***Official 2024 Chicago Cubs Thread***

I mean amaya can't hit or play defense either so of Moises can do one it's an upgrade
 
Generally agree but Amaya has given up less stolen bases while catching 25 more games than MoBaller
I would guesstimate that minor league stolen bases are up across the board compared to the majors. Younger legs on the bases. Plus pitchers have honed their craft by the time they're in the bigs.
 
Not saying I necessarily want it but Hendricks hasn’t given up more than 2 ER in a start other than when he had back spasms and we opted to say **** it anyway.

But he wouldn’t be a bad option for a team needing a veteran SP to help with a playoff push
 
I really loathe this team. They have no fire or fight. The 2024 Cubs were perfectly summed up in game one of that doubleheader last week. An actual, real chance to get back into it despite dicking around all season. Our former can't miss prospect who is at this point a bust comes out and immediately mentally collapses, commits multiple errors of his own, lets the Cardinals put up 9 in the first inning, and the game is immediately over. That's who they are. Mentally weak busts who collapse at the first sign of pressure.
 
His teammates and the coaching staff in Des Moines seem to think he has a future behind the plate.

That being said, he’s allowed 48 stolen bases in 41 games behind the plate. You can’t let singles and walks turn into doubles because you can’t throw a guy out.

My hope is he continues to develop this year. Word is it’s believed the bat in MLB ready but there’s zero reason to have him up playing with this steaming pile of **** right now
The pitching staff throughout the organization can't hold a runner on base. The catchers are blamed but it obviously isn't a priority from the organization.
 
The pitching staff throughout the organization can't hold a runner on base. The catchers are blamed but it obviously isn't a priority from the organization.
Joc Pederson just got a jump on Smyly that Johnny Bench nor Pudge Rodriguez could overcome. It's absurd.
 
Runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs and we get back to back strikeouts from our 3-4 hitters. Absolutely ******* pathetic
not really disagreeing with you but the called 3rd strike on Suzuki was a bad call, but somebody has to hit the ball
 
Here’s the issue with the makeup of this offense - Busch, Belli, and Hoerner are the only three guys who you can trust with a bat in their hands and a runner on third and less than 2 outs, they’re going to get the job done.

Everyone else just kind of says **** it.

You need to make sure Suzuki, Happ, and Morel are never together, because you can’t trust any of them to score a runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs.
 
Jesse Rogers: Thinking of the 7th inning when Morel has a tying run at second and it looked like he was swinging for the lake, what do you think about some of those at bats?

Counsell: C'mon Jesse. C'mon. That's your comment?

Jesse Rogers: Well, yeah, I'm wondering about the-

Counsell: That's a bad take. That's a bad take. He's swinging for the lake? That's a bad take.

Jesse Rogers: Why is that a bad take?

Counsell: He's having a good at bat trying to hit the ball hard. The pitcher made a good pitch. He made an out.

If this were a one time thing I'd agree with Craig but it's been all season long for multiple players. I think the question is incredibly warranted - why do these guys have their worst at-bats in Baseball 101 just put the ******* ball in play situations?
 

I'm not against it but they would need to get at least 1 near MLB ready prospect back in return if the do. For as much as we Cubs fans were hating the deal we gave him after the terrible 1st half of 2023 he had, since then he has been the guy we thought we signed to be an innings eater in the middle of the rotation. 3.10 ERA this year with 1.8 WAR which is 3rd on the pitching staff behind Shota at 2.0 and Assad at 1.9. Steele is right behind him at 1.7 and if it were not for his injury in the 1st game of the season then Taillon is easily the #3 guy in the rotation behind Steele and Shota. It also has him ranked near the top 50 in WAR for all pitchers in the MLB this season as well.

On a playoff team I want Taillon on the roster but the Cubs would be foolish not to consider trading him this year if the return is worth it. Good starting pitching is always a premium and he would probably be one of the better available arms out there with 2 more years of control at a reasonable price too so if you can shed salary while bringing in at least 1 or 2 quality prospects then its worth it to make a trade this year. If you can't get at least 1 solid prospect in a trade then you stay the course and he's still a useful starting pitcher next season that probably will cost less than a comparable free agent replacement would.

The Cubs as currently constructed need to lay out a roadmap to what they think this roster will look like in 1 to 2 years if they plan to compete in the playoffs. What guys on the current roster are expendable at the deadline that could bring back a good return of talent while not sacrificing the short term window to compete and what guys have no future with this team that they either need to move on from to give other guys opportunities that may be a part of the longer term future. I think this current front office may over value the guys they have and as a result didn't move on from guys that are blocking prospects or not trading prospects that won't be given an opportunity while they still have a lot of trade value. If this farm system is really as talented as the rankings have them we should be seeing more of an influx of talent making an impact at the MLB level like we did right before the 2015 and 2016 seasons.