We already checked in on some notes from the American League today. Now let’s take a look at the National League.
- A Willson Contreras trade won’t do the Cubs any favors in 2020, but it’s more preferable than moving any of the team’s other star players, opines Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic. Some rival organizations believe Chicago will indeed make that move this offseason, and there would surely be ample interest in the 27-year-old catcher if the Cubs put him on the market. Contreras is one of baseball’s best offensive catchers, and the Cubs maintain that he’ll improve as a pitch framer, although as Sharma notes, he continues to rate near the bottom of the league in that category. Parting ways with a franchise catcher isn’t ideal, but the Cubs do at least have a strong internal replacement available in Víctor Caratini. The same can’t be said for shortstop, third base, or first base, so a trade of Javier Báez, Kris Bryant, or Anthony Rizzo is tougher to envision. The Cubs don’t have to trade any of those players, Sharma points out, although ownership seems unlikely to green-light a major payroll increase and the MLB pitching staff and minor-league system both need augmenting.
- Nationals outfield prospect Nick Banks put together a solid showing in the Arizona Fall League. He credits some of that success to Ken Joyce, a hitting coach in the Yankees organization, with whom Banks worked in the AFL, reports Byron Kerr of MASN. A fourth-round draft choice by Washington out of Texas A&M in 2016, Banks hit well across two levels, reaching Double-A Harrisburg this season. He’s never been regarded as a top prospect (topping out as Washington’s #31 prospect after 2016, per Baseball America), although perhaps his solid 2019 season and postseason mechanical work with Joyce will turn some heads in the organization. The 24-year-old will be Rule V eligible if he’s not added to Washington’s 40-man roster by November 20.
- The Mets are set to interview Twins assistant pitching coach Jeremy Hefner for their top pitching coach position. Their interest in bringing him on staff isn’t new, as SNY’s Andy Martino (via Twitter) reports that New York offered him an interview for bullpen coach last offseason. The former Mets’ pitcher was then already locked into his position with Minnesota, but he’ll sit down with New York brass this time around for an opportunity to lead the entire pitching staff.
Cubs trading Contreras is fake news. I’ve checked with my sources (current & ex players and 2 agents) & none think Contreras will be trades. I even got a “No shot, he’s a staple”
Just promise never to post here again if you are wrong and I will take your word as gospel.
lol
My sources tell me he’s likely headed to the Angels because of his man-crush on Joe Maddon…or Maddon has a man-crush on Contreras, not sure which one.
That would be ian happ who is maddons man crush
They’ll take him too and have one big love fest in Anaheim!!
I could see happ for LaStella. Maddon hated Almora. Which is why.anytime he had a great defensive game and then went 3 for 4 or 3 for 3 with 2 walks he was benched for a week
No that would be Jason Heyward
Almora is trash. He’s well below replacement level.
Almora is bench player at best.
Maddon knee Almora is trash. That’s why he (rightfully) never played him. Theo is a hard head that wanted him played a lot, because Theo doesn’t want to admit that he and his crew draft horribly.
Knew** not knee.
He’s “trash” because he only played 2 times a week
I think you’re just projecting a fantasy of yours.
So then Kaplan’s your source, huh, Sparkles? That’s reliable.
“Fake news,” meaning it’s true and you don’t want to acknowledge it?
Exactly
Well put
I’d rather see the Cubs trade Kris Bryant, he wont sign an extension and is likely to walk as a FA. Bryant is a face of the franchise player but he really isnt a clutch hitter and he consistently has underperformed since his MVP season. KB ranks a notch below the truly elite hitters like Trout, Arrenado, Yellich, Bellinger, and Bregman.
Contreras may well sign longterm. I dont love his pitch framing statistics but he’s talented offensively, has a cannon arm, is a leader on the field, and plays hard every day. The only thing palatable about trading Contreras is having Caratini as a very solid all-around backup that would pair well w a veteran defensive catcher as a 3/5 starter.
Also, Jeffery Epstein didnt kill himself.
