2015 Cubs Offseason: Building a Winner Around David Ross

[SKO]

If Boston's really shopping Jackie Bradley around, how creative does Jepstink get to bring him in?

I kinda feel like this guy is just an older version of Almora.  Am I wrong?

I would be extremely hesistant for them to give up much for a guy who has basically had one good month in the majors, however highly regarded he was as a prospect. Dude had a .548 OPS in 530 PA before this year, and even this year he had a .426 OPS in his first 24 games, followed by a blisteringly hot 1.441 OPS over his next 25 games (with a .577 (!) BABIP), then in his last 25 games he had a .510 OPS.

There's a lot of absolutely unplayable offensive production sandwiched around one ludicrous hot streak. He scares the piss out of me.

[Oleg]

If Boston's really shopping Jackie Bradley around, how creative does Jepstink get to bring him in?

I kinda feel like this guy is just an older version of Almora.  Am I wrong?

I would be extremely hesistant for them to give up much for a guy who has basically had one good month in the majors, however highly regarded he was as a prospect. Dude had a .548 OPS in 530 PA before this year, and even this year he had a .426 OPS in his first 24 games, followed by a blisteringly hot 1.441 OPS over his next 25 games (with a .577 (!) BABIP), then in his last 25 games he had a .510 OPS.

There's a lot of absolutely unplayable offensive production sandwiched around one ludicrous hot streak. He scares the piss out of me.

But...he's 25 and may be better than Heyward on defense.  He wouldn't solve the lead-off man problem but The Cubs may have enough offense to work around him and he's cheap.  He also strikes out about 30% of the time, which doesn't seem to jive with what Theo said he wanted to do this off-season.

[Quality Start Machine]

If Boston's really shopping Jackie Bradley around, how creative does Jepstink get to bring him in?

I kinda feel like this guy is just an older version of Almora.  Am I wrong?

I would be extremely hesistant for them to give up much for a guy who has basically had one good month in the majors, however highly regarded he was as a prospect. Dude had a .548 OPS in 530 PA before this year, and even this year he had a .426 OPS in his first 24 games, followed by a blisteringly hot 1.441 OPS over his next 25 games (with a .577 (!) BABIP), then in his last 25 games he had a .510 OPS.

There's a lot of absolutely unplayable offensive production sandwiched around one ludicrous hot streak. He scares the piss out of me.

I'm thinking his defense and low cost can be an attractive alternative in the event that Span gets too expensive. Not to mention, at his age he'd be pretty easy to roll off if/when anybody from the minors is ready to slot in.

[SKO]

If Boston's really shopping Jackie Bradley around, how creative does Jepstink get to bring him in?

I kinda feel like this guy is just an older version of Almora.  Am I wrong?

I would be extremely hesistant for them to give up much for a guy who has basically had one good month in the majors, however highly regarded he was as a prospect. Dude had a .548 OPS in 530 PA before this year, and even this year he had a .426 OPS in his first 24 games, followed by a blisteringly hot 1.441 OPS over his next 25 games (with a .577 (!) BABIP), then in his last 25 games he had a .510 OPS.

There's a lot of absolutely unplayable offensive production sandwiched around one ludicrous hot streak. He scares the piss out of me.

But...he's 25 and may be better than Heyward on defense.  He wouldn't solve the lead-off man problem but The Cubs may have enough offense to work around him and he's cheap.  He also strikes out about 30% of the time, which doesn't seem to jive with what Theo said he wanted to do this off-season.

I mean he's worth looking into but the price would have to be less than the Red Sox could probably get from a much dumber team willing to overreact to a small sample size.

I don't think the Cubs have enough offense they can just punt CF and make it a defense only position and if they're planning on doing so why not just call up Almora?

[Quality Start Machine]

If Boston's really shopping Jackie Bradley around, how creative does Jepstink get to bring him in?

I kinda feel like this guy is just an older version of Almora.  Am I wrong?

I would be extremely hesistant for them to give up much for a guy who has basically had one good month in the majors, however highly regarded he was as a prospect. Dude had a .548 OPS in 530 PA before this year, and even this year he had a .426 OPS in his first 24 games, followed by a blisteringly hot 1.441 OPS over his next 25 games (with a .577 (!) BABIP), then in his last 25 games he had a .510 OPS.

There's a lot of absolutely unplayable offensive production sandwiched around one ludicrous hot streak. He scares the piss out of me.

But...he's 25 and may be better than Heyward on defense.  He wouldn't solve the lead-off man problem but The Cubs may have enough offense to work around him and he's cheap.  He also strikes out about 30% of the time, which doesn't seem to jive with what Theo said he wanted to do this off-season.

