on saying that they are signing 1 of these guys until they are on another team LMAO
Love you X, but that’s a troll comment. It’s not what they can afford, it’s breaking $240mm and getting a 50% penalty and losing 10 positions on their draft picks. That’s why Cubs and BoSox are tapped out (Boston had room for Eovaldi, but now they’re in the same boat).
55. That’s impressive
so absurd that the Cubs have put the limits in themselves that they have. they should have plenty of cash to make moves and wouldnt need to trade Zo to fill their needs. (if he gets much of a return at all)
They would have money to make moves had they not given out the horrendous deals to Heyward, Darvish, and Chatwood.
They have the money anyway, the team is insanely profitable. Why they’re choosing not to spend is the question that has yet to be answered
Cubs are going to have to hanf out big extensions in the next 2-3 years for that young core. But that doesn’t excuse the lack of movement by them this offseason unless they want to stay under the highest tax threshold to save money in the long run?
Well apparently they are not insanely profitable. They don’t print money as we have listen to for years and years.
Yay!!!
downvoted
K.
They reported the third highest revenues in the sport last year. So yes, they are.
And that projects to go up with thier next tv contract
Kinda crazy they feel like they need to clear payroll to add a middle reliever.
If they spent the same percentage of their revenue on payroll as the rest of the league does, then they could absorb a payroll of around $250ishM
Which includes luxury tax payments.
They are only at about $205 or so, but they are $16 over on the luxury tax (thus someone like Zobrist would be a nice player to trade away since he counts as $14M vs the luxury tax)
They can afford to pay into the luxury tax a bit, and probably could afford to be a repeater. But looking long term, it’s hard to see when they would reset that penalty considering the money that’s gonna be owed long term to their core and the players they have locked up.
Finding a bad contract swap for Chatwood and Heyward is still probably their best course of action. Ideally matching up with a team further from the luxury tax concerns that has a player that will expire sooner.
I think the Cubs best trade partner for Heyward is still the Giants with their weak outfielders. A good trade partner for Chatwood would probably be either the Pirates or another team with weak potching. I would think the Chatwood trade would have to wait till the deadline to hope he shows improvement in his skills.
Why would any1 want Heyward though… makes no sense to trade for him. He has no power… weak contact skills… expensive contract… he plays good defense but that’s it.
What some GM besides the Cubs gm would want to have a guy with that size contract and WEAK skills?
Because Heyward actually has good numbers in SF
Ahhahahahha… what about the other 31 teams LMAo…. that is hilarious. Are you a Cubs fan or a giants fan?
^There are 31 teams? Since when?
I’m a Cubs fan
He walks, he has a good OBP, and he’s the kind of professional hitter this team needs!
They won’t have any contact/ high OBP guys on the roster if they trade him. Even though at his age he’s not an everyday player; he is a catalyst for that offense & a huge reason they put together the big inning
I have considered eating steak with dijon mustard.
Steak with Coleman’s mustard is big in England.
If you need either on a steak, you cooked it wrong
I will do nothing the British do, sir. We won the war.
You were there?
Your mom was there
Themed in 5.4.3.2…
downvoted
Irrelevant.
K.
Cubs short on Money: in one of the best Movie Quotes of all time: Damn, what a gullible breed:
Their value has tripled in 10 years.. that don’t happen if you aren’t rolling in the dough.
Their outgoing cash flow has more than tripled in the same time period. If you make 3x this year but spend 4x are you richer?
yes that totally explains why they are worth 3x more today … ( sarcasm).
Payroll sure isn’t a hindrance. in 2009 The Cubs payroll was 135 million, Last year 184 million. ( a 36% rise) That isn’t keeping up with what most consider baseball inflation which many would place at 5% per year: at 5% inflation per year the Cubs to match 2009 spending would need to spend 209 million this year on payroll.
payroll from stevetheump.com/Payrolls.htm
Payroll is only a fraction of the Chicago Cubs business expenditures. Do you think it is cheap running that organization, much less, launching a TV channel?
