SEIYA FOR SCHWARBER?| Cubs Baseball Podcast

SEIYA FOR SCHWARBER?| Cubs Baseball Podcast

Could the Cubs sign Devin Williams? Is he that backend closer that the Cubs need to team up with the guys that they have and they’re going to bring back in for a World Series run? Would he not go back to the Yankees? We’re going to talk about that. How about another former Yankee? Would the Cubs be interested in Marcus Strowman? Would you bring him back? And they got to keep an eye on Zack Gallon who is not signed. I still think the Cubs are interested in Gallon and he could be one of those pitchers who has a big comeback season. Would you risk it for the money that he’s going to want? All that right here on the Cubs baseball channel. Thank you guys for being here. Let’s get the show started. [Music] [Applause] [Music] What do you say everybody? Welcome to the Cubs baseball channel. Thanks for hanging. Like, subscribe, thumbs up, hit our QR code right there at the bottom of the screen under my microphone for Avenue D, our web 3 home. That is where we’re going to have some swag that we give away. Some of you guys have already won. And other stuff. Also, get in the comments section. Appreciate all of you guys for hanging out with us like you do on a daily basis. And this is that time of year where, you know, we’re not in the prediction business, but you try to be a little bit because obviously that’s what we’re trying to figure out right now. What the future’s going to look like for the Cubs franchise. What is it going to look like? So, we’ll get into that a little bit today. One step closer to next baseball season. I know we’re a long way away, but it’s this is where it starts, right? World Series is over. You try to make some moves. And one of those moves could be Devin Williams. You guys remember him as an all-star in Milwaukee. Um he pitched with the Yankees after trading the Yankees, trading the Milwaukee Brewers for him and he was so good in Milwaukee and then uh he had that huge RA in New York, right? 479 ERA. But there’s still a lot of good things about him. First off, he’s got that four seam fast ball. Sits mid to high 90s. Sometimes he gets it over 100 miles an hour. His change up, aka the air bender. Anytime your change up, one of your pitches has its own nickname. That means it’s pretty good. And that is his uh signature pitch. It’s deceptive. We know that. Uh he’s he throws at 12 miles an hour, slower than his fast ball. Kind of reminding me of I I’ve always talked about this. I thought Randy Wolf had a killer change up. Jake Aretta had a killer change up. Devin Williams has a killer change up. And a killer change up to me is the most effective pitch. I know when uh parents talk about baseball to their kids, they ask me what I think. I think you learn how to throw a change up and you you mix that with a really good fast ball and you’re tough to hit. Williams also has a mid80s to upper 80s slider. Doesn’t use that a whole lot. And then, you know, he has the 3/4 delivery. And, uh, it’s it’s, you know, kind of kind of that, you know, 3/4 the high three/4ers delivery, right? Almost over the top. Makes his fast ball seem a little bit tougher to hit. And, uh, he’s a strikeout guy. And someone who doesn’t look like is going to resign with the Yankees. And you’re starting to hear, of course, the Dodgers because, you know, the Dodgers have more money than anybody else. So, uh, they’re always mentioned in any kind of free agency. I mean, it’s like they have two rosters full of players because they have so much money, right? Um, but Williams could be going there. Of course, he played for Craig Council in Milwaukee and, uh, Chicago would be a pretty good fit, you know, for a guy who was there, right? Um he is sometimes super elite, came back from a stress facure in his back in 2024. You remember that? And um and then obviously was uh traded to the Yankees. It feels like he’s one of these guys who if the Cubs sign him could potentially be one of the um guys that really has a bounceback season. I got to give the Cubs credit. It seems like they always find these guys, you know, like the guys that, you know, you’re like, well, um, this guy’s done like Drew Pomearance and then all of a sudden he’s back, you know, Brad Keller was the same way. Um, you know, so maybe he’s the next guy. Not to say that he really took that big of a step back. He’s gonna have one of those years, right, be where the contract’s going to be probably a one-year deal between 10 and 20 million dollars. Uh, but maybe he gets more, right? I mean, you it maybe you give him two, maybe you give him three. Teams don’t want to really stretch out these relievers because it’s so much money. Uh, I’ve seen him project it to get as much as a four-year deal for $68 million. And I and I say that he’s going to get a multi-year deal, I think. But that’ll probably be like options there maybe. Uh player options. I don’t know. I mean, I’m just over here predicting. But um you know, ESPN saying maybe three years 45 million. That’s 15 a year. Uh I saw another one one year, 5.7 million on a prove it deal with what was that spot rack said that and I I could see that too. But I got a feeling even with the high ERA, somebody’s going to be willing to pay him, right? So, and if it’s a one-year deal, I anywhere between 10 and 20 and then uh you know, but if if a team feels really confident that he’s going to have that bounceback year, then uh you know, then then anything can happen, right? Um Mets, Dodgers, Tigers, Cardinals, Yankees, Cubs, all kind of in uh you know, listed as teams that might want a Devin Williams. I’d love to have a Devin Williams. give them to me. I we could use them in that bullpen. Nothing wrong with that. And I and I feel like when you look at the the way that these playoff games went this year, um the Dodgers opposite, right? They had to use the starting pitching to make up for the lack of a bullpen, but everybody else like relied on the bullpen. So maybe we’re over valuing starting pitching because the Cubs had great starting pitching. Got into the postseason and you know, they didn’t even feel like pitching. show Imanaga, right? All right. Here’s the second thing I want to get into. Would the Cubs resign Marcus Strowman? Uh, he was a member of the Cubs and I just don’t think that they’re going to resign him. I mean, I’m just going to say that right off the bat. Now, he could pitch out of the bullpen, he could start. He was at times really good for the Cubs and at other