Corey and Brendan discuss how Shota Imanaga, Michael Busch, and Yency Almonte change the 2024 projection and roster beyond 2025. What exactly makes Imanaga good? What are the pros and cons of Busch? Will the Cubs pitch lab tweak Almonte? Is he a reliable reliever? And now do the Cubs now prioritize certain free agents? All that and more on the CHGO Cubs Podcast!
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#Cubs #ChicagoCubs #FlyTheW
This is the chgo Cubs podcast my name is Corey I am joined as always by Brendan and we are coming to you on Friday January 12th Cubs con slated to get underway this evening we’ll see you know there’s a lot of snow and stuff so hopefully everybody’s travel is not
Affected they can get in and enjoy the festivities responsibly we’ll have our crew our guys CHL Cubs guys at Cubs con this weekend and Brendan last week you and I uh not physically or in any serious way I want to make that clear for you know any of the um sort of AI
Technology on YouTube scanning this video we did Loosely threaten the Cubs President Jed Hoyer uh with content we said if he did not make actual real transactions not just Minor League catchers for depth we were going to spend the hour no longer talking about the offseason plan or free agents or
Cody Bellinger we were going to talk about the likes of our childhood growing up just reminiscing guys being dudes naming names paulio Mike font you like to a Augie OA Todd Jones Jeremy bernitz Todd Walker I can keep going Jo Jones is great in MLB the show
I so I I didn’t never told you the story real quick I convinced my third grade class Damien Miller was my father I swear to God I didn’t know where you were going with that I swear to God that’s pretty good because you know he was with the
Diamondbacks you know so everyone knew who Damen Miller was and you were such a talented baseball player as a young man that it was very believable yeah of course so the entire year Damian Miller uh was my father amazing yeah anyway I did not know that and I love that anyway
Um but Jed heard our plan and he said I don’t want to hear an episode about PA Bako you guys I don’t want to hear any talk of Jose msas and napy Perez and whoa David name is on the band list you know better than that should be R had a
34 on base average Jed heard that and said I’m not interested I’m gonna make real moves and we have real moves so the Cubs as you and I talked about he was part of our discussion on some of the remaining starting pitching options last week the Cubs do indeed
Sign shoda imanaga out of Japan he is a Chicago Cub it is official was announced as official on Thursday we have a jersey number etc etc he’s here apparently he’s been living here for a few months I apologize I should have been scouring the Chicago to get the scoop I I I
Dropped the ball I don’t know I’ll talk to Cody about how we didn’t figure that one out all of you guys did I don’t know yeah but the Cubs also complete a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers sending one of their top pitching prospects Jackson Ferris to the
Dodgers in exchange for Michael Bush one of the Dodgers top hitting prospects and a top 50 overall Prospect in the MLB according to MLB pipeline more to the deal than just that but those are the particular Headliners and the names you may recognize right off of the bat we
Will talk about that uh in more detail as well we will also talk uh maybe a little bit probably not too much much but uh on Thursday night we do get the news that uh now former Cub Marcus strowman inking a deal for two years with the New York Yankees uh for
Slightly less money than he would have gotten uh if he had picked up that option for the one year with the Chicago Cubs so it will be up to the beholder to decide if he made the right decision but he is a reportedly off the market as uh
Brendan and I sit down to record this episode so we will talk about all of that more I would also direct you uh the crew Luke Cody and Ryan did have Greg hus friend of the podcast uh from uh Norths sidebound on their show this afternoon and he went into a lot of
Detail on the uh the trade what to think about Michael Bush what to think about Jackson Ferris etc etc so if you are interested in that that is definitely uh a conversation worth listening to but Brendan before we go any further I will take this opportunity uh to hand the
Microphone over to you I’m assuming you were waiting for me to prompt you uh I will take your congratulations as the Michigan Wolverines are the national champions so I seed the floor to you listen congratulations you deserve happiness I want my friends to be happy this is a terrific week we have Chicago
Cubs Major League moves we of you celebrating national championships congratulations I have nothing but good to say to you Corey so congrats thank you no hates no hates I will I will leave it at that I’m sure uh a large portion of our listeners uh do not like
The University of Michigan and they hate you for bringing it up despite promising to be obnoxious to Cody many times uh I will not we have Chicago Cubs baseball to talk about and I will leave it at that uh but I will say uh go blue and to
The wrap it up here wrap it up there we go nobody’s got it better than us oh boy here we go here we go thank you for the the brief moment to discuss that can we get back into Cubs talk thank you okay so I’ve kind of laid out obviously our
Big topics here and we will also talk about kind of putting these moves into perspective because this is an interesting time I think for the Cubs in this off season because it you look at these moves and you can kind of read them different ways which what does it
Mean for the rest of this off season what does it mean for how the Cubs are going to fill out their roster who’s playing what positions what positions might they still be targeting after some of these moves there’s a lot of questions that we don’t have the answer
To and of course this episode is not live so if something has happened in between us recording and uh this episode going Live on YouTube which is possible please Jed is Wheeling and dealing the stove is up high for J who knows yeah so we’ll see hopefully as our wonderful
Producer Lawrence suggested the next move that is made is keeping Cody Bellinger Under Wraps until he like jumps out of the stage at CS like that okay I can get behind that listen I would admire the pageantry I’ll tell you that like so how do you how do you feel
There’s a lot of moves going on we talked about it before we got into the show a lot of different directions as you hinted at generally you feel optimistic do you feel neutral do you feel pessimistic I think I think I feel like this is a good start I I you know I
I do feel what I anticipated I would feel which was I really need them to just do something like as odd as it is knowing that eventually they were going to spend money and make moves and try to at least improve the team to what degree
We didn’t know and we still don’t know but you knew it was going to happen but even still like we needed it to happen please just do something something so that we can like have a transaction on The Ledger in the last like 300 something Days please so I’m glad I I’m
Glad to see it I’m very happy that you know we finally have made those moves I like the imanaga signing a lot as we talked about last I love that signing yeah and I and I know you hopped on the emergency show with Cody Luke and Ryan
Uh but I I anticipate you’ll have a a more in-depth breakdown here I have six graphs for show yeah six six I know you count on your fingers I should have had some alcohol for this episode I only have water but um yes so Brendan will have a more detailed
Breakdown there um I and you know the the trade I don’t really have a strong reaction to I think I’m intrigued I feel like it prompted a lot of strong reactions including from myself I I will say it was a strong initial reaction yeah it it’s one of those things where
And it it’s it’s going to sound like a copout but I got to see what the rest of the plan is I think that’s the pretty simple read I have on it like I I liked Jackson Ferris a lot as a prospect I you know was intrigued when they drafted him
And and reading about the work that they’ve done with him throughout his time in the Cub system but I I just don’t have it in me to get worked up about a 19-year-old pitcher and that’s not to say that he’s not going to be
Good or he can’t be but there is a lot of risk in any young pitcher and the steps to go from where he is to Major League talent and things like that there’s just a lot that goes into that so uh it’s not to say that it can’t go
Badly for the Cubs or that I love Michael Bush or anything and again we’ll talk about this more in detail uh later in the episode but my re initial reaction was I’m intrigued Jed is making moves and hopefully this is the the beginning of more to come how how are
You feeling about the Cubs finally making some moves on the surface comparing what they gave up for what they got in return makes a lot of sense they’re giving up two teenage prospects extremely high ceiling Jackson Ferris for me was one of my favorite young pitchers in the system as I hear
Hope was one of the more intriguing positional prospects given his performance last season his youth his athleticism his flexibility around the diamond so those are the two of the highest cealing prospects the guys have in the system now seeing what they got a return with alonte and Bush those are two guys
Immediately having value for the major leag team so I I like that in a vacuum where like you I need to see play out is how many at bats is Jad in the front office going to slot in for Bush going into the season if it’s 5 100 plus and
If it diminishes their pursuit of other players right then I I start to question sure well is the cost of acquiring Bush hidden in that they won’t go out and get other bats that are more projectable so that’s what we have to wait and see I talk about hoping the Cubs having a
