Cub Offseason Moves/Rumors

Lots of smoke out there saying the Cubs are already in agreement with Jorge Soler, the 19 year old Cuban OF. He hasn't been declared a free agent yet, but from what I understand in reading various articles he is still free to sign if he so chooses. Chicago Tribune is saying Chicago prepared to spend up to $27.5MM on Soler.

Keith Law said if the Cubs sign him, he instantly becomes the 2nd best prospect in the org. behind Rizzo.

Really liking what Theo and Jed have done this offseason.
 
cjhawks said:
Lots of smoke out there saying the Cubs are already in agreement with Jorge Soler, the 19 year old Cuban OF. He hasn't been declared a free agent yet, but from what I understand in reading various articles he is still free to sign if he so chooses. Chicago Tribune is saying Chicago prepared to spend up to $27.5MM on Soler.

Keith Law said if the Cubs sign him, he instantly becomes the 2nd best prospect in the org. behind Rizzo.

Really liking what Theo and Jed have done this offseason.
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Thank you and this is fantastic news. Any idea on how many years they are talking in the Soler deal?
 
cjhawks said:
Lots of smoke out there saying the Cubs are already in agreement with Jorge Soler, the 19 year old Cuban OF. He hasn't been declared a free agent yet, but from what I understand in reading various articles he is still free to sign if he so chooses. Chicago Tribune is saying Chicago prepared to spend up to $27.5MM on Soler.

Keith Law said if the Cubs sign him, he instantly becomes the 2nd best prospect in the org. behind Rizzo.

Really liking what Theo and Jed have done this offseason.
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Nice. Kid's only 19 years old so it's hard to say how soon we'll see him in the majors, but sounds like a promising prospect.

I so love that Theo is working on building up prospects and depth in the farm system rather than splashing money around on overpriced free agents.
 
Section136 said:
Thank you and this is fantastic news. Any idea on how many years they are talking in the Soler deal?
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Will more than likely be a 4 year deal like Cespedes. Difference being that Soler will not be a FA once those four years are up. Cespedes negotiated a non-arbitration clause in his deal which would make him a free agent once the deal is up. He'd be 30.

Soler would still be under team control through arbitration. Both Soler and Concepcion will be in the big league camp I gather.

Soler is 19. He stands 6'3 and weighs just over 200 lbs. That's one heckuva frame on a 19 year old.
 
Regarding minor league depth, if Garza is shopped you can bet that the Cubs will want one major league ready starter in return as well as probably 2 (at minimum) high upside/potential pitching prospects.

The Cubs appear to have position depth, especially in the lower levels. However, they lack overall pitching depth.
 
Good article as there are questions on who will be backup to Soto now that Hill is gone. I really hope Jaramillo is not the backup as I do not see much upside to him. The comments on Castillo are confusing as there are not many teams that rely on the catcher to call games anymore as many of the calls are made in the dugout. Also who is left from that 2010 front office/staff that would still be sour on him?
 
Actually most of the front office staff is still around. I don't think they fired anyone other than Hendry and then I think one other person left, but most of the new faces are just new positions and they retained a lot of the old staff.
 
ssckelley said:
Good article as there are questions on who will be backup to Soto now that Hill is gone. I really hope Jaramillo is not the backup as I do not see much upside to him. The comments on Castillo are confusing as there are not many teams that rely on the catcher to call games anymore as many of the calls are made in the dugout. Also who is left from that 2010 front office/staff that would still be sour on him?
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A few thoughts here:

1. I see the Jaramillo signing similar to the Max Ramirez signing last year. I think he will be given every opportunity to win the job, but his signing may have been a message to the young guys (Castillo, Clevenger) that they will have competition for the job and that neither should view it as a shoe-in they are handed the back-up job.

2. I think Castillo has a clean slate with the new regime. Based on the catchers for Boston under Theo (Varitek, Saltilamacchia), they were more offensive minded in nature. That should bode well for Castillo, and as far as pitch calling is concerned, that is something that can be developed through mentoring and lots of film study.

Here is a pretty decent article on Jaramillo that was published recently.

Jaramillo taking fresh approach
 
cjhawks said:
A few thoughts here:

1. I see the Jaramillo signing similar to the Max Ramirez signing last year. I think he will be given every opportunity to win the job, but his signing may have been a message to the young guys (Castillo, Clevenger) that they will have competition for the job and that neither should view it as a shoe-in they are handed the back-up job.

2. I think Castillo has a clean slate with the new regime. Based on the catchers for Boston under Theo (Varitek, Saltilamacchia), they were more offensive minded in nature. That should bode well for Castillo, and as far as pitch calling is concerned, that is something that can be developed through mentoring and lots of film study.

Here is a pretty decent article on Jaramillo that was published recently.

Jaramillo taking fresh approach
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Wow, that article totally changed my attitude about Jaramillo as I honestly did not know much about him. I just viewed him as a road block for Castillo & Clevenger, the Koyie Hill type that I am tired of seeing as a backup catcher.

It is good to know that they are going into spring training not locked into a veteran player. May the best player win the job.

Thanks for sharing!
 
Section136 said:
Infield preview now up.


Cubs spring preview: Infield - Chicago Cubs Blog - ESPN Chicago
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Thanks for posting this everyday.

This is the area that gets me excited as a Cubs fan, the infield. Castro has a chance to be one of the best shortstops in the game and I am anxious to see these first base prospects. I am glad to see they are giving LaHair the first shot but it is nice to know there is help not far behind. Barney is serviceable at 2nd base and I hope Ian can turn it around at the plate playing 3rd base. If not we may see Vitters by mid season.
 
ssckelley said:
I hope Ian can turn it around at the plate playing 3rd base. If not we may see Vitters by mid season.
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I've always felt that Stewart would benefit from a change of scenery. I really think he will breakout in Chicago. However, I think Stewart will be the starter even if he does have some struggles defensively.

Many people forget that Stewart is an excellent defensive third baseman, much better than Aramis ever was. Vitters strength is his offense, and it's relatively well-known his defense is subpar. For that reason alone I don't think Vitters has any shot of replacing Stewart during the year.
 
If by mid season he is batting a buck-whatever with little to no power then you might as well let Vitters learn on the job.
 
cjhawks said:
I've always felt that Stewart would benefit from a change of scenery. I really think he will breakout in Chicago. However, I think Stewart will be the starter even if he does have some struggles defensively.

Many people forget that Stewart is an excellent defensive third baseman, much better than Aramis ever was. Vitters strength is his offense, and it's relatively well-known his defense is subpar. For that reason alone I don't think Vitters has any shot of replacing Stewart during the year.
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Vitters just isn't any good. And while Stewart is better defensively that Ramirez it isn't by that much. Our third base situation is likely to be awful this year.
 
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