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MLB: 2014 Chicago Cubs

CycloneErik said:
I hope we keep Castro.

I wish we were keeping the pitchers, but I'm confident that we'll get some good ones in return. It's starting to look better.
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Unless they get a Godfather offer for him, I agree. The thing is that with so many teams in contention right now it looks like it's going to be a buyer heavy market. If they can leverage that into a bidding war for him and get a couple more top prospects, it might make sense.
 
jbindm said:
Unless they get a Godfather offer for him, I agree. The thing is that with so many teams in contention right now it looks like it's going to be a buyer heavy market. If they can leverage that into a bidding war for him and get a couple more top prospects, it might make sense.
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At some point, though, the process of trading your top players at the ML level for prospects has to stop (or at least slow down) eventually. Otherwise you're just spinning your wheels by telling everyone to wait a couple more years. I think you keep Castro unless you get an offer for an above average/good prospect AND a solid ML-level replacement.
 
I hope we keep Starlin, but it's definitely a delicate balance. The way I see it in a few years is Bryant at 3rd, Baez at SS, Castro moving to 2B, Rizzo at first and Alcantra as a utility guy. It sounds like they are wanting to develop Schwarber as an outfielder rather than a catcher, and the verdict is still largely out on Soler and Almora. Perhaps they move Bryant to outfield and keep a veteran presence like Valbuena to play 3rd, or perhaps keep Barney at 2nd for his defense and move Castro to third (scary) with Baez at SS. All said, I don't see any pressing reason to move Castro.
 
tm3308 said:
At some point, though, the process of trading your top players at the ML level for prospects has to stop (or at least slow down) eventually. Otherwise you're just spinning your wheels by telling everyone to wait a couple more years. I think you keep Castro unless you get an offer for an above average/good prospect AND a solid ML-level replacement.
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I think at one point the thought process was to stockpile prospects for purposes of later trading some of them away for starting pitching one the team looked to become a contender. I'm not sure this is quite necessary anymore as we have a somewhat competent pitching staff, with the exception of E-Jax, and of course Shark is probably on the move.
 
Clonefan32 said:
I hope we keep Starlin, but it's definitely a delicate balance. The way I see it in a few years is Bryant at 3rd, Baez at SS, Castro moving to 2B, Rizzo at first and Alcantra as a utility guy. It sounds like they are wanting to develop Schwarber as an outfielder rather than a catcher, and the verdict is still largely out on Soler and Almora. Perhaps they move Bryant to outfield and keep a veteran presence like Valbuena to play 3rd, or perhaps keep Barney at 2nd for his defense and move Castro to third (scary) with Baez at SS. All said, I don't see any pressing reason to move Castro.
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Baez will not beat out Castro at shortstop. The only way Baez plays short is if Castro gets shipped out.
 
Clonefan32 said:
I know Castro's defense has been better this year, but he's not exactly Ozzie Smith out there...
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I didn't say Castro was great, but Baez has a lot of work to do at SS. Plus, even if they are equal why would you move the guy with major league experience at the position to bring in someone without major league experience at the position?
 
Castro 11 errors and 16th in fielding percentage among ML shortstops. For the offense he brings I'd say that is pretty good.
 
BTW Hammel has said he would be open to returning to Chicago in free agency even if he's traded. And I don't think there's a chance they trade Castro unless they get an absolutely ridiculous offer
 
Clonefan32 said:
I know Castro's defense has been better this year, but he's not exactly Ozzie Smith out there...
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He's not, but Baez is even worse. That's why I've always thought one of the Bryant/Baez/Castro trio would eventually move to the outfield. Because no way in hell do I want Castro moving to second in order to make room for Baez at short. I would wager part of the reason Barney is still around is because he's a Gold Glove-caliber second baseman, and we need that to help cover for Castro at times. You need to be strong up the middle in baseball (2-4-6-8), and a Baez/Castro tandem on the middle infield would be brutal defensively.

And that's all assuming Baez becomes the kind of player everybody's hoping he will, which I'm not convinced he'll do.
 
ISUCubswin said:
A few important tidbits as we enter July

- Last year, July 2nd was a big trade day for the Cubs because of some financial reason - trading players/signing players/calling players up becomes cheaper (I think for extension or something like that) so I wouldn't be shocked to see the majority of Cubs trades happening the next week or so.

- Smardzija and Hammel are our two hottest trade commodities. Rumors popped up yesterday that Hammel was about to be traded so I'd expect him to be gone soon.

- Castro was rumored to be on the trading block at the beginning of the year, but with how hot of a year he's having, will he be traded? Here's what the Cubs need to consider: Bryant and Baez make up your third base and shortstop starting next year. Can Castro take over at second and Alcantara take on the outfield, or will the Cubs try and get some high end prospects for one of the top shortstops in the league? Alcantara's only weakness right now is he strikes out like a blind man, but when he does hit the ball, often times he reaches base, and is a threat on the base paths.

- Looks like this is the last time for awhile us Cubs fans will be in "sell" mode. Sounds like they are planning on spending a lot this offseason. They only need 2 pitchers and a corner outfielder to be a playoff contender next year.

