After losing Jeimer Candelario, Cody Bellinger, and Marcus Stroman to free agency last month, the Cubs figure to look for additional help at the corner infield spots and in the rotation while also continuing a search for a left-handed bat that saw them connected to both Juan Soto and Shohei Ohtani before the superstars landed with the Yankees and Dodgers, respectively. According to Patrick Mooney of The Athletic, that search for a left-handed bat took them to a somewhat unusual place, as Mooney indicates that Chicago pursued star KBO outfielder Jung Hoo Lee prior to him landing in San Francisco on a six-year, $113MM deal last week.
It’s something of a peculiar fit, as the Cubs have Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki locked into the corner outfield spots with top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong and his 80-grade glove in center field expected to break into the majors as a regular sometime next season. While that hasn’t stopped president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and his front office from pursuing Soto and a reunion with Bellinger, it’s worth noting that Bellinger has plenty of experience at first base and that Soto is a fringe defender in the outfield who may be best suited for a DH role. Lee, by contrast, has spent his entire professional career in the outfield and is viewed as a plus defender on the grass with a chance to stick in center.
Despite the uncertain fit, Mooney suggests that the 25-year-old’s youth, left-handed bat, and ability to play center were all attractive factors in the eyes of the Cubs. Speculatively speaking, the club may have seen Lee as a piece who could slot into center field on Opening Day to allow Crow-Armstrong more time to develop in the minors. Upon Crow-Armstrong’s promotion, the club could have utilized the DH slot, where they have no regular starting option, to rest Suzuki, Happ, and Lee by divvying up time in the outfield corners between the three of them while also allowing them to all play on an everyday basis.
More rumblings out of Chicago…
- Sticking with the Cubs, Mooney suggests that the club “didn’t express interest” in retaining Candelario after he hit the open market last month. Candelario came up as a member of the Cubs but was shipped to the Tigers at the 2017 trade deadline alongside infielder Isaac Paredes in exchange for catcher Alex Avila and left-hander Justin Wilson. Candelario made his way back to Chicago this past summer when the Cubs landed him in exchange for infield prospect Kevin Made and lefty relief prospect D.J. Herz. Candelario’s second stint with the Cubs was shortened by a two-week stint on the injured list in September due to a back issue. Though Candelario was a strong fit for the Cubs’ offseason needs as a switch-hitting infielder who can contribute at both infield corners as well as DH, it’s possible the club was turned off from pursuing him by the relatively modest .234/.318/.445 slash line he put up in 157 trips to the plate with Chicago this season. Candelario wound up signing with the Reds on a three-year, $45MM deal earlier this month.
- Looking toward the south side, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the White Sox were interested in right-hander Ryan Pepiot as part of a possible return package while discussing a Dylan Cease trade with the Dodgers earlier this winter. Pepiot ultimately was shipped to the Rays alongside outfielder Jonny DeLuca in exchange for oft-injured ace Tyler Glasnow and outfielder Manuel Margot. It’s unclear if the Dodgers and White Sox are still engaged in discussions regarding Cease following the Glasnow deal, though the Dodgers are certainly in need of multiple starting pitchers this offseason and would surely benefit from the addition of Cease, who sports a 3.54 ERA and 3.40 FIP over the past three seasons, to their rotation mix.
Placing 2nd in free agency and trades will soon be a sabermetrics stat.
Third
2nd +
“If you’re not first, you’re last”- R. Bobbie
Classic
Candelario got $45 million from the Reds, not $75 million!
Posting fee?
Crazy how it was so widely predicted that the White Sox would get Soto, ohtani, and Yamato, yet now it looks like they won’t get any of them.
I think we have two very different definitions of “widely projected”, my friend.
“Widely projected” – “I dreamt last night”
WTF are you talking about ??? Nobody thought the White Sox were getting at of those players. You need to lay off the alcohol.
Rome, Verducci, Rosenthal, etc.
None of them predicted the White Sox were getting all of those guys.
Gammons, Scully.
He forgot to add they were signing Snell as well. LMFAO! This dudes shrooms are very hallucinating.
Blum, Axsia.
I love the Snell of Napalm in the morning. It’s the Snell of Victory!!
Do you Snell what the Rock is Cooking?
None of them predicted the White would do anything but trade off pieces like Cease and others. Keep drinking or smoking dude.
It went over their head.
scottbour; R-E-L-A-X
Exactly. Why are we always criticizing each others drinking habits?
Take it easy now scottbour and show some empathy instead. If you were a White Sox fan and had to deal with what their team and front office gives them, you would be overindulging in alcohol also.
