Official 2023 Chicago Cubs Season Thread Vol: (17-17)

[CP1708]

SAN DIEGO -- The Chicago Cubs are bringing back right-handed starting pitcher Jason Hammel, a source confirmed Monday.

Hammel, 32, will get a two-year deal for $18 million with a club option for a third season that can be bought out for $2 million, a source said.

He was signed to a one year deal by the Cubs last offseason before being traded, along with Jeff Samardzija, to the Oakland Athletics on July 4.

Hammel thrived before the trade going 8-5 with a 2.98 ERA but struggled in Oakland with a 2-6 record and 4.26 ERA.

Immediately after the season, Hammel was linked to the Cubs as his Chicago-based agent, Alan Nero, said he was very "comfortable" there. Hammel is a nine-year veteran, having played for current Cubs manager Joe Maddon and the Tampa Bay Rays at the beginning of his career.

Hammel was also a teammate of current free agent Jon Lester when the two pitched in Oakland during the second half of 2014.

Nero is also the agent for Maddon along with new bench coach Davey Martinez who signed on with the team last week.

1
Arrieta
Hendricks
Hammell
5

Theo.

 

[sportsjunkie]

Billy Beanie got swindle by Theo in that trade.

 

[CP1708]

SAN DIEGO -- As the saga of free-agent pitcher Jon Lester presumably winds down to a final decision soon, the baseball offseason kicks into high gear at the winter meetings this week in southern California.

This is where both free-agent and trade talk will pick up, and industry sources continue to indicate the latter could provide the most interest outside of Lester’s decision.

Ironically, what makes the trade market so interesting is next year’s free-agent class. Widely accepted as one of the better classes in years, teams will have to make a call on whether to move a 2015-16 free agent now. If he’s going to leave next winter anyway, getting something for him now -- or at the July 31 trade deadline -- might be the best route to go.

“A reasonable observer would see there’s a lot of 5-plus (service time) pitchers available... because it becomes decision time,” Cubs President Theo Epstein said on Friday. “It’s one of the reasons we moved Jeff (Samardzija) when we did, to get ahead of that marketplace when we did. Offer a player with more than one year remaining and get a little better return.”


This is where the Cubs -- and other clubs -- might have some tough decisions. If Jordan Zimmerman, Johnny Cueto, Samardzija, David Price and many others can be had now via trade, should they pull the trigger? Just like the Cubs got ahead of the marketplace by trading Samardzija last July, they could get ahead of next year’s marketplace by trading for someone now. It potentially means giving up a prospect or more for a one-year rental. The St. Louis Cardinals just did that in trading pitcher Shelby Miller for free agent-to-be Jason Heyward. But the Cardinals are in a win-now mode trying to capitalize on the open windows of production that veteran players like Matt Holliday and Adam Wainwright possess. The Cubs aren’t quite there yet.

“There’s a time to trade for a 5-plus and there’s a time to wait,” Epstein said. “A lot of it depends on what the rest of your roster looks like, if you can retain that player and most importantly what the acquisition cost is.”


A trade and immediate contract extension would be the best-case scenario, but one of the most coveted moments in a player’s career is that time where he can shop his skills to every team in the league. How many (good) free agents have come away underpaid? Take Samardzija for example. It’s a near certainty he will be traded from the Oakland Athletics this winter as they have no chance of re-signing him. It’s also a near certainty that he’s a one-year rental for a team. He’s come too far -- and has too much self-confidence -- not to test free agency. Don’t rule out the possibility of the Cubs trading for a 5-plus player now, but it would have to be on their terms and their terms only.

Of course, things could change if they sign Lester. In a little bit of a surprise comment, Epstein indicated the offseason plan might change some if a stud player like the lefty pitcher comes to Chicago.

“When there is a potential impact player involved it does shape a little bit the course of your short-term thinking,” he said. “If you get a player that makes a significant difference for you in the standings then you prioritize creating a winning roster immediately around that player, whereas if the offseason goes in a slightly different direction you just continue to build more organically and continue to think more longer-term. It’s not an extreme, it’s not two absolutes but obviously you look at things a little bit different.”

Epstein is basically answering the “are things accelerated” question if they acquire an impact player like Lester. His statement may have been for Lester’s or other free agents' benefit as much as anything else. Nothing wrong with reminding the baseball world the Cubs want to compete as soon as possible. But in reality, it probably does not change the Cubs' plan all that much. As stated in this blog previously, the ironic part of the Cubs is that even though they don’t have a complete starting pitching staff right now, it’s their offense that remains a question mark.