- Could the front office look at Schwarber and see Kris Bryant? He's putting up better numbers than Bryant did his first year of pro ball (.481 BA, 19 RBI, 8 HR in 15 games) While it's unlikely the Cubs would call a guy up after just .5 years in the minors, he can already play a corner outfield spot (unlike Bryant) Also, Bryant could have played for the Chi-Cubs this year and been just fine. It would definitely be interesting to see if the front office felt he was ready to go and just brought him up.

Right now, we have a potential 2015 infield of Rizzo, Castro, Baez, and Bryant (average age: 24) and a 2016 outfield of Soler, Alcantara, and Schwarber (average age: 22) I'm sure we get some free agent vets to add to the talent and bring knowledge to the game, but damn, that is some seriously young talent.
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I'm with you on almost everything except the bolded. Young talent is great to have but no one knows how that will translate at the major league level.

The Cubs rotation right now is pretty darn strong, but they need hitting. Badly. And relying on young guys to come in and light the world on fire is unrealistic IMO. There are only a couple of guys that have done that, the rest need a year or two to get accustomed to the major leagues.
 
I realize that there's a difference between Iowa and Chicago, but Baez's fielding percentage is .006 lower than Castro's.

I would take a middle infield with a fielding % of .965 and can hit over .320 with 40+ HR, 100+ RBI's, which is what we would get combining Castro and Baez, over a middle infield that has a fielding % of .980, hitting .220 with ~20 HR and 50 RBI.

What I'm trying to say is I'm willing to risk 10-15 errors a season for .100 points more in a batting average and more power at the plate.
 
cycloneworld said:
I'm with you on almost everything except the bolded. Young talent is great to have but no one knows how that will translate at the major league level.

The Cubs rotation right now is pretty darn strong, but they need hitting. Badly. And relying on young guys to come in and light the world on fire is unrealistic IMO. There are only a couple of guys that have done that, the rest need a year or two to get accustomed to the major leagues.
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I feel like the majority of young prospects with high expectations typically meet those expectations. Look at what Castro did his first year. It's all a matter of not letting the big leagues get in your head, and I don't think that'll be an issue for guys like Soler, Schwarber or Bryant, who don't care where they are, they just want to hit the damn ball. Baez may take a little adjusting, but that's fine.
 
ISUCubswin said:
I feel like the majority of young prospects with high expectations typically meet those expectations. Look at what Castro did his first year. It's all a matter of not letting the big leagues get in your head, and I don't think that'll be an issue for guys like Soler, Schwarber or Bryant, who don't care where they are, they just want to hit the damn ball. Baez may take a little adjusting, but that's fine.
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If one guy takes a little adjusting while Bryant, Castro, Rizzo, and at least one of those other 2 are hitting, we'd probably be just fine.
I like the way it's all coming together.
 
The cubs need to flip the switch now. They have some guys like Rizzo craving for the oppertunity to go hunt for the wild card. Those vets Rizzo, Castro, etc. need to know what it is like to go out there every night hunting for wins in a meaningful enviornment. People are assuming that once guys get brought up they are automatically ready. False winning is a much attidude as it is tallent. Need to start changing mindset.

Ricketts - sorry you are in a ton of debt and making everyone in Chicago upset. Stop holding the Cubs (the ball club) hostage for your hopes for real estate venures and media deals. Let's play some ball in Chicago....... ight...
 
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BringBackJohnny said:
The cubs need to flip the switch now. They have some guys like Rizza craving for the oppertunity to go hunt for the wild card. Those vets Rizzo, Castro, etc. need to know what it is like to go out there every night hunting for wins in a meaningful enviornment. People are assuming that once guys get brought up they are automatically ready. False win is a much attidude as it is tallent. Need to start changing mindset.

Ricketts - sorry you are in a ton of debt and making everyone in Chicago upset. Spot holding the Cubs the ball club hostage for your hopes for real estate venures and media deals. Let's play some ball in Chicago....... ight...
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Interesting..............
 
ISUCubswin said:
I feel like the majority of young prospects with high expectations typically meet those expectations. Look at what Castro did his first year. It's all a matter of not letting the big leagues get in your head, and I don't think that'll be an issue for guys like Soler, Schwarber or Bryant, who don't care where they are, they just want to hit the damn ball. Baez may take a little adjusting, but that's fine.
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Baez is still "adjusting" to AAA. He's got the raw talent, but he's still got quite a ways to go before he's in position to be called up full-time, much less become a good/great Major League hitter.
 
ISUCubswin said:
I feel like the majority of young prospects with high expectations typically meet those expectations. Look at what Castro did his first year. It's all a matter of not letting the big leagues get in your head, and I don't think that'll be an issue for guys like Soler, Schwarber or Bryant, who don't care where they are, they just want to hit the damn ball. Baez may take a little adjusting, but that's fine.
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"No doubt! High expectations mean a guy is a lock to be a star!"

Sincerely,
Kevin Orie and Gary Scott
 
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