Do you mean years ago when they were stockpiling capspace? The people you project to sign at the start of a rebuild and who actually gets signed to contend are seldom the same.
Upvoted!
Scary thing is, I think this guy is serious ♂️….kinda embarrassing! Not one of those baseball insiders you mentioned thought any of those players were landing on the white sox
Law, Stark, Olney.
How long are you dummies going to be trolled?
Hoyer is too risk-adverse. Cubs better start making moves and not just count on Counsell providing them with that one more win separating Cubs from the playoffs last season.
The term is risk-averse, not risk-adverse. Averse and adverse, words that have somewhat similar meanings but not the same, are often confused. Let’s all make a vow not to be part of the problem, but instead be part of the solution.
Thus far, all talk and no action for the Cubbies. On the other side of town it’s the usual plan of money doesn’t talk and more b.s. walks.
What talk? They haven’t said a word all off season.
There’s been plenty (too much!) talk all offseason on both sides of town, be it through media pressers (GM & Winter Meetings), front office appearances on local sports talk radio shows or just reports via local beat writers like in this article we’re all commenting on.
That’ my point. It’s not the Cubs or Sox talking. It’s guys who know crap trying to sound like they know anything, Which they don’t.
NO ONE should be taking the writers seriously. And maybe taking the GMs only half-seriously.
White Sox rookie GM Ĝetz is learning the hard lesson of overplaying your hand in trade negotiations. Dodgers landing Glasnow means they don’t have a sense of urgency to add another starter. Teams are currently more interested in going after the plethora of free agent starters still out there w/ Burnes/Bieber being cheaper trade options. Hell even the Marlins might swoop in w/ better, more talented, and as controllable young starters available via trade.
Braves would’ve been a perfect fit for Cease, but once AA got the word Getz is wanting an outrageous return for Cease…AA went ahead fixed LF, got some bench depth, and has loaded up the bullpen so much that he can easily plug Reynaldo Lopez in the 5 slot of the rotation until AJSS or Waldrep shows they’re ready.
Expect Cease to be moved at the trade deadline…and expect the return to be quite disappointing compared to the previous reports of what Getz was asking for, not only bc its a season less of control, but bc they know the Sox are going to have to rebuild so they must move Cease.
Why wouldn’t Getz hold out for the moon? Nothing to lose. Giving Cease away would be height of stupidity.
What do you expect the Sox to get from the Dodgers in exchange for Cease?
Hold out how long though, his value will never be higher unless he has a rebound year and they trade him at the deadline.
Big difference between the moon and giving him away. And if his demands are too high, other teams will pivot and he’ll be left holding Cease. Unless Cease rediscovers his 2022 form, his value will probably go down by the trade deadline.
I’m ok with Getz having held him this long, but I don’t think it’s wise to wait until Yamamoto, Snell, Montgomery, Burnes, and Bieber are all off the market. Wait for two or three more, then make a move.
Help me out here. Since you know, what is Getz asking for Cease? I am pretty sure Burnes will be a bit more expensive than Cease, though.
Didn’t they want like lowder and petty plus a couple infield prospects from the reds?
Getz wanted a ready pitcher + 4 of an organization’s top 10 prospects
Yeah well if he were smart he would make this trade with the Cards. Robert and Cease for Gorman, Winn, Bernal, Carlson,and Victor Scott, and couple of Cards pitchers from the minors!
Nice post jag ! Getz has no clue ! He also said he plans on competing next year. So not only is he blowing it on the trade front – he’s also not securing free agents.
The dodgers may have just preferred Glasnow to cease. What else could have offered that dodgers say no to other than Pepiot ?
I think cease has to go into next season and be consistent. If he wasn’t coming off of some what of a down year – a team would have paid the price to acquire him
I don’t think he said competing next year.
Getz is an unqualified loyalist, but he has not overplayed his hand at this stage of offseason. Demand for starters is way higher than supply. The Reds and Orioles have deep farm systems, and are merely 2 clubs that are unlikely to splurge on a massive FA contract to Snell/Montgomery. Plenty of time to make a deal after the dust settles with those clubs or others.
i like Getz strategy.there are worse things than keeping Cease as your Ace !
His value goes up bc the Ohtani deal.
At the price the White Sox are asking for Cease, I am not nearly as certain as you are Nick that the Dodgers see a trade as being beneficial to them. There is a reason why the Dodgers were willing to deal Pepiot as the headliner in the deal with Tampa instead of working out a trade with Chicago. That starts with they value Glasnow more than Cease.