Harder push where you’re pushing that wind projection to a clear cut clear-cut 90 plus total on paper you can’t confidently say that with bush he’s a really high guy he’s had phenomenal numbers in Tria we’ll go over them later in the episode and he’s very different
From Matt mvis even though the sum of their total numbers in Triple A have been comparable in the past but they’re very different hitters Bush projects to be a much better hitter given some of the underlying traits compared to mvis so the hype for Bush is real I I get all
Of that the age and some of the underlying limitations are also justifiable to talk about but ultimately where I fall is on paper makes a lot of sense I like it it gives him a better opportunity to win next year and in 2025 on the other hand I think there’s hidden
Cost with that in it could affect their pursuit of other players as well as one hidden cost is what are the other deals that could have been included with Jackson Ferris in a bigger Prospect package to yield a better return yeah and so that’s where that’s where I I’m
Waiting to see what happens but it do I think that was a lot of people’s initial reaction is that if you saw Jackson Ferris is name come across in a trade you were not expecting it to be for another minor Leaguer you know and and
Bush has had a a cup of coffee at the major league I think like 26 games or something but uh a minor league or a prospect right so yeah and I and I feel that but again that’s where and and I don’t want it to be a copout but I gotta
Kind of see what the rest of the plan is I agree with you if the plan is like hey we got imanaga for the rotation and we’re going to let some young guys get some reps at the corners and it’s Morell at third and Bush at first and hope the
Offense can figure it out you know we’re gonna get PCA in there we’re GNA rely on the youth then yeah I’m gonna be pissed off of course I am because that team isn’t going to be very good unless you hit a 99th percentile outcome as you
Always like to say on half the team which is not a good way to gamble on things no but if he is a way to add that kind of bottom tier depth but with potential to the major league roster as opposed to spending money on those positions and the likes as we saw
Last year of manini Barnhart Hosmer like then I’m very much into it because that was one of the big things we talked about is you should if you have this time to be giving to uh uncertain things whether it’s someone on the older side of the younger side it should be
Something that has the potential to be productive for you down the road and if you found out that Michael Bush could be a a real hitter at this level even if it’s just as a DH okay well that’s very valuable because he’s 26 years old and
You would have a lot of years of control on that whereas last year if Eric Hosmer hit great he’s however old and not a part of your future so what are you really learning there and it didn’t work that way and so it was just a big waste
Of everyone’s time so if if it is a way to add some ceiling to that bottom portion of the roster some Youth and take a flyer on a guy who did not really have a good path in Los Angeles given that you know some of the positions he
Plays are occupied by very good players in Los Angeles then I’m I’m all for it but as you said if it’s kind of a okay well we’re gonna let this guy try to reach his potential so we’re not going to go and spend money on some of these
Other guys then yeah I’m I’m I’m not going to be happy about that yeah we’ll we’ll see what happens I I will say my my initial reaction was maybe a little dramatic I I I saw Jack’s feris I saw hope and I saw the return I’m like man like I’ve always been
Talking about for over a year now is I want to see one of those massive deals as you and I always say where is our Aeron where is our gmid where is our mooki bets and it probably wasn’t a right thing to do but I conceptualize scenarios where Jackson Ferris seem like
The perfect guy to include one of those bigger packages so when I saw that it did leave me initially as a little unsettled because even despite the the high ceiling with bush and the top 50 Prospect status and all of that coming over to the Cubs it still is not a highly projectable
2024 3 four five plus win guy that I’ve been hoping the Cubs would acquire and maybe they will acquire in secondary moves it it does not give you a c Certain player improving the 2024 cups which is something that you know obviously they need with the still yeah they can still do that yes so that’s why you kind of say like all right well hold on like let’s see we’ve been waiting for Jed to cook and he’s hopefully at the
Beginning stages of he he’s only added oil to the pan Brendan he is not even beun the garlic is is kind of toasting right now you know listen if if if in his mind he’s pulling the finished product out of the oven big problem but
I I think he is only at the beginning of this recipe so let’s yeah uh see how long do you think we could keep that analogy that metaphor going is that a metaphor or analogy uh so it’s a metaphor analogy involves just do the food thing the whole time we probably
Could you know that could be a challenge for us uh so anyway yeah I I it’s it’s a very intriguing trade and I I can sort of see why people might have uh some strong opinions on it I I do I will say like you know part of this and I think
It was uh Brian Smith uh who of course is at Cub prospects on Twitter he formerly with Bleacher Nation of course and good friend of the show yes a big friend of the show I think he was you know talking about how this kind of moves up the timeline a
Little bit in things like instead of hoarding 19-year-old prospects you’re getting guys who may and hopefully can make an impact for you now like right now and even makes sense there there’s definitely some concerns with bush uh especially on the defensive side where that home might be uh as far as a
Position goes but you know you read a lot of these Scouts writers evaluators they all really believe in his ability to hit uh despite you know a short stint at the MLB level the the stint was 27 games 81 plate appearances and you know
It was not good but not good at all you can read into those 81 plate appearances however you’d like I have a graph that represents that later in the show that that we can show yeah so I I mean I I think well we’re already we’re talking
About this more so this is our first topic imanaga will be our second topic we’re already Deep In The Weeds on this trade so that’s where we are uh do you want to hit our first ad break here and then we can come back and and go
Kind of deeper into this trade let’s do it cool all right so first ad break here is from serga Tight money lines will strive to be just a minus 110 split on the circus Sports menu unlike other sports books which may use minus 115 or minus 120 splits circus spor keeps as
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Second break here from game time if you’re like me you stress out trying to find the best prices for tickets you should not have to worry like me to buy tickets to your next big event game time is the fast and easy way to buy tickets for all the sports music comedy and
Theater near you they have killer last minute deals all in prices views from your seat and their best price guarantee game time takes to guess work out of buying tickets I’ve used game time to go to baseball games hockey games football games I know our uh friends on the show
Cody and luk and Ryan looking at using it to buy uh concert tickets whatever floats your vot game time can be used to buy those tickets at the lowest price it’s the only ticketing app that gives you complete piece of mind with your purchase you can take the guesswork out
Of buying tickets with game time and download the game time app create an account use code chgo for $20 off your first purchase terms do apply again create an account and redem code chgo for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed all right Brendan so getting
Back into the trade I I I should mention the the full trade since we’re uh doing this as our first topic the Cubs receiving infielder Michael Bush and reliever yansy alante from the Dodgers and they are sending of course Jackson Ferris and Zahir hope so that is the
Full trade two for two uh and again the headliner being the big pitcher going from the Cubs to the Dodgers the big hitter going from the Dodgers to the Cubs so yeah I mean it’s a surprising trade the last time I don’t know if this
Is right or not but I feel like the last time we’ve had one of these like Fringe Prospect Fringe Major League trades is probably like the Rizzo cashner deal where the Cubs gave up a major leager and cashner for a fringe guy and Rizzo
You know Deo did kind of remind uh I saw some people talking about that yeah did that work out for the cuts some people of that I it did yes Anthony Rizzo was very good for the Chicago Cubs and led them to a World Series championship in
2016 which year 2016 ah okay he actually caught the last out of what the game seven of the 2016 World Series making sure no sorry I should have clarified you’re right people forget that I forget that too sometimes it could have been any game that yeah you’re right um so
Yeah I mean you know look like you if you look through the numbers from Michael Bush in his minor league career the dude hits and he is hitting from the left side he absolutely mashes right-handed pitch so again you can read into that small stint in the majors however you want but certainly
The precedent is there that this guy can hit and he’s done it at pretty much every level he’s been at the numbers look really good and you just need the the time in the majors that seems to be the the sentiment from a lot of folks so
