Will the Chicago Cubs go ALL IN at the trade deadline?

Will the Chicago Cubs go ALL IN at the trade deadline?

Will the Cubs go allin at the trade deadline in a meager series against KC? You are Locked on Cubs. Your daily Chicago Cubs podcast, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. You are Locked On Cubs, part of the Locked On Network. Your team every day. Alongside Sam Older, I’m Matt Cozy. Sam and I are lifelong fans taking our passion into discussion with you on all things Cubs. We are pleased to be joined by the Setup Man crew, Kyle, Ty, and Alex. As if you are watching the YouTube version, it looks something akin to Brady Bunch. Little bit little bit as uh we’re getting things kicked off here. A great collaboration. Uh we have very fun trivia later in the show. Uh Cubs Royals recap and we’re going to start with Jeff Passen’s piece in ESPN.com on Wednesday previewing the trade deadline. I’m just going to read the the two paragraphs of the piece and then kick it to everybody else. Also, please stick around for part two of this episode which is going to be on the setup man feed. So, we’re going to do our thing on our feed with these guys and then Sam and I will join them on their feed as well. So, please check that out after you’re done over here. Here’s from passing. The prospect of the Cubs getting a starter such as McKenzie Gore or Joe Ryan is unlikely because of the exorbitant cost and Chicago’s propensity to play things safe amid budgetary constraints. I’m going to skip down now to paragraph two. In outfielder Owen Casey, Chicago has the sort of prospect around which a package for a controllable arm can be built. If not Gore or Ryan, perhaps it’s Mitch Keller from Pittsburgh. Regardless, the motivation for the Cubs is there. They want to win the division, yes, but most of all, they want to win a ring. Now is not the time to let what a model says about loss surplus value in a deal get in the way of that. The Cubs want to be allin. We’ll see if they are when it matters. And my position is if the Cubs don’t do that, if they do play it safe, if they are unwilling to overpay for somewhat of impact, shoot, if it’s someone like Gore or Orion, especially on the mound, then we should expect them to finish in second place in the NL Central with a more difficult path to bigger dreams. So Sam, Kyle, Ty, and Alex, do you think the Cubs will go in all in at the trade down line? Why or why not, Sam? Well, I I’ll save that that answer for the other guys. I want to start by by saying this about the All-In, and you touched on it yesterday on what I thought was a really good solo show. First time in a while for you, and it was just I I really enjoyed it. Uh, I actually watched it twice and you hinted at this and I I’ll I’ll ask this to Ty. I’ll swing this to Ty. Is is there a case to be made that all in all in they are they’re already starting from behind. They missed an opportunity to go get I I know you can’t make trades until the deadline. You don’t want to pay uh uh 150 cents on the dollar. Ty, could they have not gone to Colorado a month ago or whenever JMO went down or or you know, whoever and just said, “Hey, we needed we need a stop gap veteran first because we’re giving away games against Kansas City, which we’ll talk about.” So, I guess I’ll answer your question, M Matt, with a question is, you know, if they are all in, they’re already starting a little bit behind because I think it’s ridiculous when your biggest competition has won not 21 of 26, Matthew. They have now won 37 of their last 50 baseball games. Wow. And you’re running out Kate Horton and Colin Ray. Ky Ray’s done a nice job as a fifth starter uh 50% of the time. How can I say they’re all in when that’s what they’re doing right now? Ty, thank you for having me on the show. Um, it’s uh the way I look at your question, Sam, is the scenario is based upon what’s happened with the Brewers thus far if we’re being truthfully honest, right? If the if the Cubs were in a position right now where we’re not talking about 37 out of 50 with the Brewers and maybe that 25 out of 50, that changes everything, right? The problem is though is that the we’ve seen this trend now for gosh what has it been two months now with the Brewers and it’s felt like the Cubs have sort of slighted by with the names that they’ve had based on the fact of well we are still winning games. Well it it’s nice that you guys are winning games but realistically your competition right now like you said Sam is is against the guy against