IMAI & BREGMAN SWEEPSTAKES UPDATE | Cubs Baseball Rumors

IMAI & BREGMAN SWEEPSTAKES UPDATE | Cubs Baseball Rumors

Cubs might have gotten a little boost in their search for their next ace pitcher. Tatsua Imaya, who is someone the Cubs would love to get, may be a lot closer to being a Cub than we thought yesterday. I’m going to tell you why. USA Today saying that maybe the Cubs are the team to watch for Alex Bregman. We’re going to talk Bregman and also a little bit more about Tyler Austin, the utility guy that the Cubs just signed a few days ago after being in Japan for 6 years. All that right here on the Cubs baseball channel. Like, subscribe, thumbs up. Don’t forget about Avenue D. That’s MC Nation, our web three home right there. Boom. That’s where we’re at. We want you guys to be here with us. Let’s get this party started. [music] >> [music] >> What you say everybody? Back home again. Welcome to the studio. Welcome to the show. I’m Mick Gillespie and this is the Cubs baseball channel. As you can see, hat and and and neon right there. and also your opportunity. Get in Avenue D, make some comments, play some games, lots of stuff going on in there. We That’s our Web 3 home. We’re picking football right now, but there’s also uh baseball coming up. We’ll even do some free agent stuff. We can do it all in there and it’s all free. And we give away cash prizes each week, including all of those Alabama Oklahoma cash prizes we gave away last night. Let’s get into what’s going on right now because I really feel like Tatsua Imi is a guy that the Cubs are seriously considering right here. But I know that he’s going to come with a huge price tag. But after what we saw Yamamoto do for the Dodgers in the World Series, the way that the Japanese pitchers have come over and had success, this one would be maybe the ace that changes this entire Cubs rotation. if he’s as good as we think that he can potentially be. And the other thing is that early January, he’s got to have a team picked out or he’s going back to Japan because um that’s what happens when you get posted. You have a certain number of days, get it done or don’t. Love that too. So, I wonder how much of the free agent market is kind of held up right now, you know, figuring out what EMI is going to do. Now, they’ve all, and I’m talking about the experts, have said that it’s coming down to three teams. The Cubs, the Phillies, and the Yankees. Now, that’s this may not be even close to remotely the way that it is, right? But that’s what we’re kind of hearing right now. Well, Aaron Boon said that the Yankees haven’t met yet with Emi and he doesn’t know if they’re going to. Well, if you’re going to pay a guy uh around $200 million, don’t you think that you would meet with Emaya? Now, he’s 27 years old. He’s been in the Japanese big leagues since he was 19 years old. He’s had back-to-back seasons with an earn run average of under 2.35, which is really amazing, right? Um last year he had a 1.92 RA. Think about that. 183 strikeouts, uh, more than a strikeout per inning, only allowed seven home runs, which I know a lot of you guys are going to love. And then when you start thinking about this Cubs rotation, Kate Horton, Justin Steel, and then I Hey, look, you start to feel like the Cubs could do something. And and I wonder if they get Emi, if they make a deal to get rid of one of their other starters, Matthew Boyd or Jameson Tyone. I don’t know. But I really feel like that this is something that the Cubs want to do. They’ve said constantly that they want to add pitching to this staff. That’s where they want to spend their money, right? So he’s looking right now uh at a contract that could be, you know, 135 million to $200 million over six or seven years, which is pretty interesting, right? Different services kind of have it in different places, but uh it didn’t hurt him at all that Yamamoto was the World Series MVP and he was one of the most dominant pitchers in the World Series since Madison Bumgarnner in 2014. I mean, just they couldn’t get him. They could not hit him. He they in baseball, they act like your arm’s going to fall off after a 100 pitches or six innings. This guy was a workhorse and the Dodgers aren’t World Series champs without him, right? So, what do you like about Emi? Well, he’s not turning 28 until May of 26. He’s got a fast ball that sits 95 to 99. He’s got that plus slider, you know, the gyro pitch that he throws. And we know that the Japanese players have come to America and they have performed in Major League Baseball. So, if the Yankees are out of this mix, you know, even though Amman was like, “Hey, I don’t have to be on a team that has established Japanese players or something to that effect, you know, that if it’s close and he’s getting a call from Shota or Seiya, it’s going to help. Just know it.” And the Cubs could certainly use him. I And I also have said this many times on this channel. I just love the culture that Japanese players bring to the clubhouse. The work ethic, the team ethic part of it. I think he would be a really great fit. Um and and you wonder, you know, how’s that going to translate? Sasaki came over last year. He’s also a Dodger. They ended up putting him in the bullpen, high leverage bullpen pitcher, but I think they envisioned him being a starter, but he was so young, you it wasn’t that big of an investment. It was his decision to make, right? Because remember when he came over because, you know, whatever the rules are in Major League Baseball, he couldn’t get paid like, you know, like what we’re looking at right now for I he wasn’t going to get paid that big money. All right, second topic today is are the Cubs the team to beat? USA Today predicts for Alex Bregman. Yeah, we keep hearing Alex Bregman and I I I just feel like there’s a lot of smoke here in this deal. Now, this would be a ton of money spent by the Cubs if they added Bregman and they added Emi. You’re hearing about the Nicoer trade rumors. Uh, I think if they get Bregman that the Cubs would have to entertain trade offers for Nico just to kind