What do you change?

[ROMOTOOWENS]

i think obviously we go after a P this offseason. I still like Hendrix as a 4-5 starter. I'm wondering what happens with Castro. His average didn't show it but with exception of maybe Soler , I thought he hit the ball as well as anyone in the post season. I was really wanting to see a game 5 to see if Maddon would have put him as the starting SS and Cogs play 2b. Does Shwarber stay in LF ??? Miggy makes way too much to sit the bench, so I think he does. I do like what Fowler brought to this team, however Almora is close so I don't see us giving Dex a long term deal. Lots of ????? One hell of a bench in the post season- DeNorf, Jackson, Cogs, Lastella, Baez. One thing is for certain- the defense must improve. The problem Our LF and RF aren't going anywhere and I'm glad they aren't. To me this just makes it paramount to have a really good CF defensively. Dex is average at best but damn he is a clutch player and gets on base. Hate to lose him. Interesting offseason coming.

 

[ElTexan]

We are Short Stop heavy.

If I was dispassionate about this, there's no reason to have Schwarb and Rizzo on the same team.
Shwarb should be a 1st baseman or a DH somewhere.
But I AM biased, and i wanna keep my Schwarbz.
Schwarb is NOT an every day catcher, nor should he be with the way he bats.
he's a conundrum.

We need another serviceable Starter and DESPERATELY need middle relief.

Defense will be 20% better next year JUST because these youngsters have another year under their belts. That won't be a prob, IMO.

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

Any CF ideas? Do you think we resign Dex?

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

We are Short Stop heavy.

If I was dispassionate about this, there's no reason to have Schwarb and Rizzo on the same team.
Shwarb should be a 1st baseman or a DH somewhere.
But I AM biased, and i wanna keep my Schwarbz.
Schwarb is NOT an every day catcher, nor should he be with the way he bats.
he's a conundrum.

We need another serviceable Starter and DESPERATELY need middle relief.

Defense will be 20% better next year JUST because these youngsters have another year under their belts. That won't be a prob, IMO.

As far as SS heavy, I think Baez is ready. Now he will likely play 2b. He looks like a big time athlete. He really looked like he has worked on some things as far as hitting. The oppo HR vs the Cards was impressive, not because of the power but his willingness to hit it to that side. He will still strike out but not 50 percent of the time anymore. with him in the lineup we could hit 200 HRs easily, but we will break records for whiffs. Castro doesn't strike out near as much but he plays pepper with the 3b and SS constantly.

 

[anotheridiot]

I think there is a big deal coming this offseason. Hopefully its for Sonny Gray and its gonna be payback to Oakland for Addison Russell. We have Eloy Jiminez and Gleybor Torres that wont really have a place here. Almora was Theos first draft pick, so I think he will get a shot in center. Pierce Johnson should get a shot at the rotation next year, but with Theo wanting two starters, he will probably be included in the trade. People say Schwarber cant catch, well, we showed there would be a better option in left too in the final postseason games. I want him to be a catcher for a few years so he can allow us to keep Baez and Bryant, letting Bryant go to left where his college coach thinks is his best long term position. That gives Schwarber a few years before free agency starts to cost the cubs to make decisions. People knock Solers defense, but that cannon he has needs to be given some credit for making up for mistakes. The kid is young, had his head twisted by Maille by reworking his swing, finally started working on lift after his last quad injury and it showed. That guy was hitting bombs in the minors, he was the best hitter this postseason.

I can honestly see Kris Bryant playing center and Baez at third. MAn he reminds me of MAchado at third base....... If not, the TBS brainiacs said they thought Baez had more range than Russell at short which was very hard to agree with, but if so, why not try Baez in center? It can be fixed in house, but we know Theo is gonna shop for starters. I just hope he does not go after Heyward for center field and create a bigger logjam with Baez, Schwarber and Bryant.

What might be interesting is if Oakland wants Schwarber straight up for Gray.

 

[TheStarOne]

I see Schwarber as catcher......Miggy doesn't hit that well. The infield is almost set. Castro just doesn't get it. He thinks he's a power hitter, he ain't. He is mindless at times. Trade him for OF help. I like Castella at second. Trade Baez. Trade him for a pitching prospect. Fowler will probably ask for too much money...Soler is our right fielder and fourth or fifth hitter. I like Jackson as an outfielder CF, but his hitting has to improve. We need two more starters.....That is going to be tough......And by the way, what happened to Hamel after his hamstring pull?
WE NEED A LEFT HANDED PITCHER, WHO CAN ACTUALLY GET, A LEFT HANDED HITTER OUT.