It’s the same reason the yankees are prolly done with any high priced free agents as of now, smh it has nothing to do with how much money that is made, they make plenty of money, it’s not that that’s holding the spending, they are up against the threshold for luxury tax purposes. Red Sox same situation. Look around, the yankees have the same payroll as of now, they won’t be signing a big name now either, so it’s a hollow argument and out of touch with current trends, no one is blowing past that highest tax amount, right now anyways. Teams will, but will avoid it until it’s inevitable
the luxury tax is a red herring: it is minuscule .It doesn’t stop them from spending. No the not spending isn’t caused by that little penalty ( which by the way has been blown by multiple times and by multiple teams): it is collusion: we are not going to pay top layers top contracts.. Look at the history: Uberoff told them to stop granting long term contracts in the 1980’s and they did.. and it was collusion. This is nothing new , just a new way to sell it to fans..
Will Smith for Zobrist and Almora.
Not even close
K.
Why? Gives them enough money saved to get a second premium reliever, or open a spot to make a run at Harper.
Will Smith I believe has a year left on his contract. Almora alone is worth more than 1yr of Smith
Harper to the Cubs cuz they moved Zobrist… lmao…
Clearly they are trying to move him for an RP… kimbrel would be more believable than harper … and even kimbrel is a stretch… they need more than 1 rp for that disgusting bullpen
Ok, I knew it was a stretch. Zaidi’s theory would be to give Smith and Shark for Heyward, Almora, and a top ten prospect yet to make it to the big show. Cubs would then have money for Kimbrel, creating a pretty good one two punch.
Y would SF want that Heyward contract… nobody is trading for Heyward unless the Cubs pay 75% of his remaining $
To rid themselves of Shark’s 40 million, get two outfielders (One for minimum wage), and a top prospect in the pipeline. Giants outfield situation is pretty bad. Heyward could still provide value patrolling that big right field. Giants are one of the richest teams in baseball, so they could afford it.
downvoted
fortnite and marques brownlee
I just logged in to present that trade proposal, cept mine would be one of either Will Smith or Tony Watson for Zobrist and prospect (for smith alone with the salary difference) or Zobrist for Watson strait up since his annual Sal is 3 mil and change less but will rid the Giants of the last year of that contract so will give them some flexibility going forward. I believe either trade would be benefitial to either team as both relievers have been worth their current contracts and the Giants though wanting to get younger, will either have Zobrist on a one year deal(which will also give them a productive offensive outfield veteran they need that they could also flip at the deadline) alone or Zobrist and potentially a prospect to get younger and build the farm a little. The Cubs will get one of Smith or Watson and have the solid bullpen arm they are looking for. But of course, it just makes too much sense for it to actually happen.
Now that makes sense! Nobody is trading for HEYWARD but I can see a deal like this for Zobrist
Lol I thought so, thanks for the positive reply!
This feels like one of those “We’ll listen to all proposals” type of things. Most of which never come to fruition. I doubt the Cubs seriously want to move him, but if a team blows them away with an offer, they’d do it.
there is no way any team is going to blow the cubs away for any of the players that they would want to trade…. in plain English, THE CUBS ARE F#$%ED
Calm down.
No need to calm down… that’s reality lmao
Oh darn, they only have to stick with the same offense that won 95 games in a down year… What a tragedy, how will they ever recover…
If u think they winning 95 games again without making any moves… u gotta play off the needles… they finish 3rd behind Brewers and cards
If you want to convince people you’re right, trying including some actual reasons
Proof is in the pudding…. you are starting Heyward everyday… lester is a year older… the bullpen sucks… chatwood is a bum… zobrist is old
And that same team was second best in the entire national league last season anyways. That’s not a bad pudding.
I’d be worried I’d the team stood pat after only being .500, but I can see logic in waiting until things actually get bad to panic.
Though I kind of suspect you’re not the logical type…
U are not the logical type if you think they can repeat last year w/o a move…
The top teams in the NL have gotten better… the reds are improved… they will have alot of comp in that division
They need exactly one thing. One more quality arm/closer in the pen. If they get that somehow then they hands down have the best team in the division.