Lol, I love it
Its not that he wont sign an extension. They need to offer one first. Then there’s a slim chance of him signing it. How can you sign an extension with one never being offered
Not real difficult to read between the lines here. Theo & Co have approached Boras multiple times regarding the framework for a potential extension, and Boras has repeatedly told them to go pack sand. Unless the Cubs go Marlins/Stanton they’re going to ride it out until FA.
How long did you practice getting that good at stupid?
Theo is very good at rebuilding, but is terrible at sustaining that continued success
Green isn’t your color bruh.
Provided he has a LOADED farm to sell.
Yes……
The Cubs and Astros built at about the same time.
Theo is crying out for more money to overpay so-so free agents, while the Cubs farm system is pretty much bare. Luhnow and his staff continue to have a strong farm system. They’re able to package multiple desirable players for trade to bring in impact players, as well as continuing to bring up young players for their roster. Yordan Alvarez coming up out of nowhere at age 22 during the 2019 season with his 1.067 OPS is literally unheard of. I had to go back to Willie McCovey in mid-1959 to see something similar. Yet the Astros have 4-5 prospects that they rate higher.
THAT is a legendary organization.
South bend Cubs won the Midwest League Championship
Cubs have prospects. Don’t kid yourself.
Stfu
They could trade Bryant and install Bote at 3rd. Bryant isn’t going to sign an extension, makes more money, and less control. Or maybe do both.
That would be dumb if they plan on competing next year. You don’t trade one of the best players in baseball and install a bench player.
Bryant isn’t one of the best players in baseball though so…
Funny joke
Wrong
The Cubs won’t be competing for a World Series for at least 3 or 4 years. This is rebuild 2.0. It won’t be nearly as long or drastic as the one in 2011, but anyone that thinks this team will even whiff the playoffs within the next 2 years is seriously smoking cr@ck.
They are not trading Bryant to install Bote anywhere. Please stop. They may trade Bryant, but Bote is not going to have anything to do with the outcome of that.
Or, they could trade Bryant, Quintana and Contreras for a gang of players and prospects, then flip them for Lindor. Then sign Rendon and a couple pitchers (Keuchel, Wheeler, Odirizzi). They have they have a ton of money coming off the books plus tv revenue, so there really is no excuse why they can’t. Too bad all that money never gets spent on top shelf talent on the northside, but I guess Detroit is the only midwestern city allowed to do that.
TV revenue wont materialize for a few years and they don’t have enough coming off the books to sign all those players given what theyll be asking. Rendon will be a 30 mil player alone. Cubs have like 50 mil coming off the books for 2020.
This guy trolls every Cubs article. It’s just really sad, but what do you expect from a White Sox fan.
Everyone who’s not a cubs groupie is a troll to you. Grow a pair.
The cubs don’t need to spend tv revenue on the roster (they never will). Lester, Heyward, Bryant and Quintana off the books, they can afford Rendon, Lindor and a good pitcher or two. Do the math. They’re over $200M now with a slightly average roster overall. They can afford an elite roster for the same amount.
There are a couple layers here. Tv money is what teams use to finance their payroll, or a majority of it. The gate receipts are basically what goes into the owners pocket, which really makes me laugh when people associate payroll with ticket prices in larger markets.
They are not getting Heyward off the books. No way no shot until after 23. I agree they can spend money, but in talking about shedding money you also have to acknowledge all the arb raises associated with the players they have and your suggested scenario. Those are major arb raises associated with it. The Cubs have basically zero wiggle room if they are unwilling to go over the cap. Even in signing a SP they are at the line with no TDL wiggle room if they are averse to paying the tax. Sure trade Quintana and Bryant but in suggesting Rendon you’d opening much needed SP without shedding money. And buttload of players ehhh idk about that. Contreras brings in a hall, but the same can’t be said about Quintana or maybe even Bryant with service time and the fact that there isn’t a significant need for 3Bs. In fact you’re putting yourself in a hole without even acknowledging a huge weakness in their OF or SP rotation. All these grandiose ideas are for not without a willingness for their management to go into threshold. Theo has somewhat dug himself a hole with bad contracts and no semblance of young SPs to plug into the rotation. Only two ways to fix it are spending more money to go over or somehow getting creative and a bit lucky.