the team up north if we’re being truthfully honest. And I personally looking at the playoff scenario, I don’t want to be in a situation right now where I am getting homefield advantage, let’s say in the wild card, but then having to go somewhere in the NLDS. I’d like to have homefield advantage throughout the playoffs as much as I can as we’ve seen how good Wrigley Field has been for the Cubs this year. So to answer your question, yes, the sense of urgency from that side of things has been really frustrating to watch based on the fact of just things just haven’t worked out in our favor thus far. Uh I’ll turn it over to Kyle. Kyle, what are your thoughts? I mean, it’s funny how like all off seasonason, right, we’re so hard on Jed and then this team starts winning and we kind of stop talking about Jed and we’re kind of like, hey, you know, like this this Matt, you’ve said it, Sam, you’ve said it. Hey, when do we start getting in the mode of like, hey, we’re not just trying to win a division, we’re trying to be the best team in the National League and get that number one seed, right? And then suddenly things start to turn and now our attention is back on Jed and there rears the ugly head of the front office of we’re not like the 2016 Cubs. We’re not going to go get the top guy. We’re not like what was it 2008 when we got Rich Harden in response to CC Sabathia from the Brewers. They’re not they just don’t seem like whether it’s Jed, whether it’s Tom, whether it’s just the full front office thing, they don’t seem like they’re ready to just go out and be like we’re going to get everyone’s attention. They kind of just feel like they’re like what Jeff passen said. He said it perfectly. They’re going to play it safe. And that’s just a bummer, man. I I look at Owen Casey. You brought up Casey and I’ll I’ll I’ll dish it to Alex since we’re doing this whole Brady Bunch thing. I’ll dish it to Alex and I say, “Are you okay with getting rid of Owen Casey?” Because I don’t know why you don’t use Owen Casey, who’s at the peak of his minor league career right now. Lightning on fire. Went five for five yesterday with two home runs and two doubles or whatever. and and where’s he going to play on this team? He’s not going to play on this team. He’s not going to play on next year’s team either. Maybe if Kyle Tucker leaves, but even then you can go get another outfielder. So, I don’t know why you don’t use him right now. What about you, Alex? My whole frustration with the deadline is Ty, you and I talked about this on our show not that long ago. You could have had some of these guys that you’re targeting now, allegedly targeting, I should say. Kyle Finnegan, you could have had him for a song in winter. Well, now you’re gonna have to give up stuff when Well, well, it’s financial. We want to be conservative. I At what point? We, you know, the question is all in. If not now, when your team is the best team in the National League when your time is now. Thank you. So, and you’re right, Kyle, why not Kyle Tucker? Who cares if he’s here or not next year? It’s now. What’s Owen Casey going to do for you right now? Unless someone gets injured, not a whole heck of a lot. Same with a lot of these guys that are down on the farm. So I Yeah, go ahead. Yeah, go ahead. No, I I I do think they’re going to be all in. Like I in terms of that phrasing, Matt, I do. I just think my point is is if you’re really really allin, you probably shouldn’t have the situation that you have right now because guess what? These games still matter just as much as the games do post deadline. But but for the sake of your question, for and I agree with Alex, they I do think they will be. I think they’re going to make as many moves and as big a moves as they can. I just wish that, you know, we didn’t have to give away some of these meaningful games here leading up to the deadline is my point. Well, they have basically zero leverage with other teams. The other teams know that they have no margin for error, especially in the rotation, and so they’re going to be charged a high price. Don’t you guys think? And that’s Alex’s point. That’s what he just said. You could you could have just you didn’t have to wait. You know what I mean? So, Right. Well, and I I was looking back at a piece in the Athletic from March 26th. Chad literally has a quote right here. I feel like for us, we don’t have a lot of margin for error this year. So, it’s it’s just it’s a it’s a it’s a vicious circle, I guess. Uh uh a sleepy series at Wrigley Field this