I mean he's worth looking into but the price would have to be less than the Red Sox could probably get from a much dumber team willing to overreact to a small sample size.

I don't think the Cubs have enough offense they can just punt CF and make it a defense only position and if they're planning on doing so why not just call up Almora?

Or maybe Theo sees what he saw when he drafted him, and the Cubs think they can make him into a decent hitter? That way, they can let Almora continue trying to figure it our offensively?

Either way, I doubt Bradley is Plan A or even Plan B. Just something to consider if the CF market goes beyond what they're willing to spend, and they don't just want to say "fuck it" and hand the keys over to Austin Jackson..

[SKO]

If Boston's really shopping Jackie Bradley around, how creative does Jepstink get to bring him in?

I kinda feel like this guy is just an older version of Almora.  Am I wrong?

I would be extremely hesistant for them to give up much for a guy who has basically had one good month in the majors, however highly regarded he was as a prospect. Dude had a .548 OPS in 530 PA before this year, and even this year he had a .426 OPS in his first 24 games, followed by a blisteringly hot 1.441 OPS over his next 25 games (with a .577 (!) BABIP), then in his last 25 games he had a .510 OPS.

There's a lot of absolutely unplayable offensive production sandwiched around one ludicrous hot streak. He scares the piss out of me.

But...he's 25 and may be better than Heyward on defense.  He wouldn't solve the lead-off man problem but The Cubs may have enough offense to work around him and he's cheap.  He also strikes out about 30% of the time, which doesn't seem to jive with what Theo said he wanted to do this off-season.

I mean he's worth looking into but the price would have to be less than the Red Sox could probably get from a much dumber team willing to overreact to a small sample size.

I don't think the Cubs have enough offense they can just punt CF and make it a defense only position and if they're planning on doing so why not just call up Almora?

Or maybe Theo sees what he saw when he drafted him, and the Cubs think they can make him into a decent hitter? That way, they can let Almora continue trying to figure it our offensively?

Either way, I doubt Bradley is Plan A or even Plan B. Just something to consider if the CF market goes beyond what they're willing to spend, and they don't just want to say "fuck it" and hand the keys over to Austin Jackson..

I would hope to God Theo's not allowing anything about Albert Almora to influence his thinking when his focus should be on making a title run with a team that was four wins away from a world series last year. If he forces his way into the picture, cool, but a guy who has had one decent half season at AA should be a complete non-factor in their major league plans.

Also, I would feel considerably better about just saying "fuck it" and handing the keys over to Austin Jackson, Major League CF who has averaged 3 fWAR a year in his career, than banking on Jackie Bradley, Jr. and his 25 games of actually decent major league production.

I mean if they get him for the trade value you would expect for a fourth outfielder with upside, fine, sure, let's try it and hopefully hedge the bet with Jackson or something, but given the hot streak and the hype that often surrounds Boston prospects and the fact that teams like the Mariners also have interest in him I'd say he'd be more of a risk than he's worth.

[Quality Start Machine]

If Boston's really shopping Jackie Bradley around, how creative does Jepstink get to bring him in?

I kinda feel like this guy is just an older version of Almora.  Am I wrong?

I would be extremely hesistant for them to give up much for a guy who has basically had one good month in the majors, however highly regarded he was as a prospect. Dude had a .548 OPS in 530 PA before this year, and even this year he had a .426 OPS in his first 24 games, followed by a blisteringly hot 1.441 OPS over his next 25 games (with a .577 (!) BABIP), then in his last 25 games he had a .510 OPS.

There's a lot of absolutely unplayable offensive production sandwiched around one ludicrous hot streak. He scares the piss out of me.

But...he's 25 and may be better than Heyward on defense.  He wouldn't solve the lead-off man problem but The Cubs may have enough offense to work around him and he's cheap.  He also strikes out about 30% of the time, which doesn't seem to jive with what Theo said he wanted to do this off-season.

I mean he's worth looking into but the price would have to be less than the Red Sox could probably get from a much dumber team willing to overreact to a small sample size.

I don't think the Cubs have enough offense they can just punt CF and make it a defense only position and if they're planning on doing so why not just call up Almora?

Or maybe Theo sees what he saw when he drafted him, and the Cubs think they can make him into a decent hitter? That way, they can let Almora continue trying to figure it our offensively?

Either way, I doubt Bradley is Plan A or even Plan B. Just something to consider if the CF market goes beyond what they're willing to spend, and they don't just want to say "fuck it" and hand the keys over to Austin Jackson..