Why can’t they repeat? They got nothing from Heyward and Lester showa no signs of decline yet, and those are the only two reasons you gave for why they’ll fall apart.
Hamels and lester are old… no bullpen… they will be good… but not the top team in the division. Alot of things need to happen for them to be at the top.
Injuries to older players are invevitable.
I understand you are a fan… but you have unrealistic expectations
Hamels and Lester are also the two best starting pitchers in the division by track record.
Yes, the division will be tough, but getting through the Cubs will be pretty hard for everybody else.
If Morrow is healthy, that solves the closer issue anyway, so doing nothing still isn’t the worst idea
inevitable. Long track record = aging
You keep using that word wrong, just FYI.
Older players don’t always get injured every season, so it’s far from inevitable. It’s not even likely, if you look at the statistics.
Which leaves you argument entirely dependent on your personal opinion that the unlikely will happen…
And you want ME to be reasonable…
I guess that’s y they play the season… email me when they finish 3rd and miss the playoffs… then you can say I was right =)
I doubt I’ll be able to find you after you change screen names to distance yourself from all the nonsense you’re posting this off-season…
Come back when you have an argument based on facts and not your gut feelings, then somebody might care that you don’t like the Cubs.
Lmao… change screen names! You are a funny guy. My ig is @harmoneyent…. follow me homeboy!
I get subjected to enough stupid on the internet without actively looking for it, thanks.
You do know who won the central last year?
Well… just wanted u to know how to find me 😉
They need to score more than one run in eighteen innings like they did to end the season. The Cubs leave way too many on base, and now wanna think about getting rid of Zobrist? Your best contact hitter, if anything they need more like Zobrist. Too many times I’ve watched the Cubs lineup get shutdown by mediocre pitching. They have to fill the holes in the pen, but more concerning is the lineup. They should of brought back Murphy.
I understand the Cubs wanting not to break the bank on a top tier free agent, but trading Zobrist to afford a second tier reliever?
Not sure how this is news. The Cubs have several similar players. If they can move Zobrist, & his contract, they’d be crazy not to. They won’t be offering him a QO, and they won’t be out of it enough to subtract at the deadline.
Several similar players?,Look at Zobrists numbers last year then look at Ian Happs numbers last year.One is an above average hitter and good fielder and one isn’t. Guess which is which
Not really a fair comparison. Happ has struggled a bit in Maddon’s play anywhere every other day concept and is still developing. Love Zobrist, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Happ really shined this year.
Happ is still developing into an even bigger pile of trash than he already is. I wonder when people are gonna take the blinders off and realize the kid s u cks
May be a good option for Atl. They’ve got the need and the available funds and since the Cubs are considering this strictly for cap space, they should be open to the idea of a mediocre prospect or 2, something ATL has in spades.
i dont see the need to pick up that salary for a bench player
Bench player? Second best WAR on a 95 win team, solid observation.
38 years old
I’m no managerial expert, but I feel it would highly be frowned upon if you benched a guy who batted .305/.378/.440 with a 3.3 bWAR last season. He might be 38 years old, but he still batted really good last year, and somebody would be out of their mind not to give him a regular spot to open the season.
He would not start on the braves… infield is locked up… OF is looking for a power bat, not a 38 year old guy with no power… he is a good player but not impactful to the Braves line up
Any player who is over 37 years of age is a bench player. That’s the law in Chicago.
I’d still take a guy who hit above .300, has good on base skills, and good outfield defense if it means sacrificing some power, especially if it’s only for his one season of a $12 million salary, and if it wouldn’t take more than a mid-level prospect or two to acquire him.
Braves get him for salary relief so the cubs can sign a rp. Leaves plenty in thetank to acquire jtr. Figure the Braves give up a B or C prospect and eat yhe remaining salary
Hes earning his salary though. So it would be an actual trade. I agree he would be a nice temporary outfielder for us thjs year. Would give us a year to see how Pache (and Waters) develops, how Riley looks in the OF, if Donald might end up staying making Riley expendable etc (if hes not traded for Realmuto).
