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Cubs mailbag, Part 2: More questions about trades and free agents as winter meetings loom · North Side Territory: A Chicago Cubs Podcast

0:00
Speaker 1: Well, the Cubs are acting like a small market team,
0:02
Speaker 1: so maybe they need to behave in a small market
0:04
Speaker 1: manner with these things. I'm not sure. I see your point,
0:07
Speaker 1: and I kind of agree with it. Welcome into north
0:14
Speaker 1: Side Territory. Foul Territory Networks Cubs Podcast. I'm Sahadim Charma
0:19
Speaker 1: with my partner Patrick Mooney Patrick, Part two of a
0:24
Speaker 1: Thanksgiving mail bag The north Side Stickos came out, of course, people. Yeah,
0:34
Speaker 1: I sent out the requests, four questions and you sickos delivered.
0:39
Speaker 1: We love you, Thanks so much. We appreciate you guys
0:44
Speaker 1: reaching out and making sure to have your voice heard.
0:47
Speaker 1: Let's let's get right into it, Patrick, Let's find out
0:50
Speaker 1: what the fans want to know about Kevin McNamee wants
0:54
Speaker 1: to has a question, assuming the Cubs aren't pursuing top
0:57
Speaker 1: free agents, Yes, that's a good assumption. Will they will
1:00
Speaker 1: instead be looking to acquire all star level talent via trade?
1:05
Speaker 1: What do you think? Patrick?
1:07
Speaker 2: Uh, No doubt. And I think sid of you had
1:10
Speaker 2: a couple of ideas, like in terms of pitching, right,
1:12
Speaker 2: maybe certain teams that match up or.
1:15
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think Seattle makes a ton of sense. I mean,
1:19
Speaker 1: we're just gonna hammer that until a deal is made
1:23
Speaker 1: or they they make a trade or they add a pitcher. Yeah,
1:27
Speaker 1: I think I think that makes a lot of sense
1:30
Speaker 1: that they have, they have pitching talent, they're looking for bats.
1:35
Speaker 1: They're like, I think it's out there they specifically want
1:38
Speaker 1: like middle infield athleticism like the Cubs have that, even
1:44
Speaker 1: if it's not Nico Horner, like talk about any of
1:48
Speaker 1: their like a lot like James Trianto's fits that as well. Right, Uh, yeah,
1:54
Speaker 1: I think there's there's some obvious match up there. And
1:57
Speaker 1: then you just continue to like, do they continue to
2:01
Speaker 1: talk to Cleveland, you know, like do they like what
2:03
Speaker 1: is all star level talent as well? Like, you know,
2:07
Speaker 1: Toronto's not moving Flad Junior, But is there is there
2:10
Speaker 1: a name? Is there a bat out there that we're
2:12
Speaker 1: not aware of right that that's possibly potentially could be moved.
2:18
Speaker 1: Is that is that something that comes would look into. Yeah,
2:22
Speaker 1: I think I think they will absolutely be looking to
2:26
Speaker 1: try and upgrade in different areas. Catchers. The spot that
2:29
Speaker 1: we we talked about over the summer, we brought it
2:33
Speaker 1: up during the off season. I just don't know how
2:36
Speaker 1: it happens. I don't think you can get an All
2:38
Speaker 1: Star level catcher outside of developing your own, uh when
2:43
Speaker 1: they rarely hit free agent market or or training for
2:47
Speaker 1: prospects somehow, you know, like uh, like William, That's how
2:52
Speaker 1: William Contraras was acquired. That's how Logan o'hoppi was acquired.
2:57
Speaker 1: And I'm sure if I if I think more, there's
2:59
Speaker 1: probably a few more that that's how these guys are required.
3:02
Speaker 1: They're you know, as prospects or you developed them.
3:06
Speaker 2: I mean, I guess technically Jordan Montgomery has never been
3:10
Speaker 2: an All Star, but he's been a World Series pitcher.
3:16
Speaker 2: That Diamondbacks have a lot of rotation pieces they be
3:21
Speaker 2: looking to move. And I would also say too, like
3:23
Speaker 2: the Cubs have put themselves in this position. You've seen
3:25
Speaker 2: the trades with Tampa before. You know, teams like Minnesota
3:30
Speaker 2: that are up for sale, but that I've been dealing
3:33
Speaker 2: with this TV revenue crunch, like the cub They're probably
3:40
Speaker 2: teams were not like thinking of because they're not as
3:42
Speaker 2: like interesting. But you know, their financial flexibility is not
3:49
Speaker 2: as much as Cubs fans would hope this offseason, but
3:52
Speaker 2: it's probably a lot more than a significant group of
3:55
Speaker 2: their competitors. And like, if you have some money you
3:59
Speaker 2: can use, you have some prospects, you should probably start moving.
