The offseason grades for the Cubs are in
Although another move or two could still be out there, the Cubs checked a lot of boxes this winter, adding to a roster that will be expected to win 90-plus games, a division title and multiple playoff rounds. With spring training right around the corner, The Athletic’s Sahadev Sharma and Patrick Mooney hand out their offseason grades, reviewing what the Cubs got right and pointing out what could go wrong.
8 comments
What do you think about the Cubs adding Evan Phillips? He has excellent numbers when healthy and should be available for the 2nd half plus he shouldn't cost a ton. He could be a great insurance option if Harvey isn't healthy and could be a great set-up man if Harvey is closing.
Sahadev goes off screen at 8:40…DRINK!
Reimagine this offseason if they’d just not offered Imanaga a QO. For me, it changed the calculus and restricted some of what they could’ve done to sign Gallen, a higher-tiered RP, etc. They got too cute with their administration and that’s a ding against their offseason grade.
Patrick your intro nailed it. I like what the Cubs have done this offseason, but they need a little more. What I absolutely don’t want is to trade Nico & Shaw.
Atlanta Braves have a 270M dollar payroll… Cubs are sitting under 250M. They need to go get Gallen to make this an A+.
The Cubs signed a cheater. Not a fan of cheaters.
Last year i scoured MLB and i said Tucker is who they will get. I never expected them to do it.
This year i looked for a long term RF who plays good defense.
Baseball trade values says Wilyer Abreu, Kristian Campbell, Marcus Phillips and John Hoboletz for Shaw and some minor leaguers like Hollowell, Brendan Little and Bateman.
Kristian Campbell can play of and inf.
Right now, the 4 bench spots are looking like backup catcher, Shaw, Austin, and either Carlson or McCormick (because both have ability to backup CF and Alcantara will likely start in AAA again). I'm not sure there's any other better backup CF options out there right now, so upgrading bench might come down to do they really believe in Austin or would they be better off spending a few more million on Goldschmidt? It would be similar role as Austin (backup 1B, DH platoon with Ballesteros, and some pinch hit ABs) but with more of a track record / certainty.