I would hope to God Theo's not allowing anything about Albert Almora to influence his thinking when his focus should be on making a title run with a team that was four wins away from a world series last year. If he forces his way into the picture, cool, but a guy who has had one decent half season at AA should be a complete non-factor in their major league plans.

Also, I would feel considerably better about just saying "fuck it" and handing the keys over to Austin Jackson, Major League CF who has averaged 3 fWAR a year in his career, than banking on Jackie Bradley, Jr. and his 25 games of actually decent major league production.

I mean if they get him for the trade value you would expect for a fourth outfielder with upside, fine, sure, let's try it and hopefully hedge the bet with Jackson or something, but given the hot streak and the hype that often surrounds Boston prospects and the fact that teams like the Mariners also have interest in him I'd say he'd be more of a risk than he's worth.

Jackson will cost a lot more than the half-million Bradley does.

And Almora isn't influencing anybody's thinking. Once Bryant, Russell and Schwarber came up, the minors still have some good guys, but no show stoppers.

[SKO]

If Boston's really shopping Jackie Bradley around, how creative does Jepstink get to bring him in?

I kinda feel like this guy is just an older version of Almora.  Am I wrong?

I would be extremely hesistant for them to give up much for a guy who has basically had one good month in the majors, however highly regarded he was as a prospect. Dude had a .548 OPS in 530 PA before this year, and even this year he had a .426 OPS in his first 24 games, followed by a blisteringly hot 1.441 OPS over his next 25 games (with a .577 (!) BABIP), then in his last 25 games he had a .510 OPS.

There's a lot of absolutely unplayable offensive production sandwiched around one ludicrous hot streak. He scares the piss out of me.

But...he's 25 and may be better than Heyward on defense.  He wouldn't solve the lead-off man problem but The Cubs may have enough offense to work around him and he's cheap.  He also strikes out about 30% of the time, which doesn't seem to jive with what Theo said he wanted to do this off-season.

I mean he's worth looking into but the price would have to be less than the Red Sox could probably get from a much dumber team willing to overreact to a small sample size.

I don't think the Cubs have enough offense they can just punt CF and make it a defense only position and if they're planning on doing so why not just call up Almora?

Or maybe Theo sees what he saw when he drafted him, and the Cubs think they can make him into a decent hitter? That way, they can let Almora continue trying to figure it our offensively?

Either way, I doubt Bradley is Plan A or even Plan B. Just something to consider if the CF market goes beyond what they're willing to spend, and they don't just want to say "fuck it" and hand the keys over to Austin Jackson..

I would hope to God Theo's not allowing anything about Albert Almora to influence his thinking when his focus should be on making a title run with a team that was four wins away from a world series last year. If he forces his way into the picture, cool, but a guy who has had one decent half season at AA should be a complete non-factor in their major league plans.

Also, I would feel considerably better about just saying "fuck it" and handing the keys over to Austin Jackson, Major League CF who has averaged 3 fWAR a year in his career, than banking on Jackie Bradley, Jr. and his 25 games of actually decent major league production.

I mean if they get him for the trade value you would expect for a fourth outfielder with upside, fine, sure, let's try it and hopefully hedge the bet with Jackson or something, but given the hot streak and the hype that often surrounds Boston prospects and the fact that teams like the Mariners also have interest in him I'd say he'd be more of a risk than he's worth.

Jackson will cost a lot more than the half-million Bradley does.

And Almora isn't influencing anybody's thinking. Once Bryant, Russell and Schwarber came up, the minors still have some good guys, but no show stoppers.

If this team is content to take the chance that their starting CF might put up a sub .600 OPS like Bradley did in 2014 because they still can't do better than replacement level salary at CF and can't afford a guy like Austin Jackson or something I don't want to play anymore and Gordo can write whatever Ricketts-Are-Cheap column he wants and I'll co-sign it.

[R-V]

If Boston's really shopping Jackie Bradley around, how creative does Jepstink get to bring him in?

I kinda feel like this guy is just an older version of Almora.  Am I wrong?

I would be extremely hesistant for them to give up much for a guy who has basically had one good month in the majors, however highly regarded he was as a prospect. Dude had a .548 OPS in 530 PA before this year, and even this year he had a .426 OPS in his first 24 games, followed by a blisteringly hot 1.441 OPS over his next 25 games (with a .577 (!) BABIP), then in his last 25 games he had a .510 OPS.

There's a lot of absolutely unplayable offensive production sandwiched around one ludicrous hot streak. He scares the piss out of me.

But...he's 25 and may be better than Heyward on defense.  He wouldn't solve the lead-off man problem but The Cubs may have enough offense to work around him and he's cheap.  He also strikes out about 30% of the time, which doesn't seem to jive with what Theo said he wanted to do this off-season.