week. Cubs Royals. Cubs lost two out of three following another defeat on on Wednesday. They didn’t muster much up of anything offensively. Colin Ray struggled. We get you those details right after this. All right. Locked on Cubs and the setup man right here. Sam, Kyle, Ty, and Alex. Please be tuned in for the next part of the show which is going to be over on the setup man feed and uh we’ll post a link to that in the description of this episode as well. Cubs lost two out of three to the Royals following 84 defeat on Wednesday. Royals took a two nothing lead in the first, never trailed. Colin Ray, six runs on six hits, three of them homers in five innings. Cubs really didn’t mount many threats in this one. And uh Sam, it really was a series to forget. Ty, thank you for thank you for having me on the show. Um, so I I’ll I’ll guess I’ll speak uh for Sam here. Um, right. The way that I the way that I looked at this series and the way that I look at the series this upcoming weekend, guys, was a little bit of a trap game just because I felt like when it came to uh the series in Boston and losing that game on Sunday, it felt like one of those losses where from from this team this year, they normally win those games. And it felt like losing that game on Sunday, I went, I don’t I don’t have a good feeling now rolling into the rest of the week. And I don’t know what that really was. It was just sort of maybe just like the feel as a fan. Wow. Um, but I I will tell you that it was excruciating to watch Ben Brown on Monday. It was excruciating to watch Colin Ray deal with the wind that is blowing, you know, 40 miles, you know, uh, over left field foul pole. Um, and it’s it’s it’s unfortunate and for this team to have at this point in the season losses like this, it’s just, like I said, excruciating to watch. Um, I’m going to turn it over to Kyle here, who probably has uh some positive words to say. Oh, you’re going to set me up like that. I I I mean, I texted you and Alex and said, Correct me if I’m wrong, boys, but this is the most embarrassing series of the year. Yes, exactly. I I I had to look at the schedule and be like, “No, I I must be feeling wrong on this.” You’re not. I’m not. I mean, the Ben Brown thing to see him take the mound, I was just I kind of scratched my head because guys, correct me if I’m wrong, but like they said, oh, the Ben Brown move to TripleA was an innings thing. I mean, I get that for Kate Horton, but Ben Brown was not performing. Like, that was a performance issue. That was not a innings situation. So, I’m not even sure how he did in those two starts down at Triple A. But I know that two starts is not going to fix what Ben Brown was dealing with. And for them to have such a long leash on him when you have a four to one lead was baffling. Then of course in game two, yeah, looks good. Six nothing, but I mean not really. If you watch the game, um they they got off the hook a lot and the Thank you Royals defense for for letting Rich Hill. Uh by the way, Rich Hill was exhausting to watch that night. I don’t remember him being that animated and looking like he was always just like a one pitch away from falling over. Um, and then you get the the just, you know, once a year Sea Suzuki is going to drop a fly ball to start the game on uh on Wednesday. And I guess the only positive I’ll say because Tai put me in a corner to say something positive. Matt Shaw, I’m excited. He’s looking good. You know, I I I still think we need to go get a third baseman. I don’t think you should expect this the rest of the year, but he’s been their best hitter in the second half so far. He’s been good. Alex, I you guys pretty much covered it. The pitching execution. Where would they be without Matthew Boyd? That was the only game of the series where I was like, “Oh, okay. We got this.” The other two, total crapshoot. And with Lugo, and I know we’ll talk more about him in the second part of this crossover, just a heads up. Uh, but it’s just I didn’t feel good today. Monday, they had the lead. I’m like, “All right, we got this.” And then bullpen blows up. It happens. But pitching execution wasn’t there. Just some sloppy stuff, too. Just I don’t know. Kyle, I think I agree with you. I most embarrassing. Yeah, from start to finish is the only series all year where I felt like they did not play well from the jump. So hopefully the White Sox are frisky. They better figure it out. I I don’t know how Tai had a bad feeling coming into this. Credit to him. Um, I was very confident against this