Looking Ahead - The 2020 Offseason Thread

PawPawMaxwell said:
I have doubts that Liberty will allow AA to pitch Enders money into the wind. If he cant trade him then he will have to eat a bench seat. Heyward comes up every year as potential target (kinda like Lucroy) when folks disremember why he was traded in the first place. Not to mention there is already an overloaded OF on hand (please dont think Pache and Waters arent in plans). I think (maybe wish) that rest of playoffs and performance of Wright and Anderson will play big in pitching moves, if any, this winter. If Cubs do go into semi rebuild Ender would be viable as they need a CF. Ideal way for them to move some Bryant money (or Heyward but doubtful Braves would have interest in Jason). Is Pederson that much of a target considering already have Duvall on board and Pederson cant hit LHers?
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I don't know why Liberty would care whether Ender is on the roster or not.

If AA keeps Ender around, it's probably because the utility of dumping his sunk cost isn't any greater than the utility of keeping him around.
 
NYCBrave said:
How much money would they need to eat though? We were paying Markakis what, $6 mil a year? That's a big ask of the Cubs to eat, and I'm not sure how much we are going to pay a platoon type outfielder. Plus if the Cubs eat money, they will want a prospect back.
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Heyward has negative trade value. They have to eat money just so he's worth acquiring.
 
zbhargrove said:
Bryant makes me nervous... he was God awful this year, has always had subpar Statcast metrics... and this was like a short prove it year and he failed. He doesn't fit AA's model IMO... Ozuna had a bit of a down year before we signed him, but at least he still had the insane Statcast data to suggest a tweak or two and he may be dominant again. I'm not seeing that in Bryant's profile at all.
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i could be wrong, but i thought his statcast data was only down in 2019.
we're also talking about a 34 game sample size this year where he was hurt pretty much the entire time.
the Cubs aren't going to keep him. the cost to acquire probably won't be high. i think 3 WAR is a super conservative estimate for him.
 
Southcack77 said:
I don't know why Liberty would care whether Ender is on the roster or not.

If AA keeps Ender around, it's probably because the utility of dumping his sunk cost isn't any greater than the utility of keeping him around.
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I concede that Liberty probably doesnt even know who Ender Inciarte is but even a multibillion dollar publicly held entity is unlikely to allow a subsidiary to pitch $8.2M dollars into the gutter following the year that subsidiary just completed.
 
Super said:
i could be wrong, but i thought his statcast data was only down in 2019.
we're also talking about a 34 game sample size this year where he was hurt pretty much the entire time.
the Cubs aren't going to keep him. the cost to acquire probably won't be high. i think 3 WAR is a super conservative estimate for him.
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His xWOBA was 355 and 354 in 2018 and 2019. That's good but a step down from the hitter he was in 2017 and 2016.

I'd say a 3-4 WAR player is what you should expect from him in 2021. He's likely going to get paid in the low 20's through arbitration. Something close to what the Braves paid Donaldson.

In a normal year that wouldn't leave Bryant with much trade value if any at all. So it would depend on what the Cubs would take for him and they likely aren't wanting to give him away for free. And I'd be all for coming up with a deal depending on the prospect price.

But with the current financial state of the team (and mlb in general) in limbo right now. Not sure paying old market price + prospects would be the way to go.

Cubs may have to come to terms with Bryant first and then trade him while swallowing some salary.
 
PawPawMaxwell said:
I concede that Liberty probably doesnt even know who Ender Inciarte is but even a multibillion dollar publicly held entity is unlikely to allow a subsidiary to pitch $8.2M dollars into the gutter following the year that subsidiary just completed.
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I disagree. Liberty only cares about the bottom line and the deductions they're carrying.

I'd argue that Liberty is a hell of a lot less likely to stand in the way of cutting a player's dead weight than an actual owner would be.
 
PawPawMaxwell said:
I concede that Liberty probably doesnt even know who Ender Inciarte is but even a multibillion dollar publicly held entity is unlikely to allow a subsidiary to pitch $8.2M dollars into the gutter following the year that subsidiary just completed.
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They have to eat the money anyway, what do they care whether he’s on the roster or not?
 
thewupk said:
His xWOBA was 355 and 354 in 2018 and 2019. That's good but a step down from the hitter he was in 2017 and 2016.

I'd say a 3-4 WAR player is what you should expect from him in 2021. He's likely going to get paid in the low 20's through arbitration. Something close to what the Braves paid Donaldson.

In a normal year that wouldn't leave Bryant with much trade value if any at all. So it would depend on what the Cubs would take for him and they likely aren't wanting to give him away for free. And I'd be all for coming up with a deal depending on the prospect price.

But with the current financial state of the team (and mlb in general) in limbo right now. Not sure paying old market price + prospects would be the way to go.

Cubs may have to come to terms with Bryant first and then trade him while swallowing some salary.
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yeah, my premise comes from the fact that Bryant will not be playing for the Cubs in 2021, and everybody knows it, and therefore he won't cost much prospect-wise.
he was unhappy and wanted out last offseason, and i imagine that feeling is just as strong or stronger this offseason.
 
Bryant may or may not be an answer for Braves in 2021 but the Braves are one of very few teams with excess pitching prospects. Cubs issues with Bryant or Bryants issues with Cubs are well known. Cubs did have dire need for CF this year when they had to move Heyward to CF and stated so.


Should have been 2019
 
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Ender and some prospects makes sense but depends how high in the prospect pool we'd have to go to land KB. He had a really bad year but small sample size. Still hoping we can bring back Ozuna though but i doubt it.
 
Heyward said:
Ender and some prospects makes sense but depends how high in the prospect pool we'd have to go to land KB. He had a really bad year but small sample size. Still hoping we can bring back Ozuna though but i doubt it.
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Ender and Bryse? is that too much? too little?
 
Super said:
Ender and Bryse? is that too much? too little?
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I was thinking about someone a bit lower on the prospect list but really have no idea as to values. Anyone know who is at risk as a Rule 5 loss this year? Just fate I guess but I saw Wilsons gem last year and the good effort this year. Then too, he is still awfully young. In the end it all may be wishful thinking but if the DH comes into play Bryant would be a viable solution IMO.
 
There must be a bounce back candidate similar to KB who won't cost prospects and a ton of cash.

Where's that FA list?
 
Is Springer a guy who could be hung with a QO, overestimate his market, and be available on a 1 year deal? He seems like the ideal fit for this roster, especially if long term FA contracts are butchered this off season.

How about Justin Turner on a 1 year deal? AA likely knows him well from his days in LA.

LeMahieu?
 
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Enscheff said:
Is Springer a guy who could be hung with a QO, overestimate his market, and be available on a 1 year deal? He seems like the ideal fit for this roster, especially if long term FA contracts are butchered this off season.

How about Justin Turner on a 1 year deal? AA likely knows him well from his days in LA.

LeMahieu?
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I feel like LeMahieu may be overrated, and also is probably a good candidate to remain in New York.

Pederson and Turner could be a nice double-move, though, further Dodgering up the Braves.
 
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