Stfu
I agree with all of this.
Rendon 3rd
Lindor ss
Baez 2nd
Rizzo 1st
Isn’t Bryant in the middle of a service time grievance with management? Until that’s settled who would take the chance on a trade?
I don’t see him winning that.
Rules are rules. There is no
“oh, but it’s so obvious he’s ready” exemption…..
Agreed. Unless he has physical evidence of communication to keep him down at AAA until the deadline, but even still, hardly a slam dunk case.
I don’t know if he wins his grievance, but there an acting in bad faith aspect that cracks the door open for Bryant. Which is why this is going to be intriguing, especially if the arbitrator sets the precedent. Just because you can technically manipulate service time doesn’t mean it’s ok to do so. If Boras can prove(idk how) that the Cubs acted in bad faith and intentionally manipulated his service, which we know sadly ever team does, I’m not so sure it’s open and shut.
Never say never, but if Bryant wins that grievance it will open a pandora’s box of service time grievances league wide. That fact alone, right or wrong, would probably negate a favorable ruling for Bryant. The argument will be to negotiate that in the next CBA.
Yeah I don’t see how Bryant can “win” anything here. It was within the rules and clearly benefited the team to do what they did.
With the current rules, the Cubs would have been stupid to do anything differently.
How would that impact another team looking to acquire Bryant? His grievance is with the Cubs, and if they actually won (they won’t) only the Cubs should face the consequences, not his new team.
MLB can’t take a year of control back. The rules are the rules and KB’s service time is his service time.
If you trade for Bryant expecting to have let’s say 2 years of control, but he wins the grievance and now has less, would that impact the value of the trade?
As I said above. you cant sign an extension if one is never offered
With a handful of FA catchers available, I don’t understand the timing when it comes to shopping Contreras. I understand the Cubs would be able to sign someone to replace him, but that person probably isn’t as good as Contreras. They would get more in return for Contreras if they shopped him when there were no FA catchers available.
Trading a catcher that plays good defense and can hit instead of a LF’er that can’t play D,hits empty HR’s and clogs the bases,but for some reason is popular would be very Cub.
You are 2 years behind in your dismissal of Schwarber like so many others that don’t follow the team closely. Schwarber is NOT a defensively liability anymore, and is an absolute bargain for the money. A +.850 OPS hitter who makes pitchers work and can deliver 40 homers and has a cannon of an arm for non-premium paycheck? That is why they won’t trade him. Oh yeah, and even though he never got a fair shake under Maddon, he took it with a smile, and nobody other than Baez hustles more or has a better team first mentality. Trading him would be top 5 worst moves in their history. Honestly, if you gave me a choce of taking Harper or Schwarber, I take Schwarber.
Getting excited over an over rated DH, but this is why the Cubs are where they are. His defense went backwards, terrible on the bases but if you love him, great. Enjoy 4th place.
How does Harper enter this equation? One good 1/2 in 5 yrs but he still doesn’t hit when it matters. Empty RBI’s-check his avg. with RISP-it’s atrocious.In this lineup he’s an albatross, they have enough power. Speed and contact hitting is what they need.
Harper hit .357 with RISP in 2019 lmao
lmao-it was about Schwarber.
Harper has some of the better clutch numbers in baseball. I get it. He’s overpaid and covered to death in the media, but that’s no excuse for being ignorant to true stats.
Ohhh. I get it. You weren’t talking about Harper. Apologies. Confusing sentence.
This comment started out strong and I agree with the first half but then you piled on the hyperbole to the point where I started to wonder if the whole thing was sarcasm
I agree. All the Schwarber hater are still stuck in 2017-2018. His metrics have gotten much better. He has a great eye, takes walks, hits home runs, and gets on base.
Hey moron. who had the most errors this year Schwarber or gold glover Heyward? It was a tie at six. Who had the most outfield assists gold glover Heyward or Schwarber? It was Schwarber and …. he led the team in home runs, had 91 RBIs and brought his BA up 35 points. Watch a game sometime, then comment.
