14 minutes ago, HOFHurt35 said:

This is what they call "green light to spend what he needs to turn the team around" 

???

I'd imagine they have several more moves to make...

1 minute ago, chw42 said:

They'd need Bellinger to get back to MVP form if they want a shot at the playoffs. 

Also need a couple more positions, 2 more SP, and a bullpen.

2 minutes ago, chw42 said:

They'd need Bellinger to get back to MVP form if they want a shot at the playoffs. 

I wouldn't hold my breathe on that.  Not for $17-$18 million

He sucked surrounded by perhaps the 2nd best lineup in the game, 

Look at Pollock, remove him from LA and put him in our trash ass lineup and the guy was very mediocre. 

 

5 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Also need a couple more positions, 2 more SP, and a bullpen.

Cubbies aint making the playoffs in 2023. They will likely win a playoff series before the Sox do, however. 

4 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Also need a couple more positions, 2 more SP, and a bullpen.

The Cubs have seemingly been good at getting a lot of value out of their cheap bullpen signings. Robertson, Martin, and Givens were all guys they flipped after signing to cheap contracts. But yeah, they need a SS, a 1B, at least 1 more starter in addition to Stroman, Steele, Hendricks, and Sampson/Wesneski. They'd need a lot of stuff to go right for them though. As is, they're probably a 72 win team. 

Meh

3 minutes ago, Tnetennba said:

Meh

I see your Meh and raise you a Meh.

16 minutes ago, chw42 said:

The Cubs have seemingly been good at getting a lot of value out of their cheap bullpen signings. Robertson, Martin, and Givens were all guys they flipped after signing to cheap contracts. But yeah, they need a SS, a 1B, at least 1 more starter in addition to Stroman, Steele, Hendricks, and Sampson/Wesneski. They'd need a lot of stuff to go right for them though. As is, they're probably a 72 win team. 

I wouldn't bet against the Cibs making the playoffs in '23 nor would I bet they won't have a better record than the Sox. My guess is they have another big move or two to announce and their pitching staff is much better than most are giving them credit for.

 

57 minutes ago, LittleHurtCG said:

Cubbies aint making the playoffs in 2023. They will likely win a playoff series before the Sox do, however. 

Wouldn't bet against Cubs making POs in 2023. They'll be a fun team to watch even if they don't sign one of the big SSs (although I think they will).

2 minutes ago, Flash said:

Wouldn't bet against Cubs making POs in 2023. They'll be a fun team to watch even if they don't sign one of the big SSs (although I think they will).

I certainly would

1 hour ago, LittleHurtCG said:

Trade makes a lot of sense for the Cubbies. Only a year deal and they can just cut him down the stretch if he continues to suck. If he has a good year he can be flipped at the deadline to an outfield needy team like the Sox or Twins. 

That’s the only way it makes sense, to me. 
 

I don’t believe the Cubs are going to be very good in 2023. We’ll see what else they do…but I’ll believe it when I see it from Ricketts. 
 

If Bellinger sucks, it’s a one year deal, fine, but it’s an expensive gamble and may keep them from signing someone that’s more long term. If Bellinger is good, his new deal is going to be really expensive and he has a long track record of not being great. I don’t know if that’s a long term investment id want to make, knowing how many down years he had in LA. I just don’t see a lot of upside to the deal. 

 

Edited December 7, 20223 yr by Chick Mercedes

On 11/15/2022 at 8:08 AM, TradeTalk said:

What do you think Sox fans?!

The Dodgers must be tired of waiting for Bellinger (27 years old) to get it together consistently and Giolito (28 years old) is at least a solid #3-4 starter coming off a subpar year.

Their farm system probably has 5 guys that could fill in.

30 minutes ago, Chick Mercedes said:

 

For reference:

OPS

Bellinger .648

Heyward .668

Leury .635

Obviously this mean Leury is a bargain.

1 hour ago, fathom said:

They will get a top SS, a righty hitting 1B and a number 2 SP in the next few weeks.  Wouldn’t shock me if they get a good catcher as well.

If they have the green light to spend, and they need a catcher, why aren’t they just paying Contreras?  

6 minutes ago, PorkChopExpress said:

If they have the green light to spend, and they need a catcher, why aren’t they just paying Contreras?  

Bad defense

This couldn't have worked out any better. Sox didnt pay for him and the cubs did. Crash and burn cubs.

1 minute ago, CaliSoxFanViaSWside said:

This couldn't have worked out any better. Sox didnt pay for him and the cubs did. Crash and burn cubs.

Meanwhile, Gavin Sheets is our primary LF and we’re losing a year of control with Oscar Colás.

1 hour ago, Squirmin' for Yermin said:

I certainly would

See me in March and we'll discuss. 

16 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Meanwhile, Gavin Sheets is our primary LF and we’re losing a year of control with Oscar Colás.

We've also seen much better & highly regarded prospects than Colas struggle to hit the ground running.

Even if Bellinger is exactly the player he was last season & nothing more, he would have been useful given how bleak the OF picture is for the Sox right now.

6 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Meanwhile, Gavin Sheets is our primary LF and we’re losing a year of control with Oscar Colás.

Nothing is written in stone. It's early December.

I could care less if we lose a year of control for Colas. This is the last year of the perceived contention window unless the Sox can win the division. They're losing too much starting pitching in 2024.

Put the best player on the field from day one. Anything less than that and it's not giving the team every chance to win.

We all talk about how JR has no commitment to wining then as fans we turn around and say let's give up 15+ games without a guy who can be one of our best players and play some bum in the OF for that time.

8 of 12 playoff teams are usually fighting for a shot at the playoff in the last couple of weeks. That means you win  or lose on the margins. Why deliberately not play healthy players when injuries rob you all season long ? 15 games lost 10 times a year means a lot on the margins.

If we add up all the 15 game losses to injuries last year how much time in the margins did the Sox lose ? I'll just guess but I'm thinking there were at least 25  times 15 games were lost when you add up the injuries to Robert, Lynn, Anderson, Eloy and others who could have made significant contributions. 25 x 15 is 375 games lost on the margins on a team without depth is just a terrible waste.

On 11/20/2022 at 3:12 PM, maxjusttyped said:

Bringing a lot of defensive value with some base running value gives Bellinger a decent floor even if the slash line is ugly. Even with the terrible OBP, he was still a 1.7 WAR player last year.

We would have the same thing with Adam Engel at much lower price. The acubs are basically paying about a million dollars a homer

Just now, elrockinMT said:

We would have the same thing with Adam Engel at much lower price. The acubs are basically paying about a million dollars a homer

Adam Engel has never been worth 1.7 fWAR in a season. If players of that caliber were so easy to find, we wouldn't see the Sox run replacement level black holes out at so many different positions year after year after year.

3 minutes ago, elrockinMT said:

We would have the same thing with Adam Engel at much lower price. The acubs are basically paying about a million dollars a homer

Adam Engel sucks offensively, whereas Bellinger is simply below average

2 minutes ago, Chicago White Sox said:

Adam Engel sucks offensively, whereas Bellinger is simply below average

6 of one half dozen of the other. Both past their glory years although Engel didn't have any glory years.