*** Official 2025 Chicago Cubs Thread***
- Thread starter Cyforce
- Start date
Good series win. Now lets finish this last week before the All-Star break off strong.
Boyd was dealing tonight and given his injury history plus the state of the Cubs rotation right now it probably was the right call to pull in in a blowout game. We are going to need him fresh and healthy for the stretch run. Beside he and Shota the 3-5 spots in the rotation are really unpredictable right right. Rea has been roughed up some, Horton is just a rookie and either looks good or overmatched on a given night right now, and Wicks is the likely fill in for Taillon right now until they make a trade or some other move to bolster the rotation and I have very little trust in Wicks given what we have seen of him thus far in the big leagues. If the offense hits like they are capable of then it helps hide the rotation issues but against good teams with a solid rotation we'll get exposed at times until we add another proven arm or 2 to the rotation for the stretch run.
When Amaya is back I'd rather DFA Brujan than McGuire. Brujan barely plays anyways and McGuire or Kelly could probably cover 1B in a pinch and are better PH options than anyone on the bench right now too.
It will not take Caissie or Alcantara to get Suarez.
Michael Busch trying to convince Counsell to start him against lefties.
I didn't realize this but Busch now leads the team in OPS.
I didn't realize this but Busch now leads the team in OPS.
Fake news not even an all star. Obviously he’d need more rbi to even be considered.
Saw Amaya is targeting the all star break as his return. Honestly I’d rather have McGuire as the backup. Don’t know if the offense is sustainable but he shuts down the running game. Hopefully we carry all three. Maybe Amaya or Kelly could turn into a righty option at first.
Even if they can’t, carrying three allows you to PH one of them every day. All three are better options than anyone we currently have on the bench
Even if they can’t, carrying three allows you to PH one of them every day. All three are better options than anyone we currently have on the bench
I would rather roll with what they have and not trade away pieces. Address it in free agency. Overpaying for a 4th or 5th starter in the rotation, who may not even be on the 25 man roster in the playoffs seems silly. A bullpen arm would be great but will also be terribly expensive.
Also, all the stats and metrics say their pitching has actually been really good all season.
This is all dependent on whether or not we think Imanaga and Boyd are good enough to win a playoff series. I think with Steele they are, without him it gets a little dicey imo.
Hopefully Assad comes back at some point also, that will relieve some of the tension on the entire staff.
It's really an interesting conundrum. I totally get what you are saying, and I always struggle to trade for pitching that can only play every 5th game. If you get into a playoff series you can get to a 3-4 man rotation. Boyd, Shota, Horton and if you have to start Rea you just call it a bullpen day is probably serviceable.
On the other hand, you have the best offense in baseball. You may just have one year of Tucker so you have to push the envelope. You have some quality prospects that are boxed out positionally over the next 2-3 years at least. So what exactly are you holding on to them for?
You HAVE to trade for a starting pitcher. Even if you think what the Cubs have is enough (I don't), you have to account for the chance of losing another guy.
The stats and metrics say the bullpen has been really good, but not the starting rotation. Need an upgrade.
But part of the question comes as you look to allocate your resources, do you go get a guy that starts every 5th day, or do you go after an upgrade at 3rd base that will play every day?
Who do you think they should target? I'm not thrilled with most of the names I've heard and they even sound expensive.
With the unknown about Tucker, you have to push all in. Trade whatever you have to trade to make a run because, even without Tucker, you've got a ton coming back next year and then we go into a lockout and who knows what happens from there.
Wiggins would really, really hurt but other than that I don't really see a piece that you can't eventually replace.
Wiggins would really, really hurt but other than that I don't really see a piece that you can't eventually replace.
I absolutely go for a starter first.
3rd base is obviously a problem, but the Cubs have a consensus top 5 offense even with the black hole at 3rd.
The Cubs have more than enough resources to get a starter (or 2), a reliever (or 2), and a rental 3rd baseman. None of these guys will be too expensive outside of a couple of starters. Send Caissie+ or Alcantara+ and call it a day.