4:06
Speaker 2: This is the off season for it.
4:09
Speaker 1: Yes, yeah, I love the Jordan Montgomery idea. I actually
4:13
Speaker 1: looked that up. There was a question specifically about him.
4:15
Speaker 1: I didn't include it, but someone specifically asked would the
4:18
Speaker 1: Cubs pursue him? And I looked up his contract. There's
4:22
Speaker 1: only one year left.
4:23
Speaker 2: Is yeah, and they liked him as a free agent
4:26
Speaker 2: the prior winter.
4:28
Speaker 1: Yeah. I don't know why I thought there were there
4:31
Speaker 1: was more on that. I think that makes a lot
4:34
Speaker 1: of sense if if the Diamondbacks are are looking to
4:37
Speaker 1: move him, Uh yeah, I mean he makes a ton
4:40
Speaker 1: of sense. I love the Minnesota idea. They have a
4:43
Speaker 1: lot of offensive talent that gets hurt a lot, right,
4:46
Speaker 1: So it's the type of guy that that they have
4:48
Speaker 1: guys that it's like, well, do you want to take
4:50
Speaker 1: this risk? Maybe the Cubs are like the team that
4:54
Speaker 1: needs to take the risk right now if in the
4:56
Speaker 1: injury risk, if they're not going to take the financial
4:59
Speaker 1: risk right so, you know, I think that you know,
5:03
Speaker 1: who's Minnesota willing to move? Is would would be my question?
5:06
Speaker 1: And then and then beyond that, like, what what is
5:08
Speaker 1: a cost? Right? Speaking of cost, Matthew Friedman wants to know,
5:14
Speaker 1: is there any chance of PCA getting a Churio Jacksonurio
5:18
Speaker 1: like extension? I think I should have edited that Jacksonurio.
5:24
Speaker 1: I apologize for spelling your last name wrong.
5:30
Speaker 2: I think he had. I think PCA is represented by
5:35
Speaker 2: c A, which I think did the Corbyn Carrol deal,
5:38
Speaker 2: which would be one template. But I'll let you run
5:42
Speaker 2: with this one side if.
5:44
Speaker 1: Yeah, so is there chatter? I haven't heard it. Jackson
5:51
Speaker 1: Turio got eight years eighty two I just looked this up,
5:54
Speaker 1: eight years eighty two million including it, so come on,
6:01
Speaker 1: I mean, that's that's very little money for a guy
6:04
Speaker 1: that turned into like, by the end of the season
6:06
Speaker 1: was like, wait a second, do they have a superstar now?
6:09
Speaker 1: That's how good he was the last couple of months
6:11
Speaker 1: of the season. It uh, They're They're like, this could
6:15
Speaker 1: be a whole other episode. Honestly, Milwaukee's offensive season was
6:18
Speaker 1: really fascinating about how they never really hit like a
6:22
Speaker 1: an extended skid, despite like their players being really up
6:26
Speaker 1: and down, because someone seemed to step up the moment
6:30
Speaker 1: someone else went in a slump or got hurt, like
6:32
Speaker 1: Christian Yelich was playing like the superstar he was. His
6:37
Speaker 1: back went out, and then Jackson Curio' is like, oh yeah,
6:40
Speaker 1: I'm going to develop into the superstar you need it.
6:43
Speaker 1: Just like amazing how how it all timed out for
6:46
Speaker 1: them really really interesting, kind of like up and down
6:49
Speaker 1: season for their for their offense. But PCA didn't have
6:53
Speaker 1: that level of production. But with his defense, you know,
6:57
Speaker 1: he's he's he's certainly ant player. Here's my my thing
7:04
Speaker 1: when I think about this, when fans wonder, why don't
7:09
Speaker 1: the Cubs sign deals like this? So the players and
7:12
Speaker 1: the representatives, they know what team they're playing for and
7:15
Speaker 1: what team they're negotiating with. Right, So Jackson Curio comes
7:20
Speaker 1: up in the Brewers organization, understands what it's like to
7:23
Speaker 1: be in the Brewers organization, is happy, likes it there,
7:27
Speaker 1: and says, I'm willing to sign this deal because I
7:30
Speaker 1: know Milwaukee will treat me well and they're not going
7:33
Speaker 1: to be able to give me the type of free
7:35
Speaker 1: agent deal that I may demand in six years. PCA
7:41
Speaker 1: and his representatives probably are like, the Cubs can afford
7:44
Speaker 1: to give me the big money, why don't I wait
7:45
Speaker 1: for free agency or try and get a much bigger
7:48
Speaker 1: deal in security right now? Will this be some huge
7:53
Speaker 1: deal if they even get to talking about this. I
7:56
Speaker 1: just like players are hesitant to give teams like the Yankees,
8:02
Speaker 1: the Dodgers, the Cubs, the Mets, the Red Sox these
8:08
Speaker 1: types of discount extensions. Right, it doesn't happen as often.
