***Official 2024 Chicago Cubs Thread***

Rays will likely turn Morel into a star.

Oh there’s no doubt. I can understand moving on from Morel and not waiting for him to figure it out, both defensively and at the plate. But I can totally see him developing into a star
 
Hate to see Morel go. Feel he will be a consistent 25-30HR guy and his D will improve.

But Cubs offense needs an overhaul(4-5 hitters) before 2025. So guys with team control like Morel are easier to move during season.
 
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This will be a very interesting test of analytics.

Baseball Savant says Morel is an elite hitter but extremely unlucky.

Baseball Savant says Paredes is a poor hitter but extremely lucky.

Fun fact - he was the "throw in" with Jeimer Candelario for Justin Wilson and backup Alex Avila in 2017.

On the surface, I don't love it. Feels like a Jed trying to save his job move more than a make the team better in 2025 move. But I hope I'm wrong.

That being said, he's a .283 hitter this year with RISP. Morel is .200. And Paredes is a league average defender.
 
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This will be a very interesting test of analytics.

Baseball Savant says Morel is an elite hitter but extremely unlucky.

Baseball Savant says Paredes is a poor hitter but extremely lucky.

Fun fact - he was the "throw in" with Jeimer Candelario for Justin Wilson and backup Alex Avila in 2017.

On the surface, I don't love it. Feels like a Jed trying to save his job move more than a make the team better in 2025 move. But I hope I'm wrong.
I wonder if this leads to Hoerner getting dealt. Prospects can focus on 2nd now.
 
Honestly is a deal that makes sense. Morel is potentially plus bat with no clear defensive home. Rays seem to historically do well with those super utility types and get the most out of them. Paredes you can clearly pencil in as your 3B and he’s a good bat. Both have several years of team control left.

Unless they are really wanting to move Horner, you can roll into an offseason with your starting infield basically 100% set.
 
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Heyman reporting Cubs are in on Snell.

This deadline reaks of Jed being told we have to be in the playoffs or he is done. I would HATE Snell.
 
Heyman reporting Cubs are in on Snell.

This deadline reaks of Jed being told we have to be in the playoffs or he is done. I would HATE Snell.
This was always the concern. Jed does desperate dumb **** to try and save his job.
 
Caissie has to be added to the 40 anyway so maybe he gets a couple months run here.
If he batted righty they could more or less platoon him with PCA. Bellinger moving between center and right when the finger is healthy. My guess is they'll do it with Suzuki though.
 
Caissie has to be added to the 40 anyway so maybe he gets a couple months run here.
If he batted righty they could more or less platoon him with PCA. Bellinger moving between center and right when the finger is healthy. My guess is they'll do it with Suzuki though.
 
I'm ok with the Morel trade. I think they got more back than I thought they cold for him and didn't have to add any significant prospects to get the deal done either. Got an upgrade at 3B with some years of control and like mentioned above now gives us some flexibility at DH too. This is a move the Cubs usually don't make in the past, if Morel kept trending down they wouldn't have been able to get this kind of return.

I do hope this is not a signal Jed is trying to make the playoffs at all cost as we are too far out and have too many holes to do that without dealing some of the top end prospects in the system. I view this as more of a 2025 move which I've said I hope they can do some of their 2025 shopping now if there are deals that make sense. This may signal that the Cubs are going to be more active than we thought as I think most thought Morel would likely not be traded.