I really what I I I think the big point of discussion in this trade because here’s the thing and I think this was something that uh Greg hus was talking about on the show with our guys on Thursday like I said you should check out that interview with Greg Luke Cody
And Ryan but Greg basically made the point that the nice thing about this trade is that if it if we’ll be angry about Michael Bush if it doesn’t work before Jackson Ferris is likely able to rub it in our face If he if he does pan
Out and end up being good like the Cubs are getting the first look at whether this trade works or not yeah and so you know for me is it is it maybe something we relitigate years from now when the Dodgers and their pitch lab have unlocked Jackson Fair maybe but that’s
Several years from where we are sitting today so that is just not an immediate thing it’s not going to be an immediate thing I think the big question as we sort of laid out is what does this mean for the rest of the Cubs off season and where do they
See Michael Bush slotting in now reading over at the athletic from sahad Sharma he was talking about how it seemed like the current plan might be to have him at first base the Cubs don’t have a clear option there Michael Bush does not look good at third base the reports are not
Good about his defense at third base so that doesn’t seem given that the Cubs already have people that they uh might want to put at third base but can’t play defense at third base maybe not not something that they needed more of so perhaps first base DH is the plan at
This moment but of course it led to a lot of people asking the questions okay well what does that mean for Cody Bellinger what does it mean for maybe ree Hoskins what does it mean for their you know rumored interest in someone like Matt Chapman and I don’t have the
Answer but I think that is going to be along with of course Michael Bush’s performance uh a pretty big indicator of how this trade is received uh by Cubs fans and ultimately how we end up grading it I I think the way Jets operated is by offsetting risk in high
Volume of players look at the first Bas situation last year it did not work out in high it was a bad process he offset risk with mvis by signing Hosmer signing manini mvis all three of them fizzled out didn’t work I imagine that this will
Not be the last move for Bush there will be contextual moves as a result of making this trade that’s my expectation I hope that’s my end result of what Jed ends up doing the way I see bush is I like this ceiling I like what he’s done
In Triple A where the limitations for me exist are won his age now the counter to that argument is well he was been blocked for three years with Freddy Freeman and Max Muny and the likes of a deep Dodge’s roster that is all true but still is a fact he’s 26 years old
Without Major League experience so that is still a factor despite the reasoning underlying that age problem now if you look at Bush bad year and his cup of coffee in 2023 if you compare that to what Matt muris did they’re very different struggles and they’re actually very different
Performances in Triple A despite the bulk Su of their value being similar in Triple A if you look at Matt Bush versus Matt or Michael Bush I always say Matt Bush who’s Matt Bush I I don’t it’s a player from years ago this is It’s the
Matt M it’s all these M’s all these M names kill me oh yeah the picture of Matt Bush yeah sure we got Michael Michael Bush it’s I gotta nail that into my head so if you look at Michael Bush versus Matt mvis if you look at their
Whiff rates you can already see some obvious differences jump off at you on the left here of this heat map if you’re on the Spotify Channel you can see this on YouTube you see that Matt Bus has more blue all throughout his Zone this means he has fewer whiffs on essentially
All regions of the Zone in a particular and elevated pitches on the edge just slightly above the Zone versus Matt mvis now if you look at Matt mvis on the edge of the top Strike Zone he whiffs he did whiff at the big league level at almost
A 55 to 70% rate now if you look at Michael Bush in a short cup of coffee small sample size be damned he only whipped at around a 15 to 25% rate that’s a significant difference now if you look at what Michael Bush does well compared to what Matt mvis does not do
Well in the bulk numbers in triaa differences also jump off right at you for example the biggest difference between Matt mvis and Michael Bush is their contact you saw it visualized at Major League Baseball but in Triple A uh Michael Bush had a contact rate of
82% compare that to mvis only 70% and in fact when mvis got demoted his contact rate was below 70% that’s not good at all we’re talking about Christopher Morell having to improve his contact rate he almost has similar contact to Matt mvis post demotion for mvis not
Good now also with Michael Bush he has a very extreme disciplined approach a Chase rate of 21% % that is far below the Major League average of 29% 21% is what we saw from Dexter Fowler it’s what we saw from Ben zerus during those years average exit velocity Brandon 2016 cor
Set me up now if you look at the average exit velocity uh in triple a 91 miles per hour that translates to 80th percentile in the big leaks where you can look at the some of these numbers and question whether they’ll translate is just a Max exit velocity for Bush the
Capacity to hit the ball hard that’s about average he’s about average Max exit velocity if you watch video of the guy he’s not overpowering in terms of his physicality he doesn’t look like a big Rizo Rizzo esque figure the big KB figures we saw during those 2016 uh type
Games but he does have a unique ability to Barrel the baseball frequently not Chase and make frequent contact those are the three traits that I like those the three traits that Matt mvis did not show last year and has not shown even post emotion of Triple A they’re very
Different players despite both them being the same age and despite both of them right now on paper being part of that first base death chart yeah and it’s I think it’s a it’s a good comparison because I think a lot of people might just see like you said
Similar age guys that tore up you know the miners though Bush did it uh more than uh M did he did I mean muris was very impressive too in 2022 he was going off uh but you know guys that struggled in their limited time at the majors you
Know big time is different right bush is rated higher but BigTime Prospect status at times struggled in their debuts questions about where they fit things like that will they be able to hit at the MLB level so that’s that’s where the comparison comes in but it you know as
Brendan just pointed out isn’t necessarily the best one and people say he might be like a third baseman from all the Scot reports it sounds as if he’s not good defensively there and it sounds as if he’s going to be part of that first based first based death chart
Which is what sah sahad have hinted at in his athletic article or just be a DH so third base in my mind is not a possibility right now yeah so you know we’ll see uh like I said I’m intrigued by it but it really depends on what it
Means I I think if you know this is a guy that you can plug in toward the bottom of this lineup give him an opportunity that he was not really able to get in LA and let him try and develop at the major league level as part of a
Lineup that you have continued to supplement in front of him I think that sounds great and if you’re able to unlock that potential he’s back with Dustin Kelly someone he’s uh you know likely familiar with from both of their times with the Dodgers sounds great if
He’s a guy that the Cub’s success in 2024 hinges on him developing and being being a middle- of the- order hitter for them then yeah obviously I’m not thrilled about that because as we’ve discussed this entire offseason that’s not what the Chicago Cubs should be
Doing and relying on so we’ll see uh I think it’s going to be interesting it wasn’t necessarily something that I was anticipating when I got up today always dangerous to trade with the Dodgers I think uh they’re very good at kind of scouting and things like that but one of
The things that you know even one of my initial reactions without even looking too much at at Bush or or anything like that like they they drafted Jackson Ferris you know they were the ones that went out and did that they set up the draft with Horton to have the ability to
Take uh Ferris in that second round and they they draft in they developed them if they’re comfortable moving him for something like this you don’t always have to appeal to authority of course because the authority in these situations get things wrong all the time but because these guys are in control of
The organization rroo for and they’re going to be in control for some number of time there’s certain moments where you kind of just have to trust them and if it doesn’t work out then you hold them accountable for it but they’re the ones that drafted Jackson Ferris they
Know the potential he has they’ve been working with him they’ve added some stuff to his repertoire Etc if they’re comfortable moving him not in a big trade for Shane Bieber or you know some massive thing like Jose Ramirez or something crazy if they’re comfortable moving him for a 26-year-old who has 27
Games at the MLB level and didn’t look great in them you got to trust him a little bit like they he’s their guy doesn’t mean they’re going to be right but these are those situations where it’s like you you kind of have to put your faith in Jed and if it doesn’t work
Out hold him accountable but he he has put a lot into the basket that you know kind of Michael Bush needs to work out they need to be able to unlock that bat at the ml level but I want to trans and ask you uh about yansi Amante uh I know
You know maybe not a overly exciting relief Edition but I think I think I saw you know again to bring up Brian Smith I I think I saw him mention him as the kind of Tommy hadot of the project for the bullpen for 2024 that we’ve we’ve