8:11
Speaker 1: Like Ian Happen probably felt he took a discount and
8:16
Speaker 1: he gotta and he got a no trade clause. Right,
8:21
Speaker 1: Nico Horner is not a home run hitters. He's not
8:25
Speaker 1: like this sexy player that would make bank in in
8:31
Speaker 1: free agency. They both love Chicago. I think both of
8:34
Speaker 1: them either like Met I think Ian happ met his
8:39
Speaker 1: wife in Chicago and she's from the area. And then
8:42
Speaker 1: I know Ian or Nico Horner's fiance girlfriend is it
8:48
Speaker 1: works in Chicago and is kind of anchored here, Like
8:51
Speaker 1: they both want to be here, you know, for reasons
8:54
Speaker 1: beyond baseball, and they love the organization and the team.
8:57
Speaker 1: H PCA. Maybe when I when I talked about how
9:01
Speaker 1: Nico probably isn't the sexiest of free agents, I think
9:03
Speaker 1: pc A, Yeah, is he going to hit you thirty
9:05
Speaker 1: forty homers? No? But you know, how many elite center
9:09
Speaker 1: fielders that can play you know, plus plus offense, if
9:12
Speaker 1: that's who he is offensively, right, we don't know yet,
9:16
Speaker 1: which is why you take the risk. Now, if you
9:18
Speaker 1: can extend him, you take the risk. Like that's there's
9:21
Speaker 1: the balancing, right, Like the Cubs have to take a
9:23
Speaker 1: risk and PCA is taking a risk. They're both taking risk,
9:25
Speaker 1: but they end up in a happy place where where
9:29
Speaker 1: he signs a team friendly extension and he gets security. Right,
9:34
Speaker 1: but very very rarely does that type of talent hit
9:38
Speaker 1: the free agent market if he's really a plus plus
9:42
Speaker 1: offensive player, plus PCA is.
9:44
Speaker 2: Already under a long term structure. And my thinking on
9:49
Speaker 2: this change. Jeff Berry, the former CIA baseball agent, was
9:53
Speaker 2: on the main Foul Territory show this past season and
9:59
Speaker 2: really kind of ham or the point of some of
10:02
Speaker 2: these extensions just kind of our front offices trying to
10:06
Speaker 2: like look good or you know, the surface surplus value illusion,
10:11
Speaker 2: like he's under club control through twenty thirty. Go out
10:16
Speaker 2: and prove it. Like the Cubs don't need to like
10:21
Speaker 2: worry about whether or not they can afford PCA in
10:23
Speaker 2: the future. Of course they can. And you know, Corbyn
10:26
Speaker 2: Carrol did not have the same type of year this year,
10:31
Speaker 2: and so it really it's worth listening here. Jeff Barry
10:34
Speaker 2: after he kind of exited the agency business. I think
10:36
Speaker 2: he's now an advisor to Buster Posey in San Francisco
10:41
Speaker 2: because he had represented the longtime Giants Catcher and it's like,
10:47
Speaker 2: what's the rush. I mean, I know this is a
10:49
Speaker 2: big thing, you know, like you know, Cleveland did it,
10:51
Speaker 2: you know, way back in the day, and it was
10:52
Speaker 2: kind of ahead of its time. But now it's like,
10:55
Speaker 2: you know, go out and prove it, be a great
10:58
Speaker 2: player and then you know, see where he's at, like
11:02
Speaker 2: I and I think we'll get into this too with
11:05
Speaker 2: Justin Steele at some point too, Like it'll be interesting
11:07
Speaker 2: to see what they do with him. But in general,
11:11
Speaker 2: these big market teams, unless it's you know, something the
11:15
Speaker 2: player pushes for and really makes a ton of sense, like,
11:19
Speaker 2: there's no no need to force it in in my opinion.
11:22
Speaker 1: Right right, I think it's more important for the small
11:25
Speaker 1: market teams to get it done right, Like locking up
11:28
Speaker 1: Jackson Curio is really important for the Brewers. The counter
11:34
Speaker 1: I think that fans would make is well, the Cubs
11:37
Speaker 1: are acting like a small market team, So maybe they
11:39
Speaker 1: need to behave in a small market manner with these things.