Lol imagine citing errors in an argument about defensive acuity
Ok boomer.
Why the sticks and stones name calling?Being in love with a .235 hitting 1st round pick is pretty smart I guess. Watched just about every game and saw he only makes the routine play now after 5 yrs in the OF,missed the cutoff man routinely and cried every time he was called out on strikes.But man, getting all the way to .250 is All Star worthy.
Errors are not a terribly relevant stat in comparing defensive players. Neither is the outfield assist – given that teams are more likely to run on a suspect outfielder than one with a great throwing arm. Since we seem to be going with eye-test type measures, what I saw watching Schwarber play left last year was a guy who still takes questionable, roundabout routes to flyballs, misses cut offs going for the ‘hero throw” and does not cover a whole lot of ground. He is better defensively, but he is still marginal at best. The primary comp I think of watching Schwarber play leftfield is Dave Kingman, except that Kingman, who had been a pitcher in college, had a fairly strong if inaccurate throwing arm.
Stop with the silly comparisons. RF is a lot harder to play than LF.
MLB scorekeepers don’t score errors properly anymore. It is also hard to call errors on OFs who are a step or two slow or take bad routes. Also, the Gold Glove award is a sham.
Nonetheless Schwarber’s bat is good and could get better over the next couple years.
Shwarber has -1 DRS and -0.9 UZR. He’s pretty bad in the outfield. When comparing Shwarber to Heyward it’s not simply about whether the ball goes in the glove when they are standing still right underneath it. If that were the case, any highschool ball player could be an outfielder. Good outfielders cover a large area, read where the ball os going to be, before they get to where they set to catch it and get the ball back in accurately to where it needs to go. With Shwarber you might as well put a statue out there with a glove.
How is this guy still allowed to post?
Jhanley try actually watching some games since you obviously do not
Um, watched just about every game, but making that assumption and being in love with the current LF’er is exactly why most Cub fans are mocked. He’s a .235 lifetime hitter, defense is barely adequate and is revered as a great player.
Do people really revere him as great anymore? Or do they often just defend him against people who say he is terrible?
I see Bryant being traded before Contreras
Watch the Phillies in a Bryant swap or possibly the Braves if Donaldson signs somewhere else.
I would love JD back but it gotta be on AA’s terms. I don’t want to overpay and have them strapped with a bad contract on the back end.
Contreras, Bryant, Russell, and Almora are the trade chips the Cubs have. Even though they picked up Quintana’s option, he could be used as part of a trade as well. Trades of Contreras or Bryant ONLY make sense if they can get a top of the rotation starter or top prospects. Contreras and Almora to A’s or Braves for top pitching prospect?
However, if Bryant is traded that would probably mean the Cubs go after someone that won’t break the bank like Gregorius or Moustakas to fill the hole of the left side. IF the Cubs traded both Bryant and Contreras the offense would still be competitive. Remember that both Happ and Schwarber were somewhat undervalued and underplayed by Maddon , both could have huge seasons under Ross and a lineup that looks like this:
2B Hoerner
LF Schwarber
1B Rizzo
SS Baez
CF Happ
3B Moustakas or ??
C Caratini
RF Heyward
Moustakas? Really no cubs fan wants a brewers player.
Happ.lilwly wont be on the Cubs. Trading Contreas suggest a slow start to a rebuild .They are nowhere near a rebuild
Hahahaha remember Kyle Blanks?
My favorite Police Academy character
I’m still a supporter of the Bryant trade to New York for Urshela and Frazier
You’re the only one.
Might get a prospect or reliever in there as well. It would leave you a lot of $$ for other needs.
Would the Cubs have an interest in Dee Gorden if the M’s took back a bad contract or ate his salary ????
Why do you want a two time ped user
Every player is a PED user
That is just untrue
Every player uses some sort of chemical substance to enhance their abilities. The list changed based on politics and is ever changing. They should be able to use whatever they want.
