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*** Official 2025 Chicago Cubs Thread***

1UNI2ISU said:
He'd be insane not to. Nobody is giving him $23ishM next year.

Also why I believe he instantly takes the player option.
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I think the exact opposite on his player option. Why would he pick up a $15mil player option? He can decline it and make the cubs give him a QO worth $7mil more for the same one year. If they don’t, he hits FA with no strings attached and get more than his player option is worth.

Technically his picking up his player option locks him into 2 years $30mil minimum if he wants it because he’ll have another player option the next year if the cubs decline their options again. He’d easily beat that in FA though.
 
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RoseClone said:


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Kind of a reminder Jonathon Long is a prospect that gets lost in the Ballesterros, Caissie and Alcantara talk because he hasn't spent time in Chicago.

2025 was only his 2nd full year in minor league ball and last season with the I-Cubs he hit .305 with a .404 OBP, his slug & OPS were higher than Ballesteros.

If the Cubs go cheap in the off-season, he might be a good right-handed bat to platoon with Busch at 1B or Ballesteros at DH. When Long first came up he played some 3B as well, but very little with the I-Cubs.
 
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cycloneman003 said:
I think the exact opposite on his player option. Why would he pick up a $15mil player option? He can decline it and make the cubs give him a QO worth $7mil more for the same one year. If they don’t, he hits FA with no strings attached and get more than his player option is worth.

Technically his picking up his player option locks him into 2 years $30mil minimum if he wants it because he’ll have another player option the next year if the cubs decline their options again. He’d easily beat that in FA though.
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He takes it because if he has a bounce back year, the Cubs hold a 2/$42M club option for '27 and '28. I don't think he'll beat 3/$57M in FA.

And like you said, worst case is 2/$30M.
 
I think most likely scenarios in order for Shota

1 - Cubs decline, Shota declines, Cubs offer QO, Shota accepts. $22/1 year
2 - Cubs decline, Shota declines, Cubs offer QO, Shota declines for more guaranteed money.
3 - Cubs decline, Shota declines, Cubs don't offer QO, Shota becomes FA.
4 - Cubs decline, Shota accepts
 
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Best part about tonight is we now know free agency will begin at 4:00 PM on Friday, November 6.

Should know the fate of Shota throughout the week - confident they will not take his option, less sure on the QO, which I believe would also be known by Friday.
 
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BigJCy said:
9 years ago today. Is it going to be another 100+ years before the Cubs win another one?

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He didn't end up doing anything with the Cardinals so you can't say the Cubs made a mistake but I really would have liked to see Fowler return. The Cubs just never could get the leadoff situation figured out then the players stagnated or regressed.
 
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While I expect we'll know the fate of any players we have option decisions with soon I don't expect to see the Cubs have much else for free agency news for awhile. Probably going to play out a lot like it has the past few offseasons, they will say they are in "talks" with some of the bigger free agents for the sake of looking like they are interested then once the cream of the crop signs elsewhere Jed will do his usual bargain bin shopping. I doubt they bring back Tucker unless there is just not a big market for him and he wants to do a short deal with options. I don't see them spending the kind of money it would take to sign Schwarber because that's a lot to spend for a guy that is a DH when you have cheaper options in house already. I honestly don't want them to sign Schwarbs because that kind of money would be better off spent on a top tier starting pitcher and the bullpen. If you are going to upgrade the offense anywhere it is going to need to be a corner OF or at 3B. I'm not giving up on Shaw but if the goal is to improve this team to be able to compete in 2026 3B as of right now is an area that you can improve whereas most of the other positions other than an OF spot are pretty locked in right now.

Also I will say it again: EXTEND NICO! I don't know if they are even talking about it but get him locked up with a long term deal as he's the 1 guy on this team that is consistent at the plate and being a gold glover is an added bonus as well.
 