11:42
Speaker 1: I'm not sure I see your point, and I kind
11:45
Speaker 1: of agree with it, you know, like act like a
11:47
Speaker 1: big market team and see if he's if he's worth
11:50
Speaker 1: the extension, you know, like give it one more year
11:53
Speaker 1: and maybe one more year doesn't see the price go
11:56
Speaker 1: up insanely, but if you can see him at least,
11:59
Speaker 1: say like, okay, more he can do end he was
12:02
Speaker 1: an average league average for a full season offensive player,
12:06
Speaker 1: and and you see like a potential for improvement. Okay,
12:09
Speaker 1: now now I'd be like, Okay, now, let's talk about it.
12:12
Speaker 1: But yes, I I I think this is a good
12:14
Speaker 1: question and a fair question. And uh and one, you know,
12:20
Speaker 1: I think it's important to see if they start doing
12:22
Speaker 1: it with any of these younger guys to avoid what
12:26
Speaker 1: happened last time where they're all coming up at the
12:28
Speaker 1: same time and they're all exiting at the same time. Yeah.
12:32
Speaker 1: The other the counter to that then is well, what
12:36
Speaker 1: if they don't extend him and and Jed starts trading
12:38
Speaker 1: them at three years in four years and things like
12:42
Speaker 1: that to kind of reset clocks and and get prospects,
12:45
Speaker 1: and that that that'll be a whole other segment. And
12:49
Speaker 1: in a very angry podcast, I'd assume fans would not
12:52
Speaker 1: be happy if they finally start winning and their trading
12:55
Speaker 1: established players. But that's that's I don't need to predict angry. Yes,
12:59
Speaker 1: we have enough now, yeah, yeah, all right, you want
13:03
Speaker 1: to read this next one, Patrick, all right?
13:05
Speaker 2: Strand thirty four, have you heard any leanings on the
13:07
Speaker 2: Cubs expectations for bringing up Matt Shaw this season? If
13:10
Speaker 2: he had a crazy spring? Any chance he makes Opening Day?
13:16
Speaker 1: Look, I think because of the new rules and the
13:20
Speaker 1: chance to make you know, if he's if he wins
13:23
Speaker 1: Rookie of the Year or finishes top three in MVP
13:27
Speaker 1: voting or gets top three MVP votes something like that.
13:31
Speaker 1: Now I can't remember the exactly. I think it's finished
13:33
Speaker 1: top three an MVP and you have to win or
13:36
Speaker 1: win Rookie of the Year, not not get Rookie of
13:39
Speaker 1: the Year votes. Then then the team gets a draft pick, right,
13:43
Speaker 1: and that they have to be up there from the
13:45
Speaker 1: from the beginning of the season. Pirates don't get a
13:48
Speaker 1: draft pick for Paul Skans winning Rookie of the Year
13:51
Speaker 1: because they waited twenty days. Uh and and that you know,
13:56
Speaker 1: that completely changes everything about his outlook and his his
14:00
Speaker 1: contract situation. Right, So yes, I think there is a
14:06
Speaker 1: chance for this depending on the moves we see this
14:09
Speaker 1: winter and what type of spring Shaw has, what openings
14:16
Speaker 1: there are, you know, if Nico Horner isn't ready to
14:20
Speaker 1: start the season, I'd be surprised if they call up Shaw.
14:25
Speaker 1: If it's like a two week thing for Nico Horner.
14:27
Speaker 1: If Nico Horner's traded and they don't sign a stop
14:31
Speaker 1: gap second basement or they or they sign a you
14:34
Speaker 1: know what's essentially a backup second basement and they want
14:37
Speaker 1: Matt Shaw there. Yeah, I could see this happening, ah Like,
14:42
Speaker 1: And I don't think it's gonna because he had a
14:44
Speaker 1: crazy spring or anything like that. It's it's gonna be
14:46
Speaker 1: because they feel like he's ready and Triple A won't
14:49
Speaker 1: have any significant development needs for him. They won't meet
14:54
Speaker 1: any of these significant needs he has. I like, I
14:59
Speaker 1: know he he's had some good plays that made highlights
15:03
Speaker 1: a defense that that we're making the rounds on Twitter.
15:06
Speaker 1: I haven't heard anything that makes me think he's he's
15:09
Speaker 1: a good defender at third base yet, Like that's I
15:13
Speaker 1: haven't heard it yet now is he is he bad? There?
15:15
Speaker 1: Is he a mess? I think they're like I've heard
15:18
Speaker 1: some of that from other people. I don't think the
15:21
Speaker 1: organization feels like it's it's a mess there. I do
15:25
Speaker 1: think he's he's a solid second basement. Nico Horner's a
15:30
Speaker 1: special second basement. So it would be a downgrade defensively there.