I would imagine it would take one fringe 100 prospect and a flyer type low A guy for him. I would guess they are looking for a good 1 for 1 swap with an equally useful reliever on a short term deal first though, unless they have a FA picked out already, if they expect to get better this year while trading him.
He is earning his salary but doesnt have a ton of excess value and he is 38. Id say other teams with a reliever to trade line up better with the cubs but he would make sense as a 1 year stop gap. I still think a b or c prospect while absorbing his entire salary gets it done
They could just bring back Markakis, for less money, and not give up any players.
True… I dont see either of those things happening though… think more like a trade for Gallo or a bat similar. THUMP in the middle of the line up is what they should and probably are shooting for
Fakest “budget crunch” ever. Most greedy, POS owners in MLB.
This makes little sense for the Cubs, especially with Addison Russell out until early May as he completes his suspension. A team looking to win another World Series championship while improving their offense doesn’t trade away their most versatile player who also happens to be the best contact hitter.
Zobrist should be the Cubs primary starter at 2B until Russell returns at which point the club can determine who mans SS between the latter and Javier Baez. At worst, Zobrist then resumes his accustomed role of super-utility player as he starts 4 times a week as a corner outfielder or at 2B when the regular needs a day off.
I agree, trading Zobrist would be stupid but hey, the kept Russell so you never know what to expect.
I don’t see Zobrist getting traded.
I would agree with Epstein and Ricketts that it’s probably best to see what you have with the team now.
If the Central truly is so much better, the Cubs can reload at the deadline unlike few teams because of all the top level talent they have at the majors.
Furthermore, what guy on the club is going to bring you more than he would at the trade deadline at this point?
If the Cubs do well in 2019, no trades needed.
If they falter, they can reload (much faster than the Mariners) for 2020.
Great point. If the Cubs were to fall out of contention by the deadline, a lot of teams would love to add Zobrist for a postseason run. The guy is a proven winner. They could also unload Hamels and Strop which may yield some nice returns. Its a win-win for the Cubs, either they contend or start to reload for 2020 and beyond.
The Padres have a bunch of affordable/good relievers that the Cubs could get their hands on for Zobrist. The glaring hole at 3B could be covered by Zobrist/France/Garcia in 19’ for a year until Potts is ready in 20’.
Zobrist and Kinsler would be additions to take pressure off Myers and Hosmer so they can just go out and play. The two veterans can lead the squad into its potential competitive window if everything pans out with the young pitching coming and of course.. Tatis Jr.
I would pass… not for 12.5 mil
Padres aren’t ready to add a bunch of free agents at the moment, so why not take on the salary for one season?
I don’t hate the idea. I would prefer Machado at 5 years, $285 million. Relief pitching on the current roster is the one thing I wouldn’t mind moving for a 1 year transition at 3rd base – if a quality player/leader like Zobrist. In general however, 1 year contracts don’t line up well for a team that is likely at least another year or two away. Yates would be tough to part with since I believe he has 3 years left…
5 years 285 million? You do realize that equates to 57 million annually right? You want to commit 40% of a teams budget to one player?
People need to realize if the cubs get to around 250 million in payroll they would have to pay 50% luxury tax and move 20 slots down in international slots. No matter how much money they have that’s a major price to pay and the owners also have other things they invest into, not just the cubs. Every business has a budget as we all know
*10 slots
Dude, that family owns TDAmeritrade. That’s like owning a cash printing press. I don’t care what they have to pay, and they shouldn’t either. As far as International slots….big whoop. If you sign excellent players, it’s not much of a worry to lose a slot for a year or two. They have a window with these players, and it seems like they’re doing everything possible to prematurely shut it.
World’s smallest violin
They should not need to trade anyone to sign a reliever unless his name is Craig Kimbrel.
Even then, they shouldn’t have to trade anyone.