Seen a lot of really good successes in so anything you see from alonte any kind of your with your understanding of Tommy hoty any kind of guesses as to what they try to do with him where does he fit into this Bullpen is he a sixth inning
Guy an eighth inning guy what are we looking at here Jed likes to be part of Trades where the second offering is a high sealing reliever yeah has that ever worked for him has worked before there’s this guy named be stro I don’t know if you remember who also let me say
Something before we before we go any further I I know that there’s probably a bunch of logic that goes into this and stuff that you have to consider and I love the Cubs social team and marketing team but they released like a sort of like you know those like laala paloa
Style artist lists where the big Headliners on the top and it gets progressively smaller and harder to read Pedro strope is on the last line almost you not visible to the naked eye I know a criminal it really isal not on the current roster he’s not a legend in
In terms of the older guys he’s not old’s a leg I’m saying I I can sort of see what they were doing and they were doing some of the older guys first things like you Billy Williams Etc right but the last line I know we were talking system
Relievers in Cubs history I mean I was like guys a little respect on Pedro strobes name like we were talking about putting his uh number up on the foul Pole like five years ago come on now I know I know the last line have you seen and again no disrespect to anybody as
Human beings but have you seen some of the people that they invite to Cubs con the last line you’re get trouble I’m with you I’m with you but if you look at Alon now okay again he’s the secondary piece for the cealing guy in terms of bulk value yeah now Alon has interesting
Stuff if we look at what he profiles as and why Brian described him as a Tommy hoty project the principal reason is because of his of his slider his slider if you’re looking at this graph on the YouTube channel on the far right you’re going to see a population of pitches
Which are his sliders that is on the very far right of this xaxis or the ability for this pitch to move horizontally at an extreme rate it has about 10 inches or so of horizontal break the average slider has about 6 in of horizontal break what you’ll also
Notice here is that this slider the sweeping slider it doesn’t really drop that much so it really does sweep without that depth that dropping action to it now why I think this could be a tby type project is not because to maximize that slider although I think
They may attempt to do that but is to actually add maybe a cutter so if you look on the far left of this graph now you’re going to see a sinker and you’re going to see a foram you see a for seam that is below League average in its
Ability to have carry on it this is why he was getting lit up against left-handed batters with the Dodgers the splits are off the charts against righties his weighted on baseed average is 280 against lefties it was 370 those are massive splits that means Council was more likely from day one to use
Elonte only against right-handed pitchers now if you think about this and I’ll remove this graph here we’ve talked about wisneski for two years now we’ve talked about wisneski needing to add a harder straighter pitch to offset his problems against left-handed batters now alonte where he’s different than
Wisneski is that wisneski doesn’t have a breaking pitch that is a little bit more vertical in terms of its ability to not drop so wisneski has a cutter but it drops a lot and that’s one reason why he lacked confidence throwing that to left-handed batters opposite handedness
For elonte he already has a breaking pitch that doesn’t drop that much for opposite handed this you want something a little bit straighter as your dominant hard pitch to almost simulate more of like a dominant forcing FAS bable so I think where there’s an area for improvement is ambitious but it’s adding
That cutter because it doesn’t his breaking pitch already doesn’t drop that much and that may offset some of the platoon splits he sees and even if it doesn’t even if he can add that pitch if you use him which we know Council has the ability to use his Bullpen very well
If you use him against exclusively right-handed portions of the lineup you’re likely to get good results if everything stays the same if the slider stays the same even with a sinker enforcing a fast ball not playing up that’s 40 to 50 Innings of average or so relief appearances and that is valuable
That is what hurt the Cubs towards the back end of the last season not having just an average reliever that they could use in a fifth and sixth inning if that’s your if that’s your floor for lonte that’s pretty damn good I I just had a a moment live on the air here
Where if you’re watching on YouTube I feel like you could probably see it on my face when you said uh and we know with Craig counil it red dawned on me that he’s our manager he’s the one that gets to deal with this and not David
Ross and no dis disrespect to David Ross but like it it I could feel I was like oh wait that’s way better like I trust him so much more with guys like this and and knowing specifically and of course we’ll see how Amanti changes things and what he looks like but just generally
With like relievers you’re not necessarily sure about they’re not like lockdown for sure backend relievers like you just trust Craig Council so much more with that to understand hey here’s what this guy does well here are good situations for him and here’s where we don’t want to kind
Of like press our luck and ask for too much you just trust that so much with Craig Council and it it was like I don’t know that I forget that he’s the manager but when you said that I was like oh yeah it should right yeah but I think I
Think that’s where the value of the trade that may get overlooked by fans including myself when I start thinking about Bush and the limitations is oh yeah we have a relever that is projected for 4050 in next year that’s pretty valuable we really needed that so they they were able to plug not
Just a potential hitting hole but also a pretty big hole in their Bullpen so you know yeah and I think you know again it kind of pairs with both of them like I would still hope that they go out and continue to add to this Bullpen I hope
They continue to go add out and add significantly to this offense whether it’s Cody Bellinger plus someone else just Cody Bellinger I I don’t know we’ll see what that looks like but it does give the Cubs the ability to continue to address those things but now you’ve
Added some options and some depth to both of those areas that you’re not spending a lot of money on so if you want to continue adding to the rotation or the bullpen or your offense after the moves that we’ve discussed and they’ve made already you can do so but you can
Do so with the vast majority of your money so even if it’s one more guy on offense Cody Bellinger one guy to the bullpen I I don’t like him and I’ve already talked to my mom about how much we don’t like him but Josh hater like
And you go and get somebody else in the rotation I know they’ve been connected to Jordan Montgomery but all of that sounds like a lot but either way like okay you you you don’t make a ton of moves but you supplement that depth in a lowcost way and then you are very
Intentional with those dollars and say all right we’re going to spend it on higher end talent because we’ve tried to add to that pool without doing so super in a super costly manner so we’ll see if that’s ultim Ely what they do but what they did do is they get a top hitting
Prospect a top 50 Prospect in baseball right now maybe Jackson Ferris maybe hope at some point down the road especially in that Dodgers system it seems very likely and plausible they’re in those rankings they’re in the top 50 on MLB pipeline but that won’t be for a
Little while and we need the Cubs to be getting better right now we’ve already been doing the whole hey let’s wait till this 19yearold Owen Casey starts climbing up like we’ve been doing it at some point they need to be getting better at the major league level and pushing that timeline more for
That rather than constantly pushing it backwards the Dodgers have that luxury because they just spent a billion dollars on their MLB roster so they can say you know what we need less of these 25 26 year old maybe they’re going to break out kind of guys we need some 18y
Olds for when Freddy Freeman is gone and when mukie Betts is G so I think it maybe it works out for everybody maybe it’s a rare trade that works out from everybody but we’ll see I’m fine with it what I want to do is hit our second ad
Break here and then we when we come back if you want to Envision it I don’t think he’ll do it literally but Brendan will put on his lab coat his goggles you know so that he keeps his eye safety is very important in the laboratory I’ve heard
It is and we will get the pitch doctor breakdown of your new starting pitcher show it IM all right Cory a break here from our friends at Midtown Athletic Club Midtown Athletic Club has four Chicago land locations palatin banur uh Willowbrook Midtown Athletic Club and hotel in the middle of Bucktown
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New Year well I got something for you at Empire today with Empire Today you get to shop at home convenience the right product for your needs with quick and Professional installation and a low price guarantee Empire Today is the best place to get new flooring so of course
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Exactly what their new floors will look like so schedule a free inhome estimate today all listeners can receive a $350 off discount when they use prom code cgo restrictions do apply see empiretoday.com cgo for details well ladies and gentlemen if we can just take a brief second let’s give