I think there are far better options available to the Dodgers then trading for Cease on the terms the White Sox are proposing.
Cease pitches more innings by May than most Glasnow seasons
It’s about price point more than value. Glasnow had a lower prospect cost and the Dodgers don’t care about money. Sox are asking for a lot, but Cease will make less in the next two seasons than Glasnow will make in one and Cease is practically a lock to pitch a full season, something Glasnow has never done. Cease is clearly more valuable, just too expensive for the Dodgers.
What she said
Seems like the Cubs would benefit from going after Josh Bell or Soler and not giving Belly all that dough.
The Cubs are hibernating. They don’t come out until Springtime.
Cubs: Don’t come out until Springtime and Completely Useless By September. That’s a pretty short season- like summer in the Iron Belt
Dumpster Divin’ Chrissy.
The exact moves the Cubs should not be making.
The fish would kick in some cash if the cubs took Bell off their hands
Bell opted in for 2024 with MIA, so he’s not a free agent.
CUBS SHOULD HAVE KEPT VELASQUEZ. GAVE HIM AWAY.
The Cubs were supposedly big on Hoskins and that’s gone nowhere. Counsell can’t be their biggest off-season addition. It’s like buying a gun but not buying any bullets
Hoskins hasn’t signed anywhere yet. And the ‘sources’ are wrong more times than they’ve right. Still early.
Right the ‘sources’ are wrong- like the Cubs missing out on Shohei or missing out on the playoffs by losing 6× to the Diamondbacks in September. There’s still hope. Who you gonna believe- Jedi Hoyer or your ‘sources’
Soler to the Cubs makes too much sense. Maybe Haskins on a short term, rebound/prove it deal. Chapman is an obvious fit but if they wanted him, he’d already be a Cub
They could go into the season with the current roster and still win the central by 7-10 games.
The only fit is Hoskins. Soler is awful, you’re likely to get the same production out of Wisdom or Morel at a fraction of the cost. Chapman is a solid player but the Cubs need an impact bat. Chapman is just the third base version of Happ with less contact.
They already got Wisdom. Gonna sign faith and hope and charity next
7-10 games w that roster ? Lol. Maybe 7-10 games better than cardinals. Then again maybe not
#bigrednation
How about them Dodgers??
@THEYLIVE!!! Did the Dodgers do so
something? I have not heard. Do tell more on the subject.
The Dodgers are involved in everything.
Dodgers have proven they choke when it comes to the playoffs.
Candelerio hit good for like 2 weeks after joining club and that defense was meh
The fact that the Cubs didn’t pursue Candelario after having him last sesson makes me wonder why. I find that concerning.
How about them dodgers lots of stars but no championship let’s give them a big clap
I hate the Dodgers, but you can never accuse them of not trying. Personally I prefer the way Alex Anthopoulos has built the Braves. But both of those ways show that you’re actually trying.
I’m a Dodger fan but I will accuse them of doing practically nothing in the playoffs with 2020 being the exception.
I don’t think Chapman is getting the offers predicted. Waiting for his price to come down might be a good idea.
I’ll never understand the articles analyzing the moves that weren’t made. Particularly if they don’t contain any new information.
Site is run by Cubs fans. That has always led to more Cubs articles. As Cardinal fans we have to deal with it. I do enjoy the site.
I’m fine with Cubs articles. I’m always interested in what the other side is doing. I’m not that interested in rehashing what they didn’t do. The article just details what might have happened if they had made those moves. But I also very much enjoy the site.
Yeah I don’t enjoy every article but it’s a rumor site and I like as much content as possible. Even Albert didn’t always hit a home run.
Well I thought for sure Yama was going to sign today…I guess I could take a breather on hitting my refresh button every 1.5 seconds.
The Cubs don’t need an outfielder at all. A long term 3b would make sense I think they are the best fit for Chapman. They could use a top of the rotation starter. How is the pen? Perhaps they could use Hader. There are lots of big names left I imagine the Cubs will get a couple of them.
Hader would be great, add him as a closer would help a lot. I’m not thrilled about Chapman, I would prefer Hoskins. Bellinger is going to be pricey so I’m not sure about him. I think the Cubs should be looking to get Cease from the White Sox, they have prospects that would be helpful to them. Cease would probably do better with Cubs defense behind him too.
The white Sox will want more than what they initially got from the cubs to acquire Cease.
Yeah a Cease trade would make a lot of sense. The Cubs have young pitching which the White Sox would want and the 2 teams have a history of trading and both teams getting what they want from the deal. I could see a Cease trade and then perhaps a big signing.