15:34
Speaker 1: But what he's done, like this type of stuff that
15:37
Speaker 1: he does repeatedly during the minor league season and then
15:41
Speaker 1: this tournament that he was just in, Uh, it's impressive stuff.
15:45
Speaker 1: And I don't think it's the type of stuff that
15:47
Speaker 1: you just kind of like ignore and say, like, well,
15:50
Speaker 1: he's he's just a prospect. I'm not interested. I think
15:53
Speaker 1: he's a really good prospect and I think he's emerged
15:55
Speaker 1: as their top prospect. And when that's the case and
15:58
Speaker 1: you're trying to win anything as possible as far as
16:01
Speaker 1: opening Day is, does he give them the best chance
16:04
Speaker 1: to win? I don't think it. And the reality that
16:08
Speaker 1: he has a chance to win Rookie of the Year
16:10
Speaker 1: he's that type of prospect, then then you you add
16:14
Speaker 1: that into their decision making because it could get them
16:17
Speaker 1: a draft pick. And you know, years ago I would
16:21
Speaker 1: have said no, right, because we all know how front
16:23
Speaker 1: offices think, and this is not a This is not
16:26
Speaker 1: a front office that's like, oh, it's worth the chance
16:28
Speaker 1: to win a couple more games, because that's not how
16:31
Speaker 1: they look at look at it, because they don't believe
16:33
Speaker 1: there's that much of a difference as far as the wins.
16:36
Speaker 1: It'll aad for fifteen days or whatever it is.
16:38
Speaker 2: I mean, could just be as simple as he has
16:41
Speaker 2: a normal off season, looks pretty good and Nico is
16:44
Speaker 2: not ready yet.
16:46
Speaker 1: Yeah. My only question to that is would they do
16:49
Speaker 1: that for two weeks of yeah? Right, I don't and
16:54
Speaker 1: I don't know we've gotten that far along in the
16:56
Speaker 1: process to actually talk like this is they.
16:59
Speaker 2: Probably don't know, right, Yeah, Now, how the off season unfolds,
17:02
Speaker 2: right right?
17:03
Speaker 1: I think we need to see more, But I think, yes,
17:06
Speaker 1: is there a chance. I think there is. I think
17:08
Speaker 1: there is a chance. We need to see how this
17:10
Speaker 1: offseason plays out in multiple ways, right, not just like
17:14
Speaker 1: there's so many little things that we need to see happen.
17:17
Speaker 1: But yeah, matchhaws that type of talent. He's really good
17:20
Speaker 1: and I think he's going to hit at the highest level.
17:22
Speaker 1: I don't know if he's that superstar bat that everyone's
17:26
Speaker 1: pining for, but he's a good ballplayer. I think that
17:29
Speaker 1: he's shown that much in his pro career. What does
17:32
Speaker 1: the U say Kakuch contract with the Angels mean for
17:35
Speaker 1: that level of the pitching market. The Athletics Tim Britain
17:38
Speaker 1: nailed it at three sixty three, so maybe not much
17:41
Speaker 1: any intel that the Cubs were in on him. I
17:44
Speaker 1: don't know if the Cubs made an offer. I know
17:46
Speaker 1: the Cubs were interested. That's the level that they were
17:49
Speaker 1: looking at as far as that tier of the pitching market.
17:53
Speaker 1: They were looking for pitchers with no qualifying offer attached
17:56
Speaker 1: to them. He fits the mold, he fit the mold
17:59
Speaker 1: of what they're looking for. Or yeah, like three year deal, yeah, like,
18:02
Speaker 1: I think the Cubs are looking for something in that range,
18:06
Speaker 1: veteran that they trust can be in the middle of
18:08
Speaker 1: their rotation, give them one hundred and fifty hundred and
18:10
Speaker 1: sixty innings. Yeah, I think that's what they're looking for.
18:13
Speaker 1: You know, someone you know that that may be about
18:16
Speaker 1: to hit the best part of their career, even though
18:19
Speaker 1: he's in his mid thirties. All this, all, at all
18:22
Speaker 1: of it added up to making sense to me, I
18:24
Speaker 1: don't know what if they offered anything, or whether if
18:29
Speaker 1: it was competitive, if they did offer something. All I
18:33
Speaker 1: know is that he fits the mold. What does it
18:38
Speaker 1: mean for that market? I think it's like it's kind
18:41
Speaker 1: of what they expected. I don't think it, you know,
18:44
Speaker 1: I think they were looking. They were expecting if they
18:47
Speaker 1: were going to go shopping in free agency there, it
18:50
Speaker 1: was going to be in the twenty twenty five million
18:52
Speaker 1: per and in the two three four year range, because
18:57
Speaker 1: those are the players that they're looking at, right, Like
19:00
Speaker 1: Valdi's probably gonna get two. Maybe someone pushed it. Maybe
19:04
Speaker 1: if the markets robust enough for him, it pushes to three.