It up for Dr Brendan Miller he said Palatine correctly scre scre you screw real you know I made my font bigger in my computer screen you know my screen is bright these computer screens are bright man I need to get those UV protection goggles you know or those whatever those blue light goggles
I can’t see my eyes are strained whenever I do these podcasts I’m sacrificing my vision for the betterment of everyone okay anyway uh so let’s talk show imaga Brendon we we talked about that kind of going through through who was available at least you know guys that were actually hearing as being
Available whether they’re free agents or via trade uh for the Cubs starting rotation and we got one and it was one that I think you and I were both the most interested in the Cubs getting and of course on Thursday night we also hear that one of those other options Marcus
Strowman is off the market and going to the Yankees so I I was very pleased that the Cubs were able to get this done I I think as we’ve talked about imanaga is a really intriguing option for this rotation and was able to do some really great stuff over in Japan
And of course you have the the usual questions of how things translate and things like that but I I’m very glad that the Cubs have added to the rotation and you know hopefully at the very least imanaga can replace strowman’s production and I think he has the
Potential to go even beyond that with some of the stuff that he has so I’m very pleased with the deal the the one thing I say before I turn it over to you because I’m I’m gonna let you go as long as you want you said what did you say
You have six graphs so uh for him yeah I have three graphs here like go on go ahead do your thing and and give people the full picture of of what they’re getting here uh but for me you know I’m looking too like just at the cost man
Like this is just a deal where like there there is like almost no risk in this if he’s not good you know like yeah that’ll be bad but that’s true of any player but it it it has the potential to be a short deal with the way that they’ve structured
This contract and some of the option abilities their ability to turn it into a longer deal if they like on the Cubs end and you know for what what is it 15 Mill a year the aage 13 like crazy I mean whatever if he’s the fifth best
Pitcher of the Cubs have if he the sit like whatever and and with the ceiling that he has especially if you you know get him over and and play around with things to make his repertoire maybe fit facing Major League specific hitters better the the potential is really there
So I this just seems like a slam dunk uh or a no-brainer at least to try out and has the potential to just be a really exceptional deal for this team so it it’s not always the case that you want them to only be hunting deals you know
And we’ve talked about that but if they’re able to get some of them you you do want that because it keeps the flexibility and just you know obviously you don’t want them tied down with too many bad things so I’m I’m very excited about this I’m very excited to see what
He can bring and I I’m assuming that by the end of your time talking I’m going to end up being even more excited it’s stacking good decisions upon good decisions that’s always the key phrase counil I heard it from our new manager counil I know our manager C Council Cory
This is one of those decisions that we’re going to look back on I think and be like wow you know that that was almost a steal now there is risk and the risk for imanaga is he may need some adjustment number one number two his velocity is not the highest number three
He is older he’s going to be entering his 30s and number four the days in between Stars differ as a Japanese pitcher versus a major league pitcher so those are all uncertainties to your point for 13 million that is a risk we I’m willing to accept 13 million
Translates if you do a dollar per war estimate of like 1.5 wins per season that is a steal if you assume that imanaga can pitch 130 Innings at League average production that’s already well above what you’re paying them so that’s where I fall back on and think wow this
Is such such a lowrisk deal even though there still is embedded risk within this contract but I I like it I think the cealing is is very high now what does he do well those are all the limitations what does he do well the main reason
That I like imanaga is the forcing fast ball yeah it doesn’t get thrown 95 plus miles per hour but there’s ways to get Beyond velocity if it has naturally goodlook shape to it Ian Naga has some of the best looking shape to his foring fast ball among any major leager I was
Talking to a few pitching coaches about this they’re excited principally because of his ability to have vertical break on this pitch if you look at his pitch his forcing fast ball you compare it to other Lefty pitchers who th throw foring fast balls you already see drastic differences the DraStic difference if
You look at this animated graph here is that one is thrown from an extremely low release point it’s thrown from about 5 and 1 half ft off the ground now the average foring fast ball is thrown about four about 5.9 ft off the ground in addition the average foring fast has
About 15 to 16 inches of induced vertical break whereas iaga again is 20 inches so if you compare where he throws pitches it has among the lowest release points in Major League Baseball and it has the best carry in Major League Baseball think about this you have a low
Release point with somebody the most carry on that pitch exactly right how did that how did that do in the npb did pretty well but what we’ve seen from different folks on social media is that the location of those fory fast balls weren’t optimal he actually used a fory
Fastball low in the zone now if you look at his pitches up in the zone with the fouram fastball he got a lot of whiffs with that pitch and his average whiff rate with the four seam was better than League average in Japan and comparable to what you would see from an average
Foram in major league baseball and Japan is more of a contact oriented type league if you imagine he throws that pitch more up in the zone then you can kind of calculate you would expect more whiffs as a result that’s the main reason now Brendan unfortunately uh the Cubs don’t have a
Pitching coach that likes attacking the top of the zone so that’s a bummer for oh wait a minute they he loves doing that sorry I Tommy Tommy of yeah yeah yeah yeah and they they have they have a history with turning these unique looking fast balls into some of the best
Pitchers in the League Justice Steel’s not overpowering man he has the craziest looking for scen fastball in the league one of the best fast Balls by a run Value Estimate and it doesn’t get thrown 97 908 miles per hour but look what it does has a funky cut Rising looking
Shape to it it’s Unique similarly you have a unique Lefty fastball with a low release point and a lot of carry now the secondary stuff I don’t care what the secondary stuff is I’ll be honest with you because he has so many different types of secondary pitches he has for
Example a he has a cutter a slider a curve and a splitter that he used pretty frequently across Japan so one of those pitches two of those pitches are destined to I think work out with some type of improvement because you have the base of the foram you know that you have
A staple of foundation to work offer secondary pitches and even with the secondary pitches he does have they already look pretty good for example his slider already has more horizontal than your league average slider uh if you look at the account pitching coach youu he has some good data where they show
That it had 12 in of horizontal break again the average in majorly baseball 6 inches this is Japanese data different baseballs so different movement profiles but nevertheless points to the fact that he can throw sliders with a lot of break to it they can mess with it but again
Foring fast ball very good very appealing unique it should translate well the data looks similar to what we saw in the World Baseball Classic with American Technology so we know it is a true 20ish inch vertical break I’m excited man I think this stealing is
Very high for him I would be a little surprised if they don’t if they don’t end up picking that second year option up where the total contract goes from you know 13 million per year to upwards to 80 million in total sum I’d be very surprised given that he has the strong
Foundation of that forcing fastival yeah I mean I I I don’t remember the exact timing but the the contract was a little complicated uh I as you might imagine I I think when a lot of this was coming through I was still recovering from uh the festivities on Monday night and I’m
Like looking at that I’m like I I can’t I can’t right now my brain is not in the head space to figure out what is going on in this contract I was like okay another day another day when I’m a little more with it than that little
More little bit more hydrated yeah so yeah very interesting uh if you looked at the Cubs rotation right now depending on how they want to handle the backend portion of it obvious obvously Justin steel up top we’ll see what they are able to do with jamus and tyone though
You know and of course you and I ended up uh I think tracking along with our our good friend over at Cubs insider.com Evan Alman maybe more than anything in my life like Jason hayward’s work in Mesa over the winter in December and January and swing changes yeah I mean I
Remember the three of us would be like he’s lowered his hands like we you know anyway so not to belabor that exercise but tyone has been in Mesa he’s been sharing a lot of videos and I think when you look at his track record and that they have the information on what they
Need to fix I don’t know to the exact level I expect him to be better but I do genuinely expect him to be better you would bet money on it for sure I would I would be stunned if he has the same problems because you him and everybody