Ben Zobrist, the man who holds two of the most improbable World Series rings (Royals/Cubs).
Craig Counsel, Marlins and Diamondbacks. If Brewers go he gets one with them also.
The royals were not gonna lose to the Mets in 2015. He was mvp in the 2016 world series..it would have gone to anyone tbh. He had the game winning hit. Greatest double down the line in Cubs history. Almora doesnt get enough credit for his tag up play on Bryant’s deep fly ball.
Why would anyone write this now? If they were going to shop Zob, they would have done it prior to all the good relievers coming off the board. The only way it makes sense now, is if it were some part of huge trade with other pieces, which also isn’t happening.
According to Cot’s, he can block a trade up to 8 teams, with limited trade protection
The Cubs pen isn’t as bad as everyone thinks. A healthy Morrow, a bounce back season for Chatwood, a breakout year for Dillon Maples. With one of the best starting 5 in the NL, the bullpen won’t be that much of a burden.
This is how normal people get turned into Cub drones… keep’em in the dark and feed them the blue Koolaid.
What Kool-aid did you drink that made you so bitter you spend every day trolling Cubs rumors?
Neither of those things are true
That’s alot of hope… probably 2 much
Yeah probably
Jason Heyward, a cautionary tale.
Cubs could easily sign all of Harper, Machado, Kimbrel and Keuchel and it would mean something like a 15% fall in annual income for a billionaire owner. But sure, grub all the money and cry poor just because it means you won’t be able to buy your 9th mansion for another year.
Phillies get: Ben Zobrist
Cubs gets: Pat Neshek, Ranger Suarez, Dylan Cozens
Too steep for Zobrist on a 1/12 deal I think. Don’t see Phily trading from their pen either.
OR
you could Keep Zobrist and sign Xavier Cedeno or Dan Jennings for little to nothing.
2017 Ben was runner up for GG. 2018 Ben reports to ST stating he is in best shape of his life, ready to play 2B everyday…Shortly after Joe states Ben is dealing with some minor aging issues and needs to sit out the first week? 2018 season he spent more time in OF than infield. Ben is a team player, he will always do what is best and say nothing negative. They are better team with him in lineup everyday, doesn’t make sense to trade that kind of veteran leadership. I can see his expectations of everyday role vs. how Joe uses him as part time utility making him likely trade candidate. Whoever I could only square that rational if he is only to be used as bench utility come 2019 for a reliable closer. Not many of those on market.
The Chicago Cubs ranked third in revenues in the ENTIRE MLB last year.
Let that sink in.
And the 3rd highest payroll
Your point?
The Cubs ranked 21st in spending percentage to revenues. I wonder if Cubs drones even understand what that means?
The last thing the cubs are is budget strapped, to describe them so is terrible journalism. Terrible.
Cubs fans should be livid, but the Koolaid is known to have a mild sedative effect.
*Cubs drones
You need to hashtag it if you want the new catchphrase to catch on
The Yankees should have traded for Zobrist instead of signing LeMahieu.
I don’t know if trading one of your most valuable players with one year left of control for the sake of being able to sign a couple of mid tier relievers is really helping the team. That type of desperation is never good. This is of the cubs even do this of course
Last year of his deal. Trade em
Send him to the Rockies
What would the Rox do with him?
If he’s on the open market.
Eppler give the Cubs a call and show some interest.
Just because you have money doesn’t mean you have to spend it…but in all seriousness Cubs have signed a player to 100 mil+ contract 4 of the last 5 off-season’s
Could be a fit for the Twins. Although I’m not sure what he’d cost. Hildenberger, Blankenhorn, and Jay??
Manny Machado come on down .
Nothing is happening, so let’s whip up a story about what MIGHT happen.
Man, the Giants will be licking their lips to get an again player, surely they are already all over this? Ok ok I’m kidding that’s the old regime. But really, Cubbies, want Melancon? Straight swap…. 🙂
Will smith for zobrist. What say you.