If they are not going to police PED use in a credible way, so that the screen is not so porous and easily gamed, then I agree with you. They should just open it up and stop the scapegoating of a few players each year. As I understand it, the players have too much say in when and how the testing can be done. If they’re going to pretend to stop PED use, the players should have no say. The testing should be done to stop the using. If MLB isn’t going to do that, then it’s just a stupid farce of the game to pretend that the only PED users are the ones getting caught. The ones getting caught are a fraction of the users. If it weren’t, no one would be using because it would be too high risk. But it’s not high risk, and that’s why we still have users.
If Bryant goes, does everyone go?
Probably not. I imagine if he goes it’ll be more in the vein of a retool as opposed to a rebuild but who knows
I could see the Padres making a play. Andy Green knows them best and could provide insight who to target and who to avoid.
Rizzo and Baez are untouchable. You dont trade them for an entire farm that’s just dumb.
lol about Rizzo. Seems like a good guy, but he’s not even a top 10 1B anymore. Considering his back problems, he might be a liability for them moving forward.
You are really exaggerating with your hate on rizzo. Do you really think he is a liability? His contract is 2 option years at 16.5 million. He has never played less than 140 games since being a regular with 5/7 year he has played at least 153 games. He got MVP votes even a year ago and his OPS went up 80 points since then
Though I do think that no player should be truly “untouchable” and a good GM should listen to any offer
Rizzo is a top 3 1B. How is he not a top 1B?
I can’t even name three 1B that I would rather have than Rizzo. One of the most consistent players in the game, team leadership, great defense, and always a tough out. He should retire as a Cub.
Exactly. Theres not a single 1st baseman that fields a bunt like he does.
Hoerner and Happ to the Royals for Merrifield. Contreras to the Mets for McNeil. Let’s make it happen Cubbies!
Merrifield isn’t worth that. Hoerner is 22 years old, Happ is starting to find his stroke. McNeil has control left, low cost but the wrist injury is troublesome.
I think Happ would have been better off under a different manager than Maddon. He has the skills to hit 30 homers and maintain an OPS over .800. I am looking forward to seeing his progress in 2020, as well as Hoerner’s.
Merrifield is controllable till 2024 for 4 mil a year and let the majors again in hits last year. Cubs need a cf and 2nd baseman and a lead off hitter this move would be key.
They have plenty of options for 2nd. Hoerner is a great option he can also play 3rd and SS plus center. Heyward is very capable of playing CF as well. What they need to do is re-sign castellanos 5/85 with an option for a. 6th year. Sign Ordizzi for 4/65 with an option for a 5th year. Then sign 3 good bullpen arms. they have 55mil off the books after arbitration contracts. If anything they could actually increase that 55mil to 85mil
Hoerner isn’t ready yet they only brought him up out of desperation, and you wanna sign all these guys coming off of career years I’m not interested. Heyward is a gold glove right fielder and an average centerfielder keep him in right
Will pitch framing even be a thing when the robot jump starts on the job?
What is a robot jump?
The sequel to SPACE JAM?
Sorry, I typed UMP and autocorrect went to work.
I’m usually careful about
those things.
ROBOT UMP…..
If you don’t know what a
ROBOT UMP is then you
do a disservice to the
name Ty Cobb…..
If you don’t know that tycobb was having fun with the typo and think he needs to be told what a robot unp is, THAN you do a disservice to your constituents at the idiot village…
Get help!
Can’t wait for pitch framing in the sense of moving the glove to get a ball called a strike to be a thing of the past. Only a strike should be called a strike. Period. By the same token only a ball should be called a ball. A machine is far better at getting those calls right. Far better. And they will get better still. I’m for accuracy, consistency and fairness. Get the personal agendas out of it. Bring on the robo umps!
The up/down part of the zone adjusting for player height needs to be flawless for the robo-ump to work. Also depth of the zone is very important. According to the rules, it is not where the ball ends up in the catcher’s mitt, it is where it crosses the middle of the plate. So a guy with an epic slow 12-6 curve could be rewarded even if the ball ends up near the dirt.