Around him they know what they are and it was just too difficult to fix in the middle of a season but they’re putting in the work so I expect better there and then of course you have Kyle Hendricks coming back now sh to imanaga so again
How you order those uh let’s say the three guys Justin steel is your number one at least going into this season and you know then you have that depth Jordan Wicks Javier Assad Hayden wineski maybe guys like Ben Brown Kate Horton come up eventually that’s a a pretty solid mix
That’s a a very solid group you don’t necessarily have Justin seal was of course competing for assai young up until about you know his last like three starts basically last year but you don’t have those the the you don’t have the the Garrett Cole in that rotation as an
Example but you do have a really solid group of more than five guys which as we all know you really need to get through these season so I still hope they continue to add to the rotation I hope they continue to add to the ceiling of this rotation because the group that we
Just laid out certainly has a fair number of questions really with every single guy in that rotation but if they keep adding like if you have a solid like 8ish eight to nine guys that you might be able to turn to to eat some starts that feels pretty solid because
We have seen in certain years how bad it can get when you do not have that depth after the number four starter or the number five starter things get really weired uh at certain points so it feels like they have a nice sort of foundation here again I would like to see continued
Addition but I’m very excited about the imanaga addition and what he can do and I I think the Cubs rotation is in a a pretty solid place maybe not great maybe not you know that that upper tiered ceiling for for some rotations but I I I think especially in this Division I I
Think we’re we can work with what we have now and and I hope they keep adding they got to keep adding that’s the thing this is a good base they have good depth they have good AAA guys coming up they still in my mind need to keep adding
Just to improve that Foundation it does make me think when you’re talking about this and and the price and the amount of payroll room they have right now they’re at about 200 million about $37 million below the first tier of the tax they’re about 75 to 80 million below the second
Or the third tier of the tax you start thinking okay well we talked about offsetting risk now you posed a question last week how interested are you in Jordan Montgomery yeah and Blake sell this is one of those deals where if you start looking at the context of the Cubs
Accepting some risk in a short-term contract with Blake snow actually now might make more sense for example let’s say you have a super is he interested in signing a Cubs strowman deal perhaps yeah but like a shortterm deal 2830 million aav have a Carlos Korea Type S
Opt up I don’t know je very complicated with these but you see what I’m trying to say you have now 13 million soaked up in imaga that’s below industry expectations we heard maybe 100 plus million in total 20 million aav that’s almost like 40% what ended up happening
Now you can offset the risk and Snell because you have imanaga at that well and that’s what I was talking about you know when we were talking about the trade like you’ve you’ve added to your team and again in in in uncertain ways and and differing from imanaga to Bush
To Amante very different very uncertain to different degrees but you’ve added to your team to the depth of your team in one way or another and you didn’t spend a lot of money to do it so you still have money left and now you know you can
Keep pushing this team and as you always talk about getting that wind projection a little safer you know things like that and you didn’t spend a lot of money on these three moves and of course you know these three moves moves didn’t move them from call it third place to second place
Or something in the division or however you would want to look at it I they’re they’re probably not that significant but they didn’t cost you very much so if this is just the start and you go out and say do something like that for the rotation bring back Cody Bellinger maybe
Add Chapman or Hoskins to play one of the corners DH supplement Morell and Bush who don’t necessarily have a position but you’re hoping they can both hit add some you know cheaper guys maybe at the back end to that Bullpen like starts to look like a pretty solid
Roster so is that what the plan is I don’t know the the report the sense that the industry seems to have is that the Cubs are still going to spend some money I know uh there was a lot of talk about their real interest and perhaps even
According to some having offers out to guys like Hoskins Chapman that’s significant offers so you know now you’re at the point where as you point out and and I think you know years ago this wouldn’t really be how you would kind of look at things but especially
With how the MLB offseason keeps taking longer and you do have guys kind of not finding the market that they had hoped for does it open the opportunity for the Cubs to entice some of these guys to come here exactly on the terms that Jed wants shortterm
Maybe bigger money for those two or three years but hey like you don’t have an eight or ninee deal out there you could come to play at Wrigley Field for two years and then go try to get another contract does that interest you you know so maybe maybe what I’m saying is is
That the game and the market and how this all works has changed we’ve seen it like with the kareah thing with strowman and the Cubs a few years ago like you do see this stuff a little more often than you certainly used to and maybe the rest
Of this offseason falls into Jed’s lap it’s always been a possibility it’s always been very unsettling I will say we’ve talked about this very course it is very RIS yeah of course yeah there’s risk involved when you shorten up your time window for sure if you were to go
Into the last I don’t know what is this now six weeks before spring training starts do you think in the next six weeks that these signings change And Trades change the Cubs pursuit of Bellinger or Hoskins or Chapman and just to give my brief opinion before I throw
It back to you on the surface because you have more first space options looking at newly acquired Michael Bush Morell has even taking reps at first base you can imagine that first base might be more redundant if you sign reys Hoskins for example it actually might be more redundant if you sign Cody
Bellinger assuming PCA becomes your everyday center fielder for me I can see on paper Matt Chapman being more likely to sign now than he would two weeks ago with this new roster Edition do you think this affects any of the pursuit scenario you’re doing what Matt Chapman at third you’re doing Morell at
DH Bush at first PCA and Center yeah yeah it’s certainly possible I mean look it’s it’s always possible that their thought is yeah like we’re we’re waiting for as we kind of heard you know and and Jared Banner some of his comments sort of alluded at that and especially when
They hadn’t made a major league transaction there was a thought of like yeah do they say hey we don’t have all of the young kind of prospect pre-arb guys settled in their positions and we’re going to wait until we have more of that before we like truly push in and
Go crazy on some of these things because we didn’t get sh Otani and and stuff like that all I can say is I hope not do you think it affects Bellinger no my gut feeling no I don’t think so I I I believe that what I what I would think
Is that they see the bat in Matt Bush they see a guy that doesn’t really have a clear position and they have a few open positions they currently right now do not have somebody that is truly their third basem truly their first baseman and I would argue truly their center
Fielder it’s pca’s job to earn but I I don’t necessarily know that he is breaking Camp being given hey Trot out there for 162 games like Dexter Fowler you know did kid right so I don’t I don’t think we’re at that point yet even
If that is the plan at some point in the hopefully very near future so I think you identify a what you believe is a major league ready back and you use a young pitcher out of a system now that has more talent in terms of their pitchers and you kind of worry
About where he’s getting those advat later and you see how some of these deals play out and I think it’s a good sort of insurance because you are dealing with a lot of Boris clients you’re dealing with a lot of uncertainty you don’t know maybe somebody does panic
And come over the top for Cody bellry and you can’t really control that so I I don’t think so I don’t think that they are requ I think it I think it naturally does I I know that because you and I spoke earlier this afternoon but feel free to articulate
Why you have he’s part of the equation bush is part of the equation when you start projecting 2024 in more importantly for this front office 2025 and above bush is now part of those projections now you start calculating risk reward and you look at Bellinger’s profile pca’s profile file you have to
Now include in the Belling your risk what is the likelihood that bush provides value then you start looking at 2024 what is the likelihood this team wins the World Series Slim Right Now given they’re not a 95 plus win team so you look at Jed’s you know spreadsheets
If you will and you start asking the question does it make sense to give Bellinger a five six seveny year deal right now when post 2024 you could have a Michael Bush who’s providing value and a plethora of new free agents including even Reese Hoskins and ultimately if you sign ree Hoskins
Compared to Cody Bellinger you can still have 2025 for ree Hoskins on a new contract or just picking up an option so I do think it leaves Cody Bellinger’s discussion with more variables I’m not saying personally that I would I’m not saying personally I would not want Cody