times he was hurt, right? But um he signed what a threeyear $71 million with the a deal with the Cubs 2022. He had a 350 ERA in 25 starts that season. Next year he came back he was 395 and then he opted out of his final year with the Cubs and he signed that $21 million deal with the Yankees, right? Um I I don’t know like it’s just he had that really weird injury. just kind of felt like maybe some people were like not happy about the it was like a cracked rib cage cartilage thing and nobody really knew how that happened and I don’t know like just a a freak injury but the Cubs needed him down the stretch and and he wasn’t there and then remember he came back and he pitched and he was not that good kind of disrupted things at the end of the season so you know so we’ll see what happens um he would be I bet you easy on the budget But, you know, how did he work out in the clubhouse? Is it someone that they want to deal with, you know, or do they say, “H, you know what? Uh, we’ll pass on Strowman.” I think that’s what they’re going to do. I just I don’t see them signing Marcus Strowman. Now, the last guy, shout out to our guy, uh, Brett at Bleacher Report. Always doing a great job. Great story on there about Zack Gallon. And I kind of wanted to talk about Zack Gallon, too. I mean, I I really felt like the Cubs were going to trade the Diamondbacks last year for Gallon or Melo Kelly. They didn’t. And we could have used him in the postseason. Although, I know Gallon wasn’t as good as he’s been, but we’ve seen him at his best, and his best is pretty darn good, right? uh gallon is expected to get somewhere between 75 and $80 million. So that’s 18 to 20 million and they’re saying that maybe like a four-year deal. Um I that’s kind of where you’re hearing that he’s going to go. Ton of teams need starting pitching. He’s not coming off of one of his best des. So maybe uh you know he teams would probably like to give him a shorter deal you know maybe like two two years $45 million uh or have some kind of a of an opt out. You know the there was a big decline in performance. I mean he had ended up with a 483 erra lowered his market value. Um you know he’s got Scott Boris as his agent. teams a little bit reluctant sometimes to deal with Boris, although I think that’s changed somewhat just because of the market over the last year or so, but he’s a uh potentially a top of the rotation guy. And you start to look at the Cubs rotation with Gallon and and you’re like, you know what, I mean, you feel pretty good about it. Um I I mean, I would, right? You got Justin Steel supposedly coming back. You got Kate Horton right there at the top of the rotation, Jameson Tyion, um, show Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, and then, you know, maybe add Zack Allen in there. The Cubs, and and what really made last year so good for the Cubs is that they had a lot of options in the starting pitching department. And I remember, and I’ve said this on the channel a ton of times, I remember Theo Epstein saying that you don’t have five guys anymore. And there was a time when you had four guys. Older baseball fans will tell you that. But a fiveman rotation, no man, you got to have seven or eight, maybe even more. You got to have a lot of options when it comes to starters. Then they limit the amount of innings that these guys pitch on top of that. So, how much money do you want to spend on a Zack Allen when you, you know, you’re going, “Well, I don’t know how much we’re going to use him.” I think you spend the money because if there was a reason why the Cubs made the playoffs last year, that to me was like at the top of the list because the starting pitching was so deep that they got Colin Ray coming back. I mean, he was great. Started in the bullpen and then and then was, you know, in the rotation when people get hurt. They get hurt all the time pitching. So, you know, could Gallon be one of those guys? I don’t know. I mean, I I would do it, but I also think that the Cubs are going to look at probably Dylan CE before him, you know, some of the options from some of these guys coming from Japan that can pitch and they’re going to try to figure out the best way to use their their resources, right? They’re going to have some money to spend just because the the budget’s a little a little less this year than it’s been. uh with, you know, obviously Tucker leaving and, you know, money coming off the books, but um they’ve talked about pitching. Pitching is the name of the game. And so, Zack Allen, one of those guys that obviously is fantastic. All right. Hey, again, uh join our Avenue D Mick Nation. Hit that QR code right there at the bottom of the screen and be a part of what we’re doing. And appreciate all of you guys for hanging out. We’ll give out swag. Got some uh here to give. So, you just got to get out there and uh and win. And then how do you do that? Hey, we give away cash prizes. Well, we pick games and stuff. I know there’s no baseball games, but football. How about all you Bears fans? Got you a dub. Bears playing some pretty good football. Beat the Steelers. Everybody happy about that. All right. Like, subscribe, thumbs up, hit the bell, and uh thank you guys. And again, we are proudly presented by Severeville in the Smoky Mountains. Severeville, right there by Pigeon Forge in Gatlinburg. Great place to spend the holidays. Millions of holiday lights and everything else. And u it is a short flight from Chicago down there. Even not the driving bad either. All right. Thanks, guys. When you head to the Smoky Mountains, it’s only natural to visit Sevirville. Even we had to check it out. And we’ve been here our whole lives. Experience the adventure of a lifetime. I’m king of the world. Even you can get a bird’s eye view of the Smokies. You’re going down, Billy. Whoa. Your smoke is start here. [Music] [Music]

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This Episode:
– The Cubs Could Sign Devin Williams…
– Would the Cubs Resign Marcus Stroman?
– Is Zac Gallen On the Radar??

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Mick Gillispie has covered the Chicago Cubs since 2007 and has been a fan of the team since the 1984 season. He has broadcasted spring training games or been heard on Cubs.com, MLB.com, 670 The Score, WGN, CSN-Chicago and Marquee Sports Network. He is an award winning play-by-play voice for the Tennessee Smokies Cubs Double-A Affiliate. He has also hosted many forums over the years at Cubs Convention including Down on The Farm.