I mean he's worth looking into but the price would have to be less than the Red Sox could probably get from a much dumber team willing to overreact to a small sample size.

I don't think the Cubs have enough offense they can just punt CF and make it a defense only position and if they're planning on doing so why not just call up Almora?

Or maybe Theo sees what he saw when he drafted him, and the Cubs think they can make him into a decent hitter? That way, they can let Almora continue trying to figure it our offensively?

Either way, I doubt Bradley is Plan A or even Plan B. Just something to consider if the CF market goes beyond what they're willing to spend, and they don't just want to say "fuck it" and hand the keys over to Austin Jackson..

I would hope to God Theo's not allowing anything about Albert Almora to influence his thinking when his focus should be on making a title run with a team that was four wins away from a world series last year. If he forces his way into the picture, cool, but a guy who has had one decent half season at AA should be a complete non-factor in their major league plans.

Also, I would feel considerably better about just saying "fuck it" and handing the keys over to Austin Jackson, Major League CF who has averaged 3 fWAR a year in his career, than banking on Jackie Bradley, Jr. and his 25 games of actually decent major league production.

I mean if they get him for the trade value you would expect for a fourth outfielder with upside, fine, sure, let's try it and hopefully hedge the bet with Jackson or something, but given the hot streak and the hype that often surrounds Boston prospects and the fact that teams like the Mariners also have interest in him I'd say he'd be more of a risk than he's worth.

Jackson will cost a lot more than the half-million Bradley does.

And Almora isn't influencing anybody's thinking. Once Bryant, Russell and Schwarber came up, the minors still have some good guys, but no show stoppers.

If this team is content to take the chance that their starting CF might put up a sub .600 OPS like Bradley did in 2014 because they still can't do better than replacement level salary at CF and can't afford a guy like Austin Jackson or something I don't want to play anymore and Gordo can write whatever Ricketts-Are-Cheap column he wants and I'll co-sign it.

I am too damn lazy to do the math on this but given the DEBT LOAD what if the choices are Price & Jackie Jr, or Snork & Span. What do you choose, pal?

[SKO]

If Boston's really shopping Jackie Bradley around, how creative does Jepstink get to bring him in?

I kinda feel like this guy is just an older version of Almora.  Am I wrong?

I would be extremely hesistant for them to give up much for a guy who has basically had one good month in the majors, however highly regarded he was as a prospect. Dude had a .548 OPS in 530 PA before this year, and even this year he had a .426 OPS in his first 24 games, followed by a blisteringly hot 1.441 OPS over his next 25 games (with a .577 (!) BABIP), then in his last 25 games he had a .510 OPS.

There's a lot of absolutely unplayable offensive production sandwiched around one ludicrous hot streak. He scares the piss out of me.

But...he's 25 and may be better than Heyward on defense.  He wouldn't solve the lead-off man problem but The Cubs may have enough offense to work around him and he's cheap.  He also strikes out about 30% of the time, which doesn't seem to jive with what Theo said he wanted to do this off-season.

I mean he's worth looking into but the price would have to be less than the Red Sox could probably get from a much dumber team willing to overreact to a small sample size.

I don't think the Cubs have enough offense they can just punt CF and make it a defense only position and if they're planning on doing so why not just call up Almora?

Or maybe Theo sees what he saw when he drafted him, and the Cubs think they can make him into a decent hitter? That way, they can let Almora continue trying to figure it our offensively?

Either way, I doubt Bradley is Plan A or even Plan B. Just something to consider if the CF market goes beyond what they're willing to spend, and they don't just want to say "fuck it" and hand the keys over to Austin Jackson..

I would hope to God Theo's not allowing anything about Albert Almora to influence his thinking when his focus should be on making a title run with a team that was four wins away from a world series last year. If he forces his way into the picture, cool, but a guy who has had one decent half season at AA should be a complete non-factor in their major league plans.

Also, I would feel considerably better about just saying "fuck it" and handing the keys over to Austin Jackson, Major League CF who has averaged 3 fWAR a year in his career, than banking on Jackie Bradley, Jr. and his 25 games of actually decent major league production.

I mean if they get him for the trade value you would expect for a fourth outfielder with upside, fine, sure, let's try it and hopefully hedge the bet with Jackson or something, but given the hot streak and the hype that often surrounds Boston prospects and the fact that teams like the Mariners also have interest in him I'd say he'd be more of a risk than he's worth.

Jackson will cost a lot more than the half-million Bradley does.

And Almora isn't influencing anybody's thinking. Once Bryant, Russell and Schwarber came up, the minors still have some good guys, but no show stoppers.