really poor offense that Kansas City was going to run out there. This is statistically uh pretty much the worst offense in baseball outside of of the Pirates. And I knew I knew the Brown thing probably wasn’t going to go great. I thought, but I I think it was going to go like that. Um, and and I didn’t I I guess I didn’t take into account how windy it was going to be today because that that’s the one point I want to make, guys, is like this pitching staff, you know, we talk about it. I talk about it all the time after the games when I do a postgame short and it’s the combination for the Cubs this year has been pretty much their big four offensively with some sort of unsung hero offensive uh excuse me sorry pitching wise and then the fact that they’ve been able to figure out the eighth and ninth inning and you know the unsung hero stuff pitching wise outside of Boyd is really win related fellas uh when Colin Ray is out there like he was Friday at 120 against Boston and it’s unseasonably cold and the wind’s blowing in, you feel great. You feel great with most competent major leaguers. But when you turn up the the temperature and the wind starts going, you just see the lack of stuff and the problems that this rotation has. And and I I just think that was what what was on display for the most part of the weekend is just you you shouldn’t give up 20 runs in two games against that offense. I know Perez is hot and when he gets hot, he’s as dangerous as anybody. hit hits homers on pitches like kind of like Pete does. But it it was just it was obvious uh uh when the game started it was going to be it was very similar to Ray’s start against Seattle when the wind was blowing out. Yeah. And Ray’s pitching arsenal is not good enough to mitigate those conditions. He’s got it perfectly. When it goes bad, uh it goes really bad. And uh today I it just got away from them. I didn’t think they were competitive at all today. So to support uh most embarrassing series. Yeah. It’s like today they just walked through it. Uh which was which was disappointing. And the margin of error and and uh uh trade or lack thereof from from earlier uh you know Ben Brown in that spot um for him to make that start you know that’s a problem. Uh Cubs are 11 and seven this month. Three and three since the break. Six games remaining until the deadline. What needs to happen in these next six? Three against the White Socks, three against the Brewers. We discussed prior to this 12game stretch, seven and five, maybe eight and four. They’re three and three. How did they get there? Um, well, I I mean, you’d like to sweep the White Socks. I mean, you’d like to. Yeah. I mean, they’ve won eight in a row against them, but like Alex said, they they’ve been pretty scrappy lately, uh, in their own right. And if you’re going to give up, you know, 20 runs to Kansas City, um, you know, I I it’s so funny though. I I guess I’ll close by saying this. It feels like they played so much worse than 11 and seven. Uh, it really does. And so that’s that’s the one positive, but like Tai said, I think that comes from the competition that just it’s because because 11 and seven for them that the Brewers would be in panic mode. I mean, we wouldn’t know what to do if they went 11 and seven. They haven’t lost seven games since 1996. So, I don’t know, Matt. I don’t know the answer to that. Four- two, five- one, something like that. I I don’t know. Yeah, I the the matchups are favorable this weekend. Uh, I know the White Socks are a little bit hot out of the break, but uh, Cubs need to take care of business. Kyle Tucker fouled the pitch off his knee Tuesday night and missed Wednesday as a precaution. Craig Council said Tucker will return Friday. Tucker is four for 26 in his last eight games. He has walked seven times to just five strikeouts. All right, you guys ready for trivia? Let’s do it. We have some home run related trivia as well as Cubs white socks. Uh we’re going to play it category style right after this. Today’s episode is brought to you by the crossover event perhaps of the season. Locked on Cubs and the setup man alongside Samber and Matt Cozy. Kyle Tai and Alex with the setup man are here. We go right into this to their feed uh to continue the show. A lot of trade talk over there, including specific names. And specific names is exactly what I’m going to ask you for about on this trivia edition of our show. uh something we do third segment a lot in our program. Wanted to have fun with these guys to close out on on our feed. And uh we we’ll go Sam, Kyle, Ty, Alex in that order. Uh if you get it wrong, you’re out. And uh that’s that’s basically how the game works. Okay. Right now, the Cubs have seven players with double digit home runs. That’s 10 or more home runs. The 2019 Cubs had 11 players who had 10 plus home runs. Name the 11 players. Is there a way you could turn the music down? I can’t think. Is that the Macarena? Um, so I So is this like Stump the Schwab style? Like I just name one and then pass. Just name one. Yeah. Uh, I’m going to go with Anthony Rizzo. Correct. 