BEST PITCHING BLACK FRIDAY DEAL? | Cubs Baseball Rumors

BEST PITCHING BLACK FRIDAY DEAL? | Cubs Baseball Rumors

Hope everybody had a great Thanksgiving and now it’s Black Friday, so I’m sure everybody’s looking for something to think about other than what the best deals are on Amazon. I’m wondering what the best deal is for the Cubs to add an ace to the pitching staff. And I think it might be Sandy Alcantara of the Marlins. And you’ve heard some guys mention him. I’m going to get into that right here on the show today. So, make sure that you like, subscribe, thumbs up. Don’t forget about Avenue D. There we are. Mick Nation, hit that QR code, be a part of what we’re doing. That is our web three home for Cubs and talking cubs every single day. Let’s get this party started. Hey everybody, Mick Gillespie, Cubs Baseball Channel, and it is my pleasure to talk to you today about the Cubs. Happy Black Friday, too, if if that’s a thing. I ate so much turkey and ham yesterday. I’m stuffed. Now, I’m wondering what the Cubs are going to do. Uh, I know that it’s a different Thanksgiving in Canada than it is in the US, but they got a Thanksgiving Day gift when they went out and signed one of the best pitchers on the market, and that is former Cubs prospect Dylan CE, who is one of the most durable arms in baseball. The Jays told everybody in baseball by doing that, they expect to be back in the postseason next year. They want to win the World Series. How about the Cubs? what can they do on Black Friday to get somebody to help this team win? And I think the name that all of us are looking at is well, I don’t want to say all of us. I mean, there’s other names out there, right? I mean, there’s other guys that they could potentially sign as free agents, but coming from the trade aspect, it’s Sandy Alcantara, right? Is it a potential deal for the Cubs to make for Sandy Alcantara? Now, you remember at the deadline last year, it was rumored that the Cubs were interested in Alcantara. Now, he was returning from Tommy John surgery, ended up with a 536 earned run average. Um, he had a really slow start to the season, but finished strong and and um, you know, his the primary concern in the scouting reports is the decline in his command and consistency. Uh though his velocity remained good, right? Strong. That happens when you’re coming back from Tommy John surgery. It’s just the way that it is, right? The sinker fast ball comes in at 100 miles an hour. Everybody likes that left-hander. He normally sits 97. You got to love it though. Uh that’s the four seamer and the sinker. his offspe pitches. Uses a mid80s slider, an upper 80s change up, and a curveball. Mixes those. When he won the Sai Young award, he was so good at the secondary stuff, right? And his he’s just got great stuff, naturally good. It’s just trying to get all of that back after the surgery, right? And and it takes time. Sometimes, uh, guys come back from Tommy John and they’re even better eventually. They have more velocity, their arms are stronger than before they had the surgery, right? You know, the Marlins want to get rid of him. Now, the Marlins have a problem with the fact that if they do get rid of him, then then they all they lose the payroll that he’s eating up right now. and they’re way under uh the Major League Baseballs where they want to see teams uh be at payroll-wise. And if you don’t spend enough money, you know, then then you don’t get the money in and the way that the deal works, right? But he signed a 5-year 56 million contract with the Marlins in 21 and that includes a 27 option club option at $21 million. Right. So, uh, he would get $17 million for the season and then he would get 21 for the 27 season. Uh, the Marlins love to get rid of the big contracts, make deals and bring in guys that they think are going to help them. And they’ve done this before. They’ve won World Series doing this where they get rid of guys and then they come back in and then they bring in uh, younger players. they get a hall for a former Sai Young award winner and um you know and that’s kind of where you’re hearing a lot of these experts say that the Cubs could make their rotation really solid if they were able to get a Sandy Alcantara and you start to look at the rotation with Justin Steel Kate Horton Jameson Tyone I mean you know you got Matthew Boyd just show Imanaga so they they have already a pretty good rotation, but when you add that, when you talk about the guys backing up the top of the rotation, it feels really good, you know, that if the Cubs were able to get the 22 NLI Young Award winner. Um, and and remember his final seven starts, he had the 283 RA. It kind of showed you and that’s why teams were you kind of getting the feeling that maybe they were going to make a move because you were taking a risk was he he was like at the sevens there for a while wise. he was just not doing very good. But as things started to move on during the season, you could tell that hey, the eventually he was going to get it figured out. So that’s that’s where I’m thinking the Cubs could go out and get an impact arm for the rotation and they’re going to have to give up some players. But if they don’t want to go out and sign one of these guys for these long-term deals, you know, it’s like basically making a trade for a former Sai Young award winner for two years and unless they maybe manipulated the deal some. Now, the other guy on that team that everyone keeps talking about is Edwin Cabrera. And Edwin Cabrera uh had the 2025 season, came back from a sprained elbow and was uh really good. and he’s kind of one of those another Marlins player that they may sell high right now. He had a breakout season, right? Uh finished the 25 season with an uh career-high eight wins, a 353 erra, had 150 strikeouts and 137 and two/3 innings, 26 starts, right? um was placed on the 15-day IIL September with the elbow strain, but then came back and uh the for the final week of the season, had two starts, including one that was really good against the Mets that kept them out of the playoffs that eliminated them. So, he’s another guy who constantly gets the, you know, the Marlins may make a deal here and uh the Cubs are kind of another team that is mentioned with Cabrera. you get the feel that the Marlins are kind of willing to do some work here with the trades, but is that the direction that the Cubs want to go? And then you you you’re like, okay, well, they didn’t get Dylan CE. I thought that the Cubs would would be interested in Cease, but maybe it’s uh Framber Valdez, maybe it’s Ranger Suarez, maybe it’s Michael King, someone we talked about before, the uh another Padres’s arm. But I mean, I I’m thinking if you look for the potential of a of a super elite top of the rotation guy, then Alcantara is that guy. Now, you’re taking the risk with the injuries, but the fact is he’s already proven that. And I think that for the Cubs, this would be a really good catch if they were able to make a deal to get him. And I don’t want to give up the farm system, but you know what? If you get somebody that comes in and gives you two good years and you you really make a run like the Jays did last year, then then it’s worth it. You know, making the playoffs to give up your farm team. Um, you know, I don’t know. I mean, we’ll look back on this Kyle Tucker trade, see what happens there, and and kind of have uh the the evaluation of that years down the road. But right now, you know, I look at it and I go, “Hey, if I’m trying to build a winner, you got to have top end rotation arms and this guy could potentially be one of them.” And uh and who knows, you know, maybe you don’t have to give up a whole lot to get him, but you know, maybe they’re just trying to dump payroll. I don’t know. There’s going to be a lot of competition for him as well. So anyway, that’s the show for today. Have a great Black Friday. get out there and buy everything you can buy for a discount. That’s what Black Friday’s all about. And uh we’ll talk to you guys tomorrow. So like, subscribe, thumbs up. Thank you for being and hanging out. Um and um go Cubs. Did I Did I forget to mention the Cardinals in this show? I always do that. Uh no, look, I I’ll say this. Cardinals fans, good to see you guys, too. How’s your off seasonason going? Maybe we’ll maybe I’ll start doing like a a little report on some of the other teams. kind of see how their things are going with them because I haven’t heard a whole lot uh except you you’re trading pitchers away and that’s always like one of those well you know what we’re going young Cubs everybody

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This Episode:
– Dylan Cease to Jays…Cubs Big Move
– Sandy Alcantara Trade To Cubs?
– Edwin Cabrera In the Table?

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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