If this team is content to take the chance that their starting CF might put up a sub .600 OPS like Bradley did in 2014 because they still can't do better than replacement level salary at CF and can't afford a guy like Austin Jackson or something I don't want to play anymore and Gordo can write whatever Ricketts-Are-Cheap column he wants and I'll co-sign it.

I am too damn lazy to do the math on this but given the DEBT LOAD what if the choices are Price & Jackie Jr, or Snork & Span. What do you choose, pal?

I guess A, but my point is that it'd be pretty depressing if the only way to make Price work is having to do a league-minimum salary for a center fielder that probably has at least a 50% chance of being replacement level and I hope to God that's not really their situation.

[R-V]

Also, given what we've seen from Rizzo, Arrieta, Strop, Cahill and even Coghlan, I'm willing to trust Theo & Jed's judgment on Guys Who Have Good Pedigrees Who Aren't That Old but Have Recently Struggled in the Major Leagues. So you heard it here first, if they trade for Jackie, he's going to be great. Now if you'll excuse me I have several dongs hanging out of my mouth that need servicing.

[SKO]

Also, given what we've seen from Rizzo, Arrieta, Strop, Cahill and even Coghlan, I'm willing to trust Theo & Jed's judgment on Guys Who Have Good Pedigrees Who Aren't That Old but Have Recently Struggled in the Major Leagues. So you heard it here first, if they trade for Jackie, he's going to be great. Now if you'll excuse me I have several dongs hanging out of my mouth that need servicing.

Yeah, also guys like Ian Stewart and Mike Olt! Oh, wait.

Not saying they haven't had way more success than failure on balance but they are in a situation now where I'd hope they can afford to sign more of a sure thing. They don't really have the benefit of knowing they're losing 90+ games on purpose to throw reclamation projects at the wall and hope they stick like they used to. If Bradley is more "everything but August 2015" than "August 2015" Bradley next year that's going to sting. A lot.

And again, I'm still OK with a potential Bradley trade if the cost is fair and they have a backup plan in case Bradley brings his 2014 bat with him, I just don't think with the hype the guy has picked up after that hot streak that they'd be able to land him for what he should actually cost.

[R-V]

Also, given what we've seen from Rizzo, Arrieta, Strop, Cahill and even Coghlan, I'm willing to trust Theo & Jed's judgment on Guys Who Have Good Pedigrees Who Aren't That Old but Have Recently Struggled in the Major Leagues. So you heard it here first, if they trade for Jackie, he's going to be great. Now if you'll excuse me I have several dongs hanging out of my mouth that need servicing.

Yeah, also guys like Ian Stewart and Mike Olt! Oh, wait.

Not saying they haven't had way more success than failure on balance but they are in a situation now where I'd hope they can afford to sign more of a sure thing. They don't really have the benefit of knowing they're losing 90+ games on purpose to throw reclamation projects at the wall and hope they stick like they used to. If Bradley is more "everything but August 2015" than "August 2015" Bradley next year that's going to sting. A lot.

And again, I'm still OK with a potential Bradley trade if the cost is fair and they have a backup plan in case Bradley brings his 2014 bat with him, I just don't think with the hype the guy has picked up after that hot streak that they'd be able to land him for what he should actually cost.

As Eli pointed out, Theo used the word "creative" about 38 times when asked about this offseason. It's all well and good that the payroll is going to be sky high in 2020 but that's like, 4 to 6 years away depending on which calendar you use. It'd be great if they could go out and acquire Price and Heyward and call it an offseason, but it's not gonna hai. And once you take Heyward out of the conversation - and it is debatable how long he could be effective in CF - you're left with several imperfect options: Fowler who will probably command too many years, Span who is coming off of injury, and any other number of CF options who don't fit the good defense/good contact/good OBP the royal we all want. So you should probably accept the fact that you're not going to be completely happy with the answers at catcher, the outfield, and the rotation heading into spring training next year, and some of those answers might be buy-low guys (and I think you're overestimating the "hype" on Jackie - I don't think there's evidence one way or the other on his market value vs. his "true" value).

[Canadouche]

On the other hand, CF is not known for being an offensive position, with some notable exceptions. Considering how strong the rest of the Cubs lineup is, they could tolerate a pretty significant amount of awful as long as the defense is stellar. If the Cubs have to roll the dice on CF in order to be able to spend more on the rotation, it probably wouldn't be the end of the world.

[Eli]

On the other hand, CF is not known for being an offensive position, with some notable exceptions. Considering how strong the rest of the Cubs lineup is, they could tolerate a pretty significant amount of awful as long as the defense is stellar.

I see this "they can tolerate something bad because ..." a lot. I think it's weird.