Pass
I actually just posted this same proposal. Sure the Giants want to get younger, but the saying “there’s no bad one year deal” may come into play here. If they could trade will Smith for Zobrist and a prospect (to account for the difference in yearly salary) or maybe Tony Watson strait up (1yr of Zobrist at 12mil and some change to 2 years at 9 mil a year, 18 mil for watson) seems to me like a pretty fair trade that will benefit both teams…the Cubs getting the bullpen arm they need, and the Giants getting a productive veteran outfielder on a one year deal, plus the possibility of a low level prospect going their way as well as part of the deal (that or salary comp to offset the difference)…I really don’t see how giants or cubs fans can argue those trade proposals as being negative in any way and I would love to read a rebuttle and have a friendly conversation if someone could post one with some sort of description other than “pass” or “no”..
Something like that would make sense. Finally someone posts something realistic. So happy you didn’t end your post with them signing Harper or Machado LMAO
The Cubs having Happ, Zobrist, and now Descalso, seems like multi-positional overkill doesn’t it? One too many. I still don’t get the signing of Descalso. The Cubs starting pitching is aging, Lester is 35, Hamels is 35, Darvish is 32, Hendricks & Quintana are both 29. The minor league pitching depth is severely lacking, the clock is ticking loudly. The way the Cubs front office are playing this offseason, as if they have all the time in the world with these guys is nuts. It would be a shame to only get to 1 World Series with this core.
They’re still a good, talented team but they’re aging. The championship window will close sooner that Cubs fans will want to admit. Your bullpen is lacking and like you said the rotation is definitely older. We all thought there could be a Windy City dynasty but that hasn’t materialized. I am happy for you guys that the great curse was broken, but I highly doubt you get another Series win. I’ll still be rooting for the Cubs against the Dodgers, though
Lester’s contract is up after 2020. Hamels is gone after this year. Hendricks should have quite a bit of longevity given his velocity especially if he works on a knuckler or something like some other low velocity pitchers have done in their 30’s. Quintana is going to be either a key contributor or trade bait at the deadline. The Cubs need to acquire AT LEAST one young elite arm either during or after this season. It is going to take cash, because the Cubs also need to build the farm back up. The lineup should still be okay, but who knows what their take will be on Arenado or Trout in the future. If you think you were sick of hearing about Harper or Machado, its just going to be worst for Trout.
A shame… YES… Probable… DEFINITELY
This is not s good idea. They need to extend him at least 2 more year.
I think the Cubs best trade partner for Heyward is still the Giants with their weak outfielders. A good trade partner for Chatwood would probably be either the Pirates or another team with weak potching. I would think the Chatwood trade would have to wait till the deadline to hope he shows improvement in his skills.
The giants outfielders are better than Heyward LMAOOOO
Heyward is a big fat 0 (zero)
Umm, Bucs starting pitching is not weak, thank you.
No kidding…….and wait until Keller is dominating them soon enough for many years.
Even after trading a few pieces last year and this year?
Why would there be a situation where everyone isn’t evaluated for trade?
Jed: “We need to get better. We’ve got to do something. I know….I’ve got it…..let’s trade one of our best players!
Theo: “Brilliant!!”
Ricketts: “This is a great idea guys. You know how hard it is being a mega billionaire. I mean, I though I might’ve had to sell one of my 250 yachts. Whew!! Keep up the good work!”
Nah, not for relief help. Trade him for Kershaw or Betts, maybe. Not for bullpen.
Enjoy being the 3rd best team in the NL Central this year Cubbies!
I predict cubbies… they will fall to 4th behind the Reds due to injuries to the old timers
Is anybody feeling bad about losing Justin Wilson to free agency? And Chavez was just a throw-in that didn’t work long enough for the team to learn his downside.
Wilson was terrible for the Cubs.
No doubt, the Braves would be interested in Ben Zobrist. Could probably get an MLB-Top-100 pitcher for a single year of Zobrist. Thinking Kolby Allard. Add Carl Edwards Jr. to the deal and the return could be the Canadian superman and Braves top prospect, Mike Soroka.