Gurriel and Altuve stunk this regular season. Altuve is over whatever was keeping him down in the regular season. Having Altuve and Alvarez back to normal should offset the loss of Springer and Brantley. If the Astros can get a CF and a RF with average or near average bats, the offense should be better next season versus 2020.
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/11/kris-bryant-cubs-trade.html Astros mentioned as a potential trade partner for Kris Bryant. Maybe something like: Astros get: RF Kris Bryant CF Albert Almora PTBNL Cubs get: 3B Abraham Toro RHP Bryan Abreu Astros get a very high upside bat to plug into their lineup along with a high floor/ceiling CF to compete/platoon with Straw. The PTBNL provides insurance. Cubs shed Bryant’s salary and picks up a versatile potential everyday position player and some pitching depth. Astros lineup: 3B Bregman 2B Altuve RF Bryant DH Alvarez SS Correa LF Tucker 1B Gurriel C Maldonado CF Almora Bench: Diaz, TBD free agent catcher, Straw, TBD 13th position player
Bryant sucked last season, and they may want to shed his $20M salary. Also, they have Bote to take over at 3B and a full OF with Heyward/Happ/Schwarber. Toro and Abreu are solid prospects who can contribute immediately.
There was so much focus by the western media on the Astros "Sucking" at hitting w/o the bangs, that sucking was pretty common with many of the big names during the 2020 "season". If the Cubs would be down with that, I'd do it. I'd would look for any other player that 'sucked' in 2020 and see if their GMs feel they sucked and willing to trade them.
Maybe. If you assume Bryant goes back to his 5 war days then he carries probably $40M in surplus value, including the comp pick for him rejecting the QO and using pre-pandemic $/war. But that number would be heavily discounted because so many teams are shedding payroll, not adding, and because Bryant was awful last season. Also, there’s no guarantee the QO system is the same after this season. So I would peg his surplus value at $10-20M. Opinions will vary greatly on Toro and Abreu, but both were Org Top 5 prospects last season. And the financial picture serves to increase the relative value of prospects. Just like with fans projecting potential Correa trades, there just isn’t a lot of surplus value in a guy making 80% of his market value who is a pending free agent.
Wonder what if would take to get Almora? I really like that guy and think his best is ahead of him. Exactly the kinda guy I hope they trade for. I would gladly give up Abreu/Solis for him.
If Bryant is going to cost us $20M, why not add $5M to it and re-sign Springer? You know your player a lot better than others, and you keep the clubhouse continue and clubhouse leader that is Springer. I understand that you would be adding 4 or so years with Springer, but why not pay for a great player in Springer at that point? Re-signing Springer and not having to trade Toro or Abreu for Bryant also allows us to trade them in another deal, where we can plug away at other holes on our roster.
I was going to mention that in my last post. In Snake's hypothetical, I'd gladly do Toro for Almora, if we are re-signing Springer. A Tucker/Almora/Springer outfield could work just fine.
Right, the difference is you get Bryant for $20M/1yr, whereas Springer costs $100M+/4-5yrs. That’s a huge difference in financial commitment.
Completely understand. But you are also locking in a talented player for longer. Trading for Bryant is a potential nice temporary solution. It's easy to say, since it's not my money, haha. I actually like your idea (although we might need to sweeten the pot a little, I think the Cubs could get more elsewhere). Just like with stocks, it's sometimes really hard to buy low (because your mindset worries how much worse can it get). But I think that a team that nabs Springer for 5/120, is going to be very happy with the value you get. That is hard to appreciate now, as the sport just lost $3B or whatever. But in 2-3 years, paying around $25M per annum for a player of Springer's caliber can end up being a steal.
Yes. It isn't too large, but it is enough to make a difference over 162 games. Besides for 2017, Marisnick has been mostly bad while JBJ has only been on the slightly bad at his worst. Also, Marisnick is a big dude. I'm more concerned with him wearing down earlier than JBJ. A bad year from JBJ is still a starter. A bad year from Marisnick would be brutal. Though, I'd have no issue getting both and moving fences back. JBJ is probably the best available CF through FA or trade assuming Springer is gone and one wants a CF that is more than a bat. I don't think he'll cost close to Springer. I'd guess less than half the years and less than half the AAV of Springer. If not JBJ, Profar is probably the next best, IMO. After that, it is bats and guys like Marisnick.
Got it from a very reliable source that both Springer and Brantley are gone. Reddick is also gone, but that's not exactly Earth shattering news. Also, apparently James Click is an unfriendly *******, but that's neither here nor there haha. As always, take it with a grain of salt and all that.
If true about Click, so much for fixing the FO culture that contributed to MLB/Crane moving off of Luhnow...
I know we can't afford Springer, but why can't we afford Brantley? He took a two year deal before. I don't see him making more in his next contract.