of balance things out with the way that these contracts are going to look down the road. Uh, I would hate to trade Nico, but Bregman is just an established star and he’s been a world champion twice, right? So, how’s this going to work out? Well, what one what some people were saying is that um that there’s a chance that maybe the Red Sox, who I think a lot of people feel like are still the favorite to resign Bregman, maybe aren’t the favorite that we think. And uh uh the USA Today reading that they’re talking about in in December 19th story, hey um there’s rumblings that that the Red Sox might really not be as interested in Bregman as everybody thought. Maybe they’re not the favorites that everybody thought. Maybe they want to do something else. And and that puts the Cubs in position to make a deal for Alex Bregman. We keep talking about that. that the Cubs tried to get him last year. The fact that they’re losing Kyle Tucker tells me that they really want to have that piece or something close to it on the team. And the experience of winning, you can’t understate it, right? So, last year it was Tucker, but Bregman, his former teammate and World Series partner, uh, in Houston, is known for elite bat-toball skill, which is something that Tucker’s pretty good at, too. uh ad advanced plate discipline. Tucker does that. Amazing approach, uh quick bat, compact swing, his ability to hit for power, which you know, everyone loves that now in the game. And um you know, and then hand eye coordination, plus he’s excellent defensively at third base. But I think the other part of it, and I always appreciated this about Kyle Tucker, is that he has a really good baseball IQ. leadership qualities. Cubs needed that. Tucker brought that to the table. You know, I felt like we were looking at this team and we’re like, why aren’t they succeeding the way that we think they should? Oh, boom. You know, move happens and all of a sudden, you know, Tucker and the Cubs and the the, you know, I’d say the rest of the team, too. And and and part of it, just the success that Tucker had made the rest of the lineup good. Could Bregman be one of those guys? I didn’t expect the Red Sox to contend last year and all of a sudden Bregman comes back from an injury. He’s excellent and they start winning, right? So, for those of you that are like, “Okay, why is Bregman someone that the Cubs want?” Again, plate discipline. He’s got a really fantastic swing with power and, you know, his amazing bat-to- ball skills. Plus, you add the defense and the leadership makeup and young players that he could mentor and this is a good fit for the Cubs. If you’re in that desperation mode that the Cubs were in last year, Alex Bregman’s that guy, you know, I wonder if the Red Sox feel like, h, you know, we don’t want to go um, you know, back with this guy and have to give him all that money. I don’t know. I mean, to me, it’s like you already had him in the, you know, in a contract that was longterm. what would really be a whole lot different just kind of seeing the way that the market worked out and how weird would that be if you go back to to Boston. I still think there’s got to be because I know if it was me I wouldn’t have liked the way that the Raphael Devers thing was handled. I I would have rather have shown up. Devils agree on, hey, we’re doing this. I’m cool with that. And we kind of go back and forth on um hey, I’m going to play, you know, he already knows he’s not playing third and I’m playing third or, you know, tell me ahead of time that I’m signing, but we’re going to surprise this guy and tell him he doesn’t have his position anymore and ruin the clubhouse for the year. They trade at Des. I think I’ve talked about that before and I really do feel like that’s something that poisoned the Red Sox team last year. If Divers would have stayed there and been happy and then you teamed him up with Bregman, could have been a hell of a team. All right, last thing I want to talk about is that the Cubs recently signed uh American first baseman outfielder Tyler Austin out of Japan. And we’re hearing, you know, like, and I’m I’m learning a lot about Austin other than he played 17 games for the Brewers with Craig Council as their manager. And then at 34 years old, uh, a former top Yankees prospect who, you know, signed a one-year deal with the Cubs. He was on the, uh, the Bay Stars over in Japan. And this is a guy that the Cubs probably look at and think if if he can come on and be that utility guy, give Michael Bush some time off, you know, kind of kind of give them a little bit of right-handed presence at the plate and, you know, play some multiple positions. I think they would be pretty happy with him, right? Um, so he’s on the 40man roster. You know, that’s only 34 players on the Cubs 40man roster right now. So, I’m curious to see how that all goes down as well because they still have spots which means that there’s stuff that they intend on doing and we’ll find that out as well. But, uh, hearing a lot of good things about Austin and his uh, defensive ability. Not only that, but the fact that he’s been a pretty great hitter in Japan over the last few years as well. Maybe that’ll translate into coming back to the States and being someone that can contribute. All right, guys. Uh, again, Avenue D Mick Nation. Hit that QR code. Be a part of it. We do this uh on a daily basis here on this channel. Like and subscribe. Help us get to 10,000 subscribers. Is that too much to ask? It’s the holiday season. Let’s open up a gift of subscribers. Share with your Cubs friends. Get in here and talk every day. And let’s continue to uh to uh get this team closer and closer to opening day. But uh thank you guys. And uh go >> [music]

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This Episode:
– Lastest on: Tatsuya Imai
– Cubs Team To Beat? USA Today Insider Predicts…
– Alex Bregman to Cubs?
– Cubs recently signed American first baseman/outfielder Tyler Austin

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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