 

[anotheridiot]

I see Schwarber as catcher......Miggy doesn't hit that well. The infield is almost set. Castro just doesn't get it. He thinks he's a power hitter, he ain't. He is mindless at times. Trade him for OF help. I like Castella at second. Trade Baez. Trade him for a pitching prospect. Fowler will probably ask for too much money...Soler is our right fielder and fourth or fifth hitter. I like Jackson as an outfielder CF, but his hitting has to improve. We need two more starters.....That is going to be tough......And by the way, what happened to Hamel after his hamstring pull?
WE NEED A LEFT HANDED PITCHER, WHO CAN ACTUALLY GET, A LEFT HANDED HITTER OUT.

I agree, I want Schwarber as catcher, and Theo still mentions him as getting extra work every day, but it usually takes 3-4 years to develop a catcher and they want his bat here now. I really dont think there is any reason to not just give him Hendricks like Ross has Lester to at least keep him back there. I really dont know why they jumped on Montero last off season. We had Castillo, and Miggy where Welly did not go far enough to frame, Miggy goes too far and the umps see that. Sadly I think he sticks one more year, but hopefully just catches 2/5 starters.

 

[ElTexan]

Any CF ideas? Do you think we resign Dex?

He should be gone, and I think he wants to be considering how he was swinging for Sheffield Avenue every at bat from Sept 1st on...

As stated before, Schwarb is a conundrum... he doesn't fit anywhere on the field but catcher and 1st... and we have Rizzo... and you don't really want to make a great hitter destroy his body playing catcher long run.

 

[ROMOTOOWENS]

He should be gone, and I think he wants to be considering how he was swinging for Sheffield Avenue every at bat from Sept 1st on...

As stated before, Schwarb is a conundrum... he doesn't fit anywhere on the field but catcher and 1st... and we have Rizzo... and you don't really want to make a great hitter destroy his body playing catcher long run.

I would agree about Dex only if Russell could lead off. Getting a new CF is gonna require two things- not only does he have to be a good CF but he also has to be a leadoff hitter. I liked Dex because he was a switch hitter and would take walks. I know his average wasn't the best and his defense was only ok but he did do a lot of things for us. I think he will probably get a good contract else where. / Scwarb- don't want to waste a hitter that good at C. Rizzo is the heart and soul of our team. 40 HR , LH hitters don't grow on trees. I have to keep him.

 

[ChicagoIrish]

I could see us signing Alex Gordon and then signing maybe Price or Greinke and making a deal for Sonny Gray.

I'd like to see Soler gone. I have never seen his potential, and still don't. He's injury prone, and now is the time to get something for him while we can.

 

[anotheridiot]

I would agree about Dex only if Russell could lead off. Getting a new CF is gonna require two things- not only does he have to be a good CF but he also has to be a leadoff hitter. I liked Dex because he was a switch hitter and would take walks. I know his average wasn't the best and his defense was only ok but he did do a lot of things for us. I think he will probably get a good contract else where. / Scwarb- don't want to waste a hitter that good at C. Rizzo is the heart and soul of our team. 40 HR , LH hitters don't grow on trees. I have to keep him.

See, thats the difference though, there are hitters we have that are good that can play left field, but cannot catch. Everyone wants that offensive catcher that is decent defensively. My thought, if the guy can catch, why not let him so someone else can play left.

 

[anotheridiot]

I could see us signing Alex Gordon and then signing maybe Price or Greinke and making a deal for Sonny Gray.

I'd like to see Soler gone. I have never seen his potential, and still don't. He's injury prone, and now is the time to get something for him while we can.

Try to youtube Soler home runs in the minors like some of them cannot even see where they land. He hit one over some trees behind a left field fence. Mailee straightened his swing during the year, after the august injury he started to lift again and was our most dominating hitter in the playoffs. I cannot see giving up on the guy that just had the best playoffs as any cub with his rifle arm.

 

[anotheridiot]

10 Best Hitting Catchers of All-Time

this is a list Schwarber will climb on if he remains one of the most coveted positions in baseball, a true offensive powerhouse playing catcher.

 

[anotheridiot]

well they offered a pretty strong 15.8 to Fowler, even though he will probably figure long term at 48-50 from someone. Just do not want to see a Heyward because throwing a 20 million dollar man that might not even be your best player is not an ingredient I like and he still should not lead off.

I am fine if they move Castro in a trade, I am fine if they put Baez, Castro, Bryants name in a hat and pull out one for third, one for second and once for center. Russell has better range than Castro at second, but some think Baez has more than Russell at short. I just think Russell is gonna get the ball to first. So can they consider Baez as a centerfielder and see if Russell can move that 9 hole experience to leadoff?

 

[ElTexan]

I want Braun. I love that guy. Just buy him. Now. LF.