“There’s never been pitching as good in the major leagues as there is right now,” Epstein said. “It is a very rare hitter that can step right in from the minor leagues and perform against modern pitching. There’s probably only three dozen hitters on the planet that can hit big league pitching consistently right now and make an impact. It’s that good, so it’s probably unreasonable to expect young players to step right in and dominate and fulfill any lofty projections.”

In other words, the Cubs will find the pitching but their hitting remains a development process from within. There is no downside to hoping the talented group of prospects the Cubs possess will progress quicker than the norm but hoping and expecting are two different things. And it’s not like they can realistically address their hitting via the marketplace either -- not without tearing down everything they just spent three years building. That would put them back to where they were when Epstein took over the Cubs.

“We were never under any illusions it was a great market for position players and the ones that were weren’t necessarily a great fit for us,” Epstein stated of this year’s class. “There’s a lot of volume in the pitching market. A lot of work remains to be done in that front.”

So we (somewhat) know the plan regarding pitching and with veteran hitters mostly off the market -- especially the one they wanted in Russell Martin -- where do the Cubs turn to help that offense? Their needs are fairly obvious.

“Bringing in position players who complement our expected position player group over the next few years,” Epstein said. “We’re pretty right-handed, that means left handed hitters are more attractive to us. We have more power than on-base skills so getting someone who has the chance to hit at the top of the order and gets on base will be a little more attractive to us. We have plenty of ‘swinging and miss,’ we don’t need more of that.”

The acquisition of infielder Tommy La Stella this offseason addressed that notion in a small way and it gave them insurance in case they want to make a bigger trade, perhaps with Luis Valbuena.

“There’s been a lot of interest in him,” Epstein said. “They’re realizing how good a player he’s been. It’s nice to see him getting his due. As other third baseman go off the board teams are realizing how valuable he is. Because we claimed him off waivers sometimes that creates a stigma for a player that he’s just a stop-gap so to speak. He will not be traded for a stop-gap price tag that’s for sure. He’s an important player to us. We value him highly.”

That brings us to the stickiest question of them all: Will the Cubs entertain trade proposals for All-Star shortstop Starlin Castro? If so, you would have to expect they would be done under a cloak of secrecy as this isn’t one of these “must-do” deals. There is a void of good shortstops in baseball and the Cubs have several middle infielders at different levels of their careers, including a top prospect in Addison Russell.

A Sunday CBS report says the Cubs are telling teams Castro isn't available but that doesn't mean they shouldn't explore all possibilities -- for now or the near future. The team would be foolish not to explore what they could get for either Castro or Russell. That just makes sense. Whether they actually pull the trigger on a deal is unknown but it should be looked into.

And that, in a nutshell, is what the winter meetings are all about: exploration.

“The actual talk to action will probably be 50/1,” Epstein said smiling.

But that one move could be the difference-maker for the Cubs. Maybe Lester signs with them this week and, if so, anything else they get done becomes gravy.

“We’re working on a lot of fronts,” Epstein said.

Backup plans if they miss out on Lester and looking for veteran help in the catching and outfield departments are probably on that list. Free agency still isn’t the No. 1 priority for the Cubs despite their pursuit of the former Red Sox lefty.

“I think there will be a time when we’re the feared team in free agency,” Epstein said. “We’re probably not at that time yet.

“We’re not the Dodgers or the Yankees but there are plenty of things we can do.”

This is the week to do some of them.

 

[odp31]

Lester is looking pretty real at the point.

 

[CP1708]

Cubs may be on verge of trading for C Miguel Montero of Arizona

He's 31 right now, bats left handed, 3 years/40 mil or so on his contract (less than what we would have given Martin)

Basically could be a lefty/righty platoon with Castillo. Would definitely upgrade the overall position depth because Baker wasn't much use to us last year.


I gotta see how he stacks up pitch framing wise. I know Theo wanted that upgraded about as much as anything.

 

[sportsjunkie]

Cubs may be on verge of trading for C Miguel Montero of Arizona

He's 31 right now, bats left handed, 3 years/40 mil or so on his contract (less than what we would have given Martin)

Basically could be a lefty/righty platoon with Castillo. Would definitely upgrade the overall position depth because Baker wasn't much use to us last year.


I gotta see how he stacks up pitch framing wise. I know Theo wanted that upgraded about as much as anything.