Schwarber’s batting average would be at least 20 points higher under a robot ump. Anybody watching the last 3 seasons know he has been rung up on balls out of the zone more than anybody.
It would be a interesting trade if the Jays sent their catcher Danny Janson and Lourdes Gurriel to Chicago fo Contreras. Janson is way better defensively with offensive upside and cheap. Contreras is better offensively with less control and middling defensive upside. Gurriel is good and cheap with good offense and defensive versatility.
The Jays would do this because?…
If the Cubbies decide to keep Rizzo, Baez,& Bryant as well as they believe Cardellina can handle the catching duties, would it not be logical for the Cubs to think about addressing CF? Especially if they decide to not bring back Almora Jr. Let’s be honest, I do look at this from the perspective of a Braves fan & what was lost by McCann hanging it up. Ender Inciarte has team control on a very favorable contract & if healthy could more than give the Cubs CF defensive play that keeps Heyward in RF & if the Cubs resign Castellanos, he in LF. The question then would be moving Schwarber to an AL Team to address pitching as well as snag maybe a prospect. Would this work for both teams…
Cubs get: Ender Inciarte, Williams Contreras, & Bryce Wilson
Braves get: Wilson Contreras
Inciarte isn’t a favorable contract. It’s somewhat favorable in terms of AAV if you can flip a bad like contract to get creative. It’s also not a bad contract per se, but he’s a light hitting CF who is trending towards a platoon bat. So there’s not much value especially after injuries have limited him defensively and being an average hitter to below average hitter more recently. Seems if you’re the Cubs, you’re not taking on salary to receive a watered down package since Contreras is controllable and inexpensive. You can argue whether he’s potentially the best or 2nd best C on the market, but the gap from numbers 1/2 to the rest is enormous. With that comes an overpay situation especially with the current offensive C environment.
The fact is Heyward, who is unmoveable, is a more expensive less defensively inclined version of Inciarte. They desperately need offense in the corners, so while Heyward is probably better suited for a corner, unless there’s an offensively inclined CF to be had they’d probably better suited looking for offense on the COFs and using that money to address the Rotation. The question becomes how creative can the Cubs get?
Contreras stays … KB and Heyward to Boston for Betts and Bradley Jr
No way !
Why would the Sox want KB when they have Devers?
I can see them moving Bryant, Almora and Schwarber and maybe Quintana. Contreras would have to be the right deal. They need pitching in a bad way.
I think they trade a few guys (Almora, Happ? Bote, maybe KB) but why gut the team that is still the best in the NL Central? Fangraphs article shows Cubs projected WAR from the 25 man roster still is better than St. Louis of Mil…just as it has been for the last 5 years.
I think you trade Contreras or KB in a deadline deal instead. That’s where you can get the best return vs. winter trades from desperate teams.
But when July comes around, Bryant & Contreras hit the DL !
Any trade with Bryant or Contreras, Theo wants prospects back……not pending free agents !
Trade Fried, Wright, and Inciarte for WC and one of their relievers.
Why not just move Contreras to the outfield? They’ve been saying his pitch framing is going to improve every year and it never does. How much does his pitch framing hurt Cubs pitchers?
He’s got the offense. The arm will play in RF. The Cubs have a hole in their outfield. Am I the only one that sees that this makes sense?
doubt Heyward can catch or any other team wants his contract unless the Cubs pay all of it.
I would expect the Cubs to be able to find a match and get the return they seek for Cone-trereas. I don’t think that would be the case for their other top guys (Bryant, Baez, Rizzo). I believe they could move lesser guys for an acceptable return if they desire (namely Schwarber & Quintana). It will be interesting to see if they find a trade match for any of their top 4 guys.
Sorry pal, but .870OPS and leading the team in homers is not a “lesser guy”. Bryant wants too much money, sucks at advancing base runners, has always been soft, plays sloppy defense, and has already peaked in terms of performance. Schwarber is way more valuable at his price and still hasn’t reached his full potential.
Angels will give Andrelton Simmons and a couple prospect (not Adell) for Javi Baez.
I bet they would LOL
Oh but not Odell … haha good luck