19:07
Speaker 1: But my guess is he gets around two and a
19:10
Speaker 1: little more abe because of his history and especially because
19:14
Speaker 1: he's a playoff performer too, because the teams will pay
19:17
Speaker 1: a little more for that. I bet.
19:19
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm looking at this deal of like, Okay, the
19:22
Speaker 2: Angels jump out and sign someone, with all due respect
19:25
Speaker 2: to Kyle Hendricks, like don't the Angels do this? Like
19:28
Speaker 2: they kind of jump out sign a guy. I was like,
19:31
Speaker 2: oh wow, and then like you never hear from them again.
19:35
Speaker 2: Like where the Angels playoff appearances, there is also a
19:40
Speaker 2: pitcher who I mean, I remember at the trade deadline
19:44
Speaker 2: it was, you know, oh my god, I can't believe
19:47
Speaker 2: the Astros. I mean, you know, they gave up all
19:50
Speaker 2: this stuff, and you know, Toronto's just gonna be, you know,
19:54
Speaker 2: win this deal, and the guy gets hot, has a
19:56
Speaker 2: couple good months and all of a sudden, you know
19:58
Speaker 2: it's a three and sixty three deal. That to me,
20:03
Speaker 2: just kind of looking at his overall body of work
20:05
Speaker 2: does not scream Cubs target. I mean, jameson ty Own,
20:11
Speaker 2: for example, had a very long, steady track record, right
20:16
Speaker 2: and got a deal you know, a little longer, a
20:19
Speaker 2: little more money, but like he had proven his dorability,
20:24
Speaker 2: his consistency. You know, this guy was kind of a
20:28
Speaker 2: disappointment in Seattle. He was pretty good in Toronto at
20:32
Speaker 2: times and wasn't pitching as well. And obviously in Houston
20:36
Speaker 2: we discovered himself it's gonna be thirty four next year.
20:40
Speaker 2: What struck me when we talked last week Sahtev was
20:44
Speaker 2: I think the way he framed it was the Cubs
20:46
Speaker 2: need to do dig in on him a little more
20:48
Speaker 2: and do a little more research, which to me sounded like, okay, yeah,
20:53
Speaker 2: he's on the radar, but was never really like the priority,
20:56
Speaker 2: right and by the time they get around to it,
20:58
Speaker 2: the Angels uh been with you know as the what
21:03
Speaker 2: the only team that's really kind of doing stuff active
21:06
Speaker 2: right in several fronts right now?
21:07
Speaker 1: So and you know what, and I, you know, I
21:11
Speaker 1: don't know enough about the Angels to to go too
21:14
Speaker 1: far on this, but they're also a team in a
21:16
Speaker 1: front office that needs to do a little bit of
21:18
Speaker 1: pr with their fan base, right like they need to
21:21
Speaker 1: do stuff like this. I don't they can't stop now
21:25
Speaker 1: like they like they still they've done all this now
21:27
Speaker 1: and now that My question is where's your where's your superstar?
21:31
Speaker 1: If if Mike Trout isn't healthy? Right, like I guess
21:34
Speaker 1: if Mike Trout's healthy, it's interesting enough. But that's a
21:37
Speaker 1: that's for an Angels podcast and and their fans to dwell.
21:43
Speaker 1: I suppose, you know, I I think this is this
21:47
Speaker 1: question is kind of spinning things positively, and I think
21:50
Speaker 1: it's worth talking about because I think there are some
21:54
Speaker 1: like so much of what we talk about sometimes is negative.
21:59
Speaker 1: And then this question from Stable Gunner is he had
22:02
Speaker 1: a couple questions, including like a fair question in my
22:05
Speaker 1: opinion of like why even why are we talking about
22:08
Speaker 1: the offense, Like they should be focusing on pitching. All
22:10
Speaker 1: their talent coming through the system is offense. I think
22:14
Speaker 1: it's a valid question because I think the Cubs are
22:17
Speaker 1: almost doing that right. They are focusing on pitching, even
22:22
Speaker 1: though we I think it's important for them to find
22:24
Speaker 1: a way to make sure that the offense is a
22:26
Speaker 1: little more stable. But here's here's his question. Would you
22:30
Speaker 1: rather have Esak Partis as is or Alex Bregman on
22:33
Speaker 1: MLB trade rumors seven year, one hundred and eighty two
22:35
Speaker 1: million dollar deal and if it's close, should the front
22:38
Speaker 1: office get credit for essentially getting a top five free
22:41
Speaker 1: agent on the cheap? Look, his two months with the
22:46
Speaker 1: Cubs is going to cloud fans opinion on him. It
22:50
Speaker 1: just is okay, Like, I think it's really hard for
22:53
Speaker 1: us to ignore what we saw, whether we're fans, media,
22:59
Speaker 1: whatever it is. I try my what I do is
23:04
Speaker 1: I try and look back at the history of the player.