Clark said:
He didn't end up doing anything with the Cardinals so you can't say the Cubs made a mistake but I really would have liked to see Fowler return. The Cubs just never could get the leadoff situation figured out then the players stagnated or regressed.
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Agreed. I similarly thought the Cubs made an enormous mistake not keeping Kenny Lofton around after ‘03.
 
CYdTracked said:
While I expect we'll know the fate of any players we have option decisions with soon I don't expect to see the Cubs have much else for free agency news for awhile. Probably going to play out a lot like it has the past few offseasons, they will say they are in "talks" with some of the bigger free agents for the sake of looking like they are interested then once the cream of the crop signs elsewhere Jed will do his usual bargain bin shopping. I doubt they bring back Tucker unless there is just not a big market for him and he wants to do a short deal with options. I don't see them spending the kind of money it would take to sign Schwarber because that's a lot to spend for a guy that is a DH when you have cheaper options in house already. I honestly don't want them to sign Schwarbs because that kind of money would be better off spent on a top tier starting pitcher and the bullpen. If you are going to upgrade the offense anywhere it is going to need to be a corner OF or at 3B. I'm not giving up on Shaw but if the goal is to improve this team to be able to compete in 2026 3B as of right now is an area that you can improve whereas most of the other positions other than an OF spot are pretty locked in right now.

Also I will say it again: EXTEND NICO! I don't know if they are even talking about it but get him locked up with a long term deal as he's the 1 guy on this team that is consistent at the plate and being a gold glover is an added bonus as well.
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Generally agree that it'll be awhile before any FA moves happen. I do think there's a world we see a somewhat impactful trade happen before Thanksgiving - For example, Triantos being shipped for either a minor prospect or a RP.
 
ISUCubswin said:
Shota officially a FA. Cubs and Shota both declined options.

I do not believe they will offer him a QO.
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OK, so they better go out and use that savings on a front end starter now! The QO is $22 mil I believe so not having Shota on the books anymore along with the other money freed up on the payroll that better signal they are willing to be in the mix for some of the top starting pitchers.

I would not be comfortable going into 2026 not knowing when Steele will be ready to return then having a rotation of Horton, Taillon, Boyd, and whatever they decide to with the last spot between Rea, Assad, and the hodge podge of guys we have that haven't show consistency. Plus I'm sure Jed is going to pluck some reclamation project or someone from the bargain bin too to be a end of the rotation or swing guy. Let's say Steele is healthy sooner than later, I still would like to put a top end guy in the rotation with he and Horton as Taillon and Boyd are solid starters but not top 3 caliber guys in a good rotation. We've seen it play out many times, you can never have enough good starting pitching as injuries and fatigue are going to happen that can change the direction of your season in a given moment. Imagine the ceiling this team might of had with a healthy Steele in 2025.
 
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I'd assume it's likely they extend the QO. 1yr/$22mil is much more palatable than the 3yr/$57mil option they turned down. I don't think he'd accept it. He could probably get more guaranteed money in FA even with the draft compensation attached.
 
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iowastatechris said:
Picking up the option seemed like a no brainer. 19M per year for a 2/3 starter who is a fan favorite seems like an easy call.
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With the way he was getting hit around? Not even close to a no brainer. There are real reasons to think he's going to age horribly given the home run issues, low velocity, etc.

Also, he's not a 2/3 starter if you're unable to trust him to pitch in the playoffs.
 
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I mean yes he got hit in September and the playoffs, but he had a 2.9 era last year and his era was essentially 3 going into September. Heck even in his rough September (5 Starts) he gave up more than 3 runs one time. I think I would trust him to figure it out and get back to be able to locating the baseball better like he was in the larger sample size.

Kikuchi is a similar age with a carrer ERA close to 4.5 and got 3/63 last year on the open market.

Look if the Cubs actually open up their checkbook and get an elite starter, I can understand the move. I guess I just dont trust this ownership group to actually get a big name and instead just pick someone off the trash heap to save Tom a few bucks.
 
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