27 homers that year. Kyle Javi Bayz. Javi Bayz at 29. Tied Wilson Contrarus. Contrarus had 24. Alex, I think this I might get kicked out here. I’m blanking. Chris Bryant. Bryant 31. Nice job. Back to Sam. Did you say 20 plus or 10 plus? 10 plus. 2019 Cubs. 11 players did it. Uh I will go. Has has Schwarber been said? He has not. He had 38 that year, Kyle. God dang it. Um, oh my gosh, what a great song. Was Addison Russell still on the team? He was. He hit nine. Sorry. Ty. Uh, the music. The music. Yeah. No. Uh. Uh. Uh. This is so this is this is awful on the show. Just got announced on a seventh inning stretch. Uh one sorry no ties out. Alex Ian Hap Ian Hap hit 11 that year. Sam 2019 Cubs 10 plus homers. There’s one two three four five names left. How about Bod? David Bod hit 11. Alex Oh my David Bod is your name you’re going to pull. All right. Um I 2019 Cubs Jason Hayward. I don’t love the answer. It’s correct. I think Jason Hayward with 21. Yeah, he had a big Oh, wow. Trade that line, right, fellas? Fine. Nick Castanos. That’s correct. This is back to Alex for the tie. Tie or the loss. I’m running out of names. I don’t even remember who was on that team. Actually, there’s uh How many are left, Matthew? Two names left. Oh, I might be done here. Cast. Who was Alta? I was on that team. Oh gosh. I don’t even know. I know I’m wrong. Did Castanos hit You said, did he hit that all those with the Cubs? Not sure. Alex, I’m blanking, so I’m just going to go with a funny name. Tony Kemp. Uh, that’s incorrect. Uh, Sam, there’s two players left. Not sure how exactly this works or the amount of turns. I think I might be able to finish it. Yeah, I think so. Um, Keratini, that’s correct. He had 11 that year. The the 11th and final player, guys, was Albert Delmora Jr. with 12. Hilarious. I would have first of all, I would have really liked to finish that. Um, but I don’t think I would have got I don’t think I had no idea. I don’t think Albert got to remember that was the juice ball year. 2019 was the juice ball year. Wow. And I don’t remember Elmor. I wouldn’t have gotten Elmora. So, all right. Uh, say Zest. Yes. Yes. Uh, let’s see here. I have one more for us. Okay. I turn the music down per Sam’s request. Well, I just couldn’t think, you know, the Cubs played the White Socks this weekend, winners of eight in a row in the cross town series. The last time the Socks won was August 15th, 2023. 27 players appeared in that game. Name the 27 players. That is Matthew. That is a ve no very very good stuff. This is folks if you haven’t seen if you haven’t seen Stump. This is like, have you seen something Schwab, Matt? Oh, yeah. Yeah, that’s exactly what this is like. And then they they eliminate people through. Our guy Arthur wishes that he was on this episode right now. Oh, okay. Um, are you going to give us a break for injuries? Like, what if we say a guy that was on that team like like So, I’m going to go t I I’ll say Tim Anderson. I mean, he’s on that team, but I’m talking that game specifically. Well, that’s pretty harsh. And this was the one that the White Sox won. Yeah. August 15, 2023. We’ll start with Alex, then Ty, Kyle, and Sam. Don’t guess Tim Anderson, fell. The first guy that came to mind probably was also hurt, but Aloy Aloy Jimenez is correct. Hi. Just Just clarifying, Cubs and White Socks, right? Yeah, that’s true. Right. Uh Yan Mona. Monada is correct. Kyle Christopher Morell. Christopher Morell is correct. I believe the day or after or before was that big home run. Sam Madrical. Nick Madrical is incorrect. Back to Alex. Um well, Ian Hap. Ian Hap. Correct. Hi. I said a cub in a sock. Um Oh, Danby Swanson. Dansby Swanson. Kyle Warner. Porter. Back to Alex. Oh gosh, I just had a name and it just escaped me. Oh god. Um um um um I can’t think of any White Socks. Why am I blanking? This should be easy. Uh Kyle, you just said Nico, right? Mhm. Yes. This is Owendell. This is before Bush. Oh god. Five. Um four. Uh yeah, I’m out. I just