23:06
Speaker 1: I try not to judge him on the two months
23:08
Speaker 1: we saw. Like, it's very easy to get carried away
23:11
Speaker 1: with what Nick Castianos did with the Cubs for two months,
23:15
Speaker 1: and it's very easy to get carried away with what
23:17
Speaker 1: Esa Paratus did for two months? Did the did the
23:20
Speaker 1: Ray see something very well possible that they were like,
23:24
Speaker 1: you know, he's peaked. I don't think he's as bad
23:27
Speaker 1: as he was with the Cubs, though I'm not sure
23:30
Speaker 1: if he's like a one fifty way to runs great
23:32
Speaker 1: A plus guy like he was the first two months
23:34
Speaker 1: of the season. I think he is what he is,
23:36
Speaker 1: which is around a one to twenty five way to
23:38
Speaker 1: runs great A plus. I think his offense is gonna
23:41
Speaker 1: his power out, but is going to dip a little,
23:43
Speaker 1: but not to the point where it's like, you know, nonexistent,
23:47
Speaker 1: Like it wasn't Rigley the two months that he played there,
23:51
Speaker 1: And it wasn't because of the wind. It just wasn't.
23:53
Speaker 1: We there were no there was like there were no
23:57
Speaker 1: like all these fly balls to the warning track that
24:00
Speaker 1: we saw, We didn't see that with him. That wasn't
24:02
Speaker 1: his problem. He just wasn't comfortable and wasn't swinging the
24:04
Speaker 1: bat well. My question will be how does he look
24:09
Speaker 1: come spring training, how's he feeling comes spring training? And
24:12
Speaker 1: is he is he healthy? Is he mentally where he
24:16
Speaker 1: wants to be? And where the team needs him to be.
24:19
Speaker 1: I'm not saying he wasn't putting in the work or
24:21
Speaker 1: doing what needed to be done. I'm just saying getting
24:23
Speaker 1: traded in a very comfortable situation, from a very comfortable
24:28
Speaker 1: situation to an unfamiliar situation in the middle of the
24:31
Speaker 1: season is never easy. And I think there were human
24:34
Speaker 1: elements that impacted his second half along with just like
24:39
Speaker 1: you know, the randomness of baseball. He was a good
24:41
Speaker 1: player on the road. Do they get credit for this? Look,
24:45
Speaker 1: I thought it was a good trade at the time,
24:47
Speaker 1: Like and I think, you know, we'll see what Ty
24:50
Speaker 1: Johnson turns into. We'll see if Christopher Morrell is better
24:54
Speaker 1: next season, We'll see if Hunter Biggie's a great reliever.
24:58
Speaker 1: I don't think you worry about those things. I saw
25:01
Speaker 1: a great point made on Twitter. Go look at all
25:03
Speaker 1: the trades they've made over the last few months, over
25:05
Speaker 1: the last year and a half, and all the players
25:08
Speaker 1: that they got that they traded, a lot of them
25:11
Speaker 1: were from the draft, and many of them were from
25:14
Speaker 1: like the third, fourth, fifth round, on tenth round, eleventh round,
25:18
Speaker 1: twelfth round that didn't happen before that did not happen.
25:22
Speaker 1: That was a big issue. Why couldn't they be in
25:25
Speaker 1: on Paul Goldschmid. Why couldn't they be in on Raley
25:27
Speaker 1: Nolan Arronado unless they were trading Chris Brant. They had
25:30
Speaker 1: no prospects to trade. Nobody wanted their depth pieces because
25:34
Speaker 1: they weren't interesting. Right now, they do have those guys.
25:38
Speaker 1: They have guys that people are interested in. That they've
25:40
Speaker 1: drafted in the fifth round, in the tenth round, in
25:42
Speaker 1: the twelfth round. That's that I think is a good
25:46
Speaker 1: sign for the way things are going. Escoch Paratis needs
25:50
Speaker 1: to perform that contract. Yes, I would not I the
25:55
Speaker 1: projection for Alex Regman. If you're comparing those two, I say,
25:59
Speaker 1: take Paradis in the t's right. That's what I That's
26:01
Speaker 1: my personal opinion. Maybe maybe Bregmant will prove me wrong
26:05
Speaker 1: and go on to put up you know, multiple more
26:08
Speaker 1: All Star MVP caliber seasons and Paratus is on the
26:11
Speaker 1: downswing at twenty something. But you know that that would
26:16
Speaker 1: that would be a misevaluation I guess on their part.