I wonder what Prospects are we giving up to get this guy? Lets be wise here Theo

 

[CP1708]

Lower level pitching is the word I've seen. Single A, Double A type guys, nothing earth shattering.

 

[CP1708]

SAN DIEGO -- The Chicago Cubs are closing in on a deal to acquire catcher Miguel Montero from the Arizona Diamondbacks, a baseball source confirmed to ESPN.com on Tuesday.

Montero, 31, is a .264 career hitter with a .763 OPS over parts of nine seasons in Arizona. He made the National League All-Star team in 2011 and 2014. He is in the middle of a five-year, $60 million contract and has $40 million owed to him over the next three seasons.

The Montero trade would be another move in an already busy offseason for the Diamondbacks, who have already acquired pitcher Jeremy Hellickson from Tampa Bay in a trade, sent shortstop Didi Gregorius to the New York Yankees and signed Cuban outfielder Yasmany Tomas to a six-year, $68.5 million contract as a free agent.

Trade talks between the Cubs and Diamondbacks appeared to hit a lull late Monday night, according to a person familiar with the discussions, but Chicago ratcheted up its offer to bring the deal close to fruition.

Arizona will receive a package of young prospects in the trade, the source said.

The Cubs recently hired former Arizona coach Henry Blanco, and he is expected to continue to mentor Montero on the defensive side during the catcher's transition to Chicago. Montero improved his pitch-framing last season and threw out almost 30 percent of runners attempting to steal.

Montero, a left-handed hitter, brings an offensive upgrade to a Chicago catching contingent that ranked 21st in the majors with a .684 OPS last season. Montero could be part of a platoon in Chicago with Welington Castillo, a righty bat who hit .301 with an .855 OPS against lefties in 2014.

Still not official, but sounds promising.

 

[CP1708]

Regarding odds for Lester:

CUBS (ODDS: 3-to-1)

What a great position for this team to be in. If Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer and Joe Maddon reel in Jon Lester, they're essentially announcing to the world, "We're all in. We're going to win. We're going to be a force. And it starts right now."

And if they don't get Jon Lester? Then what the heck? They weren't ready to win anyway. Not really.

They can poke around on a Cole Hamels deal or a Jordan Zimmermann trade. But they can also kick back and wait until next year, when Kris Bryant will be mashing in the big leagues, Javier Baez and Jorge Soler will have another year's mileage on their radials, and the next free-agent market will be overflowing with the likes of Zimmermann, David Price, Zack Greinke and even Jeff Samardzija. Then they can do this all over again with one of those studs.

Perfect.

Except the Cubs haven't chased Lester like a team with nothing to lose. They've chased him like a team that wants him and needs him and just might do whatever it takes. Maybe even a contract north of $150 million, which would be the largest largest free-agent deal in history. More and more, at least to the lobby crowd, they're beginning to feel like The Team.

Basically what we've already known, just with some more numbers now. We'll see what Lester decides.

 

[CP1708]

Sounds like the Montero deal is done.

Luke Blaize ‏@ltblaize 13m13 minutes ago
I'll have a little more on who the Cubs gave up later tonight. Short version, Good trade for the Cubs.

Mark Gonzales ‏@MDGonzales 8m8 minutes ago
RHPs Jefferson Mejia and Zack Godley headed to AZ in Montero deal.

 

[CP1708]

As had been rumored for the past day, and has been discussed for a few weeks, today the Chicago Cubs wrapped up a deal for 31-year-old catcher Miguel Montero, for whom they’ll send minor league pitchers Jefferson Mejia and Zack Godley to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The deal has not yet been officially announced by the Cubs, but it has been confirmed by multiple sources. I will update when it is official. (UPDATE: It’s official.)

In Montero, the Cubs get an ideal platoon-mate for Welington Castillo, if that’s the route they choose to go, and a veteran leader with a lefty bat and on-base skills. That checks a huge number of boxes for the Cubs, and I’ll have a lot more on what Montero means to the Cubs soon. For now, suffice it to say that, while I won’t argue that he’s Russell Martin, he’s probably the next best thing for the Cubs. And he came at a cheaper price.

About that price, in addition to the prospects, the Cubs will likely be assuming all of Montero’s three-year, $40 million contract. What would Montero get if he were a free agent right now? Probably not four years, but his salary would likely be right there in that range, especially given the dearth of catching options out there. That the Cubs gave up prospects in addition to taking on the contract suggests a prevailing believe that, indeed, Montero is “worth” more than his current contract.