I believe you are a Cubs fan, a cool one at that haha I am a Cardinals fan. Who plays 3b if it isn’t Chapman?
Probably Morel. He did pretty good in the Dominican Winter League.
So as a Cardinals fan how did you about Mike Tauchman having that game ending homerun robbing catch?
Not sure you heard of Obvious Shirts but shortly after that they made a t shirt of that. It’s based out of Chicago and the founder is a Cubs fan but the t shirts he sells are not limited to cubs or Chicago sports. You can customize any shirt you want.
I have no affiliation with the company. Just want to get the word out to help a growing business. Obvioustshirts. Com if you’re interested.
Another example of the obvious shirts is there’s one that’s 6+4+3= 2 because of the double play
Pepiot dodged a bullet with the White Sox’s. Horrible org..
Nice grammar. More like mouthbreathe- amirite?
Jerry is the reason why.
Fans like ‘dumpster’, are too.
The cubs first priority should have always been Cody Bellinger. They were never gonna sign Ohtabi or even pull the trigger on a Juan Soto trade. They clearly didn’t try hard enough for Tyler Glasnow and probably wary about acquiring him with his injury history
But I seriously doubt Hoyer will even contact Bellinger’s agent if he’s looking for $200M+. Let somebody else deal with that buyer’s remorse.
I don’t believe any team should consider Bellinger at that price. This entire free agent class is filled with minefields.
Jed I don’t do anything Hoyer
Whites sox overplaying their hand, the reds didn’t fall for it neither did the Dodgers. Both teams who have a good farm system with more than a favorable return. Cease is a good pitcher but also is coming of a sub par year
Let me tell you, Jed Hoyer is a stooge who likes to talk about everything they’re going to do and they never do anything. Never really in on Ohtani and never in on Soto. Jed’s afraid to trade any of his prized prospects no matter how much the guys he trades for can help the Cubs. He feels if the guys he trades are good for the next several years and helps the other club he’ll be criticized. Instead he’s criticized for doing nothing. What other players from Japan have the Cubs been linked to this winter? The answer is no one. What happened to all that money they allegedly had for Ohtani? They were never signing him. And now team owner Tom Ricketts is involved with a group of sports owners getting involved in the PGA. The NL Central is winnable, but the Cubs are taking a step backwards out of fear and ownership is spending money elsewhere. When Theo Epstein was with the Cubs they used the words “sustained success”. I guess sustained success to ownership means how much money can we make while leading the fan base on
Last I checked the offseason isn’t over yet.
Lets be brutally honest, Ohtani used any team not on the West coast as a bargaining chip and nothing more. Maybe they had a chance at Soto, but Ohtani was a no shot from the get go.
The Sox are going to suck offensively, but defensively, they will be the most improved team in baseball. If they wait until the deadline, Cease should have numbers that will return even more prospects, than he would get today.
Agree but I still project them as 66-96. Yes the offense is still bottom but the improved defense should give them so wins comparing to last year. They won’t be competing in 2024 but 2025 they could compete for a weak AL Central considering Bryan Ramos, Colson Montgomery, Edgar Quero, possible Dylan Cease trade. They won’t trade LRJ.
How long before the lovers’ spat between TA and the Sox ends with a big I-forgive-you kiss followed by wild and passionate make-up sex? DeJong, who was run out of three cities last season, isn’t even a stopgap at SS. Monty isn’t ready for the show and shouldn’t be rushed there because of a failed succession plan. Best opportunity for TA to prime himself for a 10 year and $300M contract is to have a bounce-back year with the Sox. They need a SS and he needs a team. TA and the Sox split the difference and he is signed for a year at $7M. He as the show-me contract he needs to land some real dough and the Sox have a SS who actually belongs in the majors. Cue the romantic violin music and candlelight.
Well the cubs can get Montgomery and Snell and maybe bellinger for what otani sign for for sure Snell for sure either two of those
Cubs pulling a fast one on the fanbase again. They always talking like they’re finally going to do something significant in free agency, only to come out empty handed. Oh, and all that “Marquee” money. lmao
Just heard rumor cubs getting close to signing hodkins.well see would like Montgomery Snell
I love the White Sox superfans excuse of ‘wait until 2025’.. I guess these diehard fans also forgot that the minor league system was the worst minor league org in the league last season. I guess we better REALLY hope that these prospects they got can instruct themselves. As for waiting to move Cease during the season, you risk either him not improving, OR he gets hurt and is worth nothing for this season.