totally blanked. All right. Shouldn’t be that hard. Ty. Andrew Benendi. Uh, correct. Back to Kyle. It’s Kyle versus Ty. Luis Robert. Luis Roberts. Correct. Ty. Oh, this is when it’s going to get rough. Uh, there’s so many names left. There are so many names left. Um. Oh. Uh. Yan Gomes. Uh, Gomes is correct. Back to Kyle. Good name. Uh, Z Suzuki, correct? And he hit eighth that day. Tied. He plays center field. Now, um, uh, oh my gosh, he said Christopher Morell, didn’t he? Um, let me think about this. White Socks 2003. There is one, two, three, four, five, six, seven Cubs left, including I’ve got one that’s going to make you guys open your eyes. Yeah, I’ve missed four. Three, two, last call. Sosa Lenn uh Lenning Sosa or uh that’s incorrect. Good guess. Kyle for the win. Patrick Wisdom. Uh that’s incorrect as well. So, we’re going to bring everybody else back in. Did was I I’m not going to lie. I didn’t really wasn’t paying much attention. Was Bellinger Did Bellinger not get Sam? Bellinger’s correct. Sam, let’s go back to Kyle. I was like Master Bony. Uh, incorrect. Ty, you have played third base. Boy, uh, Morell probably, Kyle. Oh, I said Morel. Oh. Oh. Oh. Uh, uh, uh, Mervvis. Matt MVIS. Uh, incorrect. Alex. Oh, that I was actually leaning towards Mervvis. What What was the date on this again? You know what? I’m just going to August 15th, 2023. Not even two years ago. Can you use it in a sentence? You’re too far back. You’re too far back. So, I’m going to say a name. People are going to laugh at me, but I don’t think he was cut yet. Mancini. Oh, he was cut after. You’re correct. How about Mike Tauman? That’s correct, Sam. Oh. Uh, uh, we could go around the horn or Sam, do you, uh, let’s see how many you could rattle off before we go back around the horn? Um, how many how many Cubs are left? Cubs left. Uh, one position player, four pitchers. Oh, like you’re talking about who? um like relievers too. These are all players that appeared in that game. Oh, this was you said what was the date? August 15th. Yes. 2023. Candelario. That’s correct. He’s the last Cubs position player. Uh would you like to keep going before Kyle, Tai, and Alex uh return? No. Bring him in. I have no idea who pitched. All right, let’s go to I mean I I’m guessing we’re cold on the White Socks. Kyle, you want to give it a shot? Oh, yes. There there is four Cubs left. Andrew Vaughn’s correct. Hi. Good hit. There’s still arms left. Yeah, all four pitchers are left for the Cubs. Okay. Uh, starting pitching wise, I’m going to go Justin Steel. Uh, incorrect. Alex Gavin Sheets. Gavin Sheets. I don’t see his name here. Sam. Wow. Um, uh, there is one, two, three, four position players left. one, two, three, four, five pitchers for them, but they’re all pretty uh nondescript. I don’t know if that’s the right term. No, I’ll just go um Iaga. Wait, that’s 24. We’re 23. I’m in the wrong year. I was just kidding. Um Strowman didn’t pitch. Uh Assad. Uh no. Uh final guesses for Kyle, Ty, and Alex. I might have the wrong year on this one, too. Paul D. Young. Uh nope. Ty guess. Uh, I’m going to say, um, this is fun, by the way. This is awesome. Yeah, this is this is so great. Yeah, this is great. Um, oh my gosh, guys. I’m gonna say, uh, who’s the guy just getting injured the other? Are you passing? Uh, yeah, I’m gonna dish. I’m one more. Let me get one more shot of or should I dish to the Go ahead, Alex. And then back to Sam. I’m just playing immaculate grid. Jesse Chavez. He’s got a shot. I don’t see his name on here. Uh, was Grandal catching? Yes, he was. Would you like to keep going? I think that’s all I got. Matthew. All right. For the Socks, Elvis Andress, the weather. Colas, Remalard, and listen to these pitchers that night. Tusant Banks, some guy named Lane Ramsay, Bummer, and Santos. Oh, Bummer always pitched. And no one got any of the Cubs four pitchers that night, which were Hrix, Merryweather, Lighter, and Alai. Oh, we should have got Lighter. He was pitching every game. All right, this is part one of the locked on Cub setup man crossover. Uh we’re going to kick it over to Kyle uh as he introduces us on their feed and then we’re going to talk trades as we continue to lead up until the deadline. for Sam, for Kyle, for Ty, for Alex.

Locked On Cubs and Setup Man crossover episode! Find out if the Cubs will go all in at the trade deadline, Cubs/Royals recap, trivia, and more. Part 2 on The Setup Man channel – https://youtu.be/c-lASOP_6fY?si=iJb42VQWU1SMFG2E

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