Montero makes $12 million in 2015 and $14 million each of the next two years thereafter. With Jason Hammel at $9 million (and Joe Maddon at $5 million), the Cubs have added $26 million to the books for 2015 so far, give or take a non-tender or La Stella/Vizcaino swap.

Ah, and the prospects.

Jefferson Mejia, one of the Cubs’ pick-ups during the 2013 IFA spending spree, is a tall, powerful 20-year-old with tons of projection. He made his stateside debut last year, and pitched well, albeit in rookie ball. There’s a lot to like there, and I’m not surprised the Diamondbacks wanted him. That said, he’s a long way away from the bigs.

Zack Godley, 24, has been a very good reliever in the lower minors since the Cubs drafted him in the 10th round in 2013. He could be a future big leaguer, but lower-level, older players currently serving as relievers tend to have limited upside.

Sure, there’s some sting associated with losing Mejia, and, to a lesser extent, Godley. But you have to keep in mind that a great deal of the value tied up in lower-level prospects is their asset value, rather than the value they might provide if they one day reach the bigs and contribute. A big part of the reason the Cubs have stockpiled these kinds of players over the past few years is for this very reason. For trades like this. For acquisitions. Because the prospects are a currency.

This is a very good deal for the Cubs.

 

[CP1708]

Interesting......

Chatter about the Cubs flipping Welington Castillo now......

They have their eye on another backup catcher, David Ross. A former catcher of one Jon, Lester.

Gordon Edes @GordonEdes
Follow
Cubs have meeting planned with David Ross’s agent tonight. Ross still in mix for Boston as well

Welp......



Cubs have Theo, Bosio, Maddon, bring in Dempster, sign Hammel, trade for Montero, now talking to Ross..........

And possibly offer the guy 6 years 150+ million. Joins a rotation with Arrieta, Hendricks, Hammel, and a solid bullpen, with a million young bats growing by the day, AND we don't have to give up a single draft pick for signing him.

And then they still have room to add another SP later this offseason, during the season, or next offseason, to really load up the rotation.


Also, Cali has a 15% tax on salary, Illinois has a 5% tax.


Come on Jon. You see the writing, be a part of history buddy.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

^
Local ESPN sports radio broadcasters were just talking about Castillo's defensive inefficiencies and trade value.
I think it was Buster Olney that later joined the conversation and reaffirmed the rumor of Castillo possibly being moved this upcoming season.
I was really hoping Welington would take that next step this year but if Theo and Co. have a bigger plan in mind then I say....cook.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed with you CP. I really do believe Jon is coming. Kept the radio turned on all day just hoping to hear his decision
Hell I'm hoping Theo goes 2 for 2 and gets Shields as well, but I just think next years pitching FA are just that much more appealing.

 

[arstyle27]

We gettin Maddon???? Whoooooooooo! And Lester?? Whoooooo!!!!!

Yasssssssssssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!

 

[DeadsetAce]

**** you guys

treat him right please. congrats and enjoy

 

[arstyle27]

Chicago is gonna love him. City is already buzzing....and its 12:42 am!

 

[af1nike]

Soon.

 

[CP1708]

 

[CP1708]

Theo's plan. I've been selling it in here for the past year.

Lester, Montero, Hammel, just like that.

Now, the work really begins.

2015 we improve.

2016 we dominate.


Theo.

 

[Lake Shore Drive]

I knew it was going to happen.

 

[CP1708]

Jon Lester's home in Massachusetts is up for sale.

And, because he was traded midseason, he is not tied to a draft pick, so if we signed him, we don't have to give up our second round pick. If we were to sign Scherzer, it would cost us our 2nd rounder.


Wouldn't say no to either one, but Lester bein a lefty to pair with the righty Arrieta, and keep our 2nd round pick as well, makes him very intriguing.

Posted this 9/30/2014.

We lose no draft pick pulling Lester.

In fact, we trade Shark and Hammel for Russell, McKinney, and Straily. Later, the A's trade for Lester.
We now have Lester, Hammel, Russell, McKinney, and Straily.

 

[odp31]

finally a real ace....been a while

 

[sportsjunkie]

Theo is working wonders. Welcome to Chicago Jon Lester and Miguel Montero.

I also think Theo aint finish making moves.



I went to bed and said to myself. Hopefully when i wake up in the morning. Jon Lester will be a Cub.

 

[mr marcus]

happy for yall

 

[sportsjunkie]

happy for yall

Who your baseball team?