Bellinger he’s part now of the risk well and and look I mean to to your point because I I think if people aren’t fully hearing you and and understanding you they’re going to think like you know of course they should still get Cody Bellinger what do but I I think you
Bring that up because they made this trade they were the ones that traded one of their better pitching prospects and you know a young guy that they’ve been developing for this guy so they’re they’re not doing that to just have him sit in triaa and like rot away they they
Believe in it they’ve they’ve made they’ve paid a price to get this guy so they do have him in some version of their plans I I I don’t know I guess is my answer I I think here’s how I would better phrase this I don’t think it
Affects their plan to improve the their need and hopeful attention to improving the offense does it have to be through certain players I I don’t think think so but I I I think this is to me what my hope is again better depth for your offense and for your roster rather than
Trying to fill out those pieces with old washed up talent that does end up costing you money take the flyer that you can unlock a guy that has been blocked in a system and on a team that just has too much talent at their Major League level
You take it and hopefully he is a nice addition to whatever else you do in this offseason I would be very disappointed if if the scenario you’re laying out is what it is but again that would be another point and it’s the same thing as the trade like they they’re they better
Be right then like they made this move they’re gambling uh the future of those two prospects on the future of Michael Bush and and if they were going to be really thinking that way like then they had better be right that that’s all I can really say I think a better way of
Phrasing this is I think it changes the point at which they meet Boris I think without Bush they would have gone a little bit higher for sake of an example 180 million now with bush I could see them only meeting them at 140 150 which is Extreme because it’s
Not when when teams I imagine when teams are projecting value at a position it’s not by a player by player basis it’s by a position some basis so Bellinger plus Bush then you start calculating the projection probabilities Bush moves that forward it does so then you start
Thinking should I put my resources at that position given that now I push that projection a little bit further that’s all I’m saying I yeah again we we don’t know how they’re operating like that’s that’s the key here so we’ll see I I I I hear what you’re saying though yes I I
Do I do hear what you’re saying we’ll see I I mean look as long as this offense continues to get better they can do whatever they want but there’s certain paths to do that and I think Cody Bellinger is one of the easiest ones and then look hopefully PCA takes
That job hopefully bush is someone who has forced his way in the lineup and then you’re answering this question and that’s up to Craig counil who’s a excellent person to have to deal with our manager C Council yeah where do you pencil these guys in who’s playing Center who’s playing first who’s dhing
Who’s playing third you know he’s a great person to have to handle that and that sounds like a great problem to have so I I hope that that’s where we end up but yeah look like I said they made the move they acquired this guy this is not
Some random person this is a guy they paid a pretty steep price especially depending on who you ask to to get they’re that he is in their plans and it whether that is something that makes sense to all of us or some of us or none
Of us like that’s how you have to think of things like they went out and traded this guy and they paid a price to do it so they’re not doing that to throw him in tripa a and like see what happens a few years from now like clearly they
They believe in him they’re going to do something with him and we will judge what the cost is if it works or it doesn’t work if it doesn’t work we will judge the cost of what could have been and part of the what could have been may end up being
Cody Bellinger being extended it may end up being getting ree Hoskins on a one two-year pillow type contract we’ll see there’s a lot of moves to be cost for all of this you know so like let’s say they they they still do go get Bellinger and maybe that’s the the the group for
The offense Morell is your everyday third baseman and there’s an opportunity cost there we’re going to evaluate at some point would it have been a better decision to sign ree Hoskins for one year to play first base TR there’s cost everywhere so yeah it’s it’s one of those things we we’re
Going to have to see where the rest of this offseason goes and then of course they made the move they’re going to have to show their strength and developing Bush and and giving him this opportunity so it’s interesting been an interesting week it’s an interesting week it’s just
Exciting I think it does change even the potential role from you can imagine redundancy in your best case scenario PCA takes the position of center field by the summer and then let’s say you do sign Bellinger Bellinger goes to first base now you have a DH spot that is probably filled
By hopefully a successful Bush where does Mor play and and look like this is that that’s good competition breeds good things in these scenarios and I think you know this is true of morel this is true of bush like that’s the work they have to put in
You know like you like for Christopher Morell he can be a DH and we’ll see but he would need to hit more to be a truly valuable DH and hit more consistently to be a truly valuable DH in this league you know what was I think he had an 820
Ops last year like you can do better than that if you’re going to put someone only at DH you you can get more value out of that position so it’s on him to put in the work and and find a way to get on the field it’s the same as Bush
If people don’t believe he can be a third baseman I don’t even know if he can is is good at first base like that’s on these guys and that’s what that competition say that he’s a decent first baseman I don’t know if that’s true but
That was one and just you know we saw this last year with with someone in magal who you know you and I both have expressed our opinions on but what I’m saying is it was put upon him like you’re not going to play if you can’t
Play Third Base that’s it and he went out and did it and that’s the situation you have with some of these guys like these positions are taken man and maybe the Cubs are going to sign some guys that are going to take some more positions like you have got to find a
Way to make it so that Craig Council can not keep you out of the lineup and that’s what’s going to be incumbent upon the Cubs organization their development team and these players to put in the work and figure those things out so it’s going to be very interesting and you
Know uh with Cuban coming up hopefully you know maybe there’s a little more action maybe they have some surprises in store for us or we wait until that that dust settles and we come back next week and and see what Jed is is doing in the
Meantime I mean at this rate we’re gonna have significantly more trades and signings to talk about by next week hopefully yeah and you know look it’s like something that I kind of forget but it does I I I feel like I get my memory jogged when it is Cubs con because that
Sort of feels like at least in in our calendar it feels like sort of the first thing that happens every New Year the dates change but from that period of like new years’s and the holidays to early January it all feels like New Years to me like the the holidays and
All that stuff Cubs con is usually that centering of like okay we’re in a new year we are going forward it is not the holidays anymore and it’s a reminder like you know pitchers and catchers is not that far away so dude we’re like a month away whatever Jed is planning to
Do or however they want this team to look in their kind of Ideal World at this point you you gotta get to it you kind of gotta get cooking on that so we’ll see know I kind of i’ i’ I’ve been talking myself into Blake snow like I
Could see on this episode or like I’ve been thinking about it I’ve been thinking about it like a two-year contract hell man give him like 35 million a year I don’t care give him twoyear $70 million contract fine right that would be sick uh yeah hey like
Look it’s it’s a dangerous it’s a lot of this is a dangerous way of going about things and it it will if it’s always your philosophy hoping for these creative sort of fall in your lap kind of things it will keep you out of certain players the otanis the Bryce
Harpers things like that but listen if that’s what Jed is GNA I hope it works of course I do he’s running our holy smokes man on that on that deal that would be insane that would be insane okay I hope you’re not let down by two years 35 million per year thirdy
Year option of 15 million so I we’ll we’ll end with this we’re we’re we’re nearing the the 80 minute point but I guess we’ll just finish we’ve we’ve ebbed and flowed a lot as this offseason has gone on in our hope our optimism our absolute just pessimism and anger and etc
Etc after this week of moves you’re still reading some of these rumors you kind of seen where things are how do you feel now about the Cubs off you don’t have to give it a final grade but I feel like the audience has been along with us
In terms of being are we going to get woto are we get are we going to do this are we GNA do that to the what is Jed doing is he even awake is he alive or the Cub’s gonna spend a single dollar I hate this I hate every where are you now
Where do you find yourself now I mean of course I feel better we have like we have uh a major leak signing for the starting pitching staff at a lower than expected rate I feel better my expectations are stupid High though I’m not going to sit here and tell you oh