26:19
Speaker 2: I mean one thing, I will say, obviously, that farm system,
26:23
Speaker 2: you know, by twenty nineteen heading into twenty twenty, was
26:27
Speaker 2: one of the worst in the game. But they did
26:30
Speaker 2: use guys. They drafted to get Nick Castillanos, to get
26:35
Speaker 2: Cole Hamils, like they used those pieces and the different
26:39
Speaker 2: The big thing that was, like those guys performed at Wrigley.
26:43
Speaker 2: They were dudes. They captivated fans, They brought a lot
26:48
Speaker 2: of energy. They you know, I mean Cole Hamil's kind
26:52
Speaker 2: of rejuvenated his career, like he looked almost done. He
26:57
Speaker 2: made you know, made a lot more money off of that.
27:00
Speaker 2: N Castillanos obviously caught fire in Chicago. So like Parade's
27:09
Speaker 2: is if he's the player of the Cups think he is,
27:12
Speaker 2: it's fine. I think it's just the issue of, like,
27:14
Speaker 2: you know, there's gonna be a lot more chances for
27:16
Speaker 2: Bregman for that contract to look bad, right because it's
27:19
Speaker 2: just longer. Predos has this wind is window here where
27:23
Speaker 2: he has to be you know, an every day above
27:26
Speaker 2: average third basement for the Cubs offensive impact and and
27:30
Speaker 2: to clean up the defense too. We realized he wasn't
27:33
Speaker 2: going to be you know, Nolan aeronauto over there, like
27:36
Speaker 2: Brooks Robinson. But there was a lot of like really
27:39
Speaker 2: like yeah, what's going on here?
27:41
Speaker 1: It was worse than it looked when he was with
27:44
Speaker 1: the Rays. I also think, you know, like I think
27:49
Speaker 1: Paradis is a placeholder in the sense like he's an
27:52
Speaker 1: impact potentially impactful placeholder. But I don't think he's gonna
27:56
Speaker 1: be with the Cubs for the next six years. They're
27:58
Speaker 1: not going to extend him, right. I wouldn't be shocked
28:01
Speaker 1: if if Cam Smith has like this awesome season, if
28:05
Speaker 1: if you know the Cubs are looking to trade Paradis
28:08
Speaker 1: in a year and a half or something like that,
28:10
Speaker 1: I'm just I have no information on that. I haven't
28:14
Speaker 1: heard them say that. But that's how this front office
28:17
Speaker 1: is going to look to roll, right, if you have
28:20
Speaker 1: a guy that can take over, like there's a reason
28:22
Speaker 1: Nico Horner. May you know we're hearing Nico Horner's name
28:25
Speaker 1: on the trade market right because they have a guy
28:27
Speaker 1: that they think can maybe impact the team and they
28:30
Speaker 1: can do different things now. And that's that's how it's
28:33
Speaker 1: going to be going forward. I think with this front office,
28:35
Speaker 1: they'll they'll look to make moves with established players or prospects,
28:39
Speaker 1: depending on what you know, what what type of moves
28:42
Speaker 1: they're where they are in their contention cycle and what
28:44
Speaker 1: they're trying to do what's the goal. Right, It's like
28:47
Speaker 1: we talked about with when we wrote the Big Story.
28:50
Speaker 1: It's like the model. The model doesn't dictate strategy, right.
28:54
Speaker 1: The model model may give you value, but now you
28:57
Speaker 1: you now you see what the value is. Okay, we
28:59
Speaker 1: all agree, we agree with the model. This is the value. Okay,
29:02
Speaker 1: what's the strategy? How do we maximize that value? And
29:06
Speaker 1: and that's that's kind of how I think you should
29:09
Speaker 1: look at all of these players and pretists. I don't
29:12
Speaker 1: think it's like a lifetime cub, don't don't expect him
29:15
Speaker 1: to be around forever. But but yes, I think it. Yes,
29:19
Speaker 1: they deserve some credit if he turns out to be
29:21
Speaker 1: the type of player he has been for the last
29:23
Speaker 1: few years, because that's that's good value. That's that's the
29:26
Speaker 1: type of player you should be aggressively pursuing when those
29:30
Speaker 1: opportunities arise. All right, thanks so much for listening, Happy
29:33
Speaker 1: thanksgiving everyone. This is Northside Territory. Make sure to rate,
29:37
Speaker 1: review and subscribe. Subscribe on the YouTube channel. Make sure
29:41
Speaker 1: to subscribe to The Athletic or Patrick and I are
29:44
Speaker 1: writing all your cubs news and information. Thanks for listening, everyone,