I’m excited about Bush I’m not going to say that I need to have a clearcut middle- ofthe order bat and if we go into the season without that then I probably will be disappointed yeah I I will I always wanted this team to go
Into 2024 as a 92 to 94 win Squad I don’t think that’s likely I always thought it was ambitious I thought maybe Jed would do it but I’ve changed now my expectations to maybe a soft push to 90 or so and then reevaluate after 2024 I think that’s the most likely
Outcome I would not prefer that but we could be talking a year from now on the team’s in a very different spot a healthier spot than the plan I would have hoped they would take sure we’ll see yeah I mean I think I I’m I think I’m right there with you I’ve always
Kind of centered it as they need to be the best team in this Division and there can’t be a question about that I don’t think we’re there yet um no not even close yeah we’re not we’re not close so until they and you know I don’t know if that’s
Going to be like one player and I’m like yeah okay they now they’re at that I don’t I don’t know when that point will come but they’re not there now I mean I know when it will come when I start adding up all of this wins and they
Become a top you know eight team then it will hit me and they’re not there yet right now they’re still middle until until they get to the point that that’s always been my standard for this off season was you need this division is weak you have a couple of these teams
You know really not putting in the effort that they have been in the last few years or just not in the position that they’ve been in the last few years it’s yours for the taking go and take it and I don’t think they’ve done that yet so I obviously feel better because they
Have they have they spent money on things that are not backup catchers so that is a good place to start but we do have the best backup catcher depth in baseball it’s a fact and I you know they’ve is that the saying what Backup backup catchers win championships no
It’s it’s defense are starting pitching it win sorry I must have heard that somewhere it’s easy to confuse I get it I must I must have heard that somewhere yeah um yeah I I feel better but as you and I kind of laid out this has to just
Be the beginning of their off season not the bulk of it or the highest points or anything like that this has to just be the beginning and hopefully whatever Jed is is planning is is able to come to fruition and plake Snell or whoever falls directly into his lap for no money
And no years I just do you think anybody wants to play for the Cubs for free have they explored that before they never asked me I put out my own videos on social of me throwing and hitting interesting got no response I have 23 inches of of induced vertical break I
Have better vertical break than uh imanaga I got no response none I tried yeah hey I’d pay money to play I’d give Tommy my money right that’s the new market inefficiency getting paid to yeah not only are we not spending money against the luxury tax we gain paying Mone yeah
That should be something they should do um all right well I mean I I I think that’s that’s what we have I think the trade is an interesting one you know because we can look at these guys but of course it it all depends on how they
Continue to develop and how they play at the major league level um I I would you know as we have encourage you you know we we have some really great friends of the podcast guys like Greg hus over at nor Northside bound uh Greg zomac Brian Smith that whole team over there does
Great work so if you want to continue learning about the guys that the Cubs just acquired or you know even to learn more about guys like Jackson Ferris who who they gave up and really just understanding the deal uh those guys can can really take care of you there and
And of course Greg was on with Cody Luke and Ryan on Thursday afternoon uh as part of their bigger conversation uh so you know kind of a wait and see thing uh but as far as imanaga goes very excited I think it’s a great deal uh and one
That has pretty low risk and high reward for the Chicago Cub so good start for Jed Hoyer and his team uh hopefully with more to follow as I said keep it tuned to the chgo Cubs social channels uh and the chdo sports YouTube page we will
Have boots on the ground at Cubs con at the hotel talking to players talking to fans producing all sorts of content so uh please be sure to follow along with the chgo Cubs team for all of that Brendan and I will be back with you next Friday hopefully with more to break down
You know maybe do we have to keep threatening Jed with that listen man augi OA special coming up oh look out can do 45 minutes in aiio oh man and listen you know we’re talking about random names but don’t like if like Brendan and I will talk for four hours
About what Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez mean to this franchise if we have to we’re naming random names but if you want us to get into the the good stuff break out the top shelf you know bottles we can do that too I would love to talk about lroy
Hawkins I don’t why would you even say that unless we’re talking about the homer he gave up to Dexter Fowler at the early portion of the 2015 season I don’t want to talk can I tell a quick story here it’s kind of a mean story but I
It’s very memorable to me I was in the bleachers when lroy Hawkins was playing for the Cubs and I’m like I don’t I’m not part of like the whole rockist like talking smack to the players this group was and lroy Hawkins like teenage son was throwing to his dad and they’re
Heckling his son you throw like your dad your dad’s a bomb Oh my gosh look at your throw motion to this like 12 13 14 year old kid I feel bad for him felt bad for him it was left field by the way you know they have the whole left field
Right field sucks thing that day left field kind of sucked probably yeah well I can see that um yeah L Troy Hawkins is always the center of what I say is the first time you know I think my mom realized I needed to take a chill pill
Um I don’t remember who they were playing I think it was the Phillies but I always tell this story they have the bases loaded maybe one or no outs he catches the liner on the mound and he throws it over to First and it hits the
Guy in the helmet and goes into the stands and they score two runs on that and I we had like a a gate to to keep one of the dogs off the carpet and I think I picked it up and like threw it across the room and so this is probably
2004 2005 so I’m like 13 or 14 and I and I do kind of vividly remember my mom being like you need to like calm down that was not at all like an appropriate reaction to that you can be angry you can you can yell even but like Dude down
A notch that was appropriate I would have done the same thing and I said Mom he didn’t need to throw the ball he was never gonna get that out in first base why would he throw that ball I totally see Teenage Cory doing exactly that with her mannerisms and everything I can for
Sure see and you know my mom was probably like that’s a great argument honey very baseball conscious but please don’t throw stuff in the house my similar story with when Antonio Elona gave up a walk-off home run against St Louis I think it was Sunday Night
Baseball took a pillow chucked it at my blinds broke my blinds Antonio Alona got me in trouble I was grounded hate that guy so listen what I’m saying is we’ll do it if we have to Jed will if you want to keep making Major League moves keep
Making this team better we’re here for it and we would much prefer to talk about that but we have other things to do if we must so Brendan and I will be back with you next Friday as I said stay tuned for Cubs con coverage this weekend
If you are attending have a good time I hope it is whatever you want it to be I I I’ve only been once I’m not a big convention guy but if you’re hoping to get an autograph or a photo or meet a player or ask a question I hope you get
To do that I hope it’s a great time I know it’s always a good time connecting with the larger Cubs family so cheers to everybody at Cubs con Brendan and I will talk to you next Friday and as always go Cubs we all s like the mayor
9 Comments
3:58 EST – My prediction: Cubs use Busch(or Morel)as part of a trade to the Marlins for Luzardo(5.5M). They also sign Bellinger (CF) and Hoskins to a 1-year pillow contract. In 2025, Bellinger moves to 1B with PCA in CF. Cubs could move Hoskins to DH or release him.
Credit to me for even getting out of bed today. You know why
Not even mentioning 33 games of Randall Simon…what kinda Cubs fans are you!
2B Horner
SS Swanson
CF Bellinger
1B Hoskins
LF Happ
RF Seya
3B Morel
DH Busch
C Gomes
Les we forget Eric Young & Mark Bellhorn.
I think you guys are expecting too much for this off season.
Credit to you!
Here is how I see the Michael Busch trade. It makes sense if you resign Cody Bellinger. You have two highly touted prospects in PCA and Busch odds are one pans out the other doesn’t that’s just the reality. Belli can play center or first. It is a good fit. And in the rare instance both pan out you have the DH spot and the cubs are really really good. My problem is the rotation and third base. We have to be realistic Steele could regress. We need a dominant Ace from the right side.
Corey, Go Blue!!! I was at The Game in Houston with my son. I’m Law ‘81, he’s CAS ‘08 (wife is MSW ‘81 and daughter is CAS ‘12). Phenomenal experience being there in person.
And no, Brendon – left field doesn’t suck (even if an occasional fan or two out there might); right field sucks, and has since at least the mid-1960s when I was out there (and certainly in 1969 when any self-respecting Bleacher Bum wouldn’t be caught dead in right (and no one even paid attention to anyone who had such low self-esteem as to sit in center)). Learn your Cubs history!!