Potential Big Cubs News, Levine Burying the Lead at the Winter Meetings
So I’ll do the same, plus there should be a quota on articles written on this site that are dedicated to one topic. There are some very interesting events on potential Chicago Cubs interests that have come to light. The first could see the Cubs going back to the well with the Texas Rangers, another has the Cubs exploring bullpen options, and of course the main dish is awaiting you at the end.
Bullpen
Bruce Levine has reported from Las Vegas, that the Cubs are scouring the free agent market for bullpen help, and a couple of stars headlines their list.
We have heard the Cubs interest in Andrew Miller, and Levine confirms that he could be high on the Cubs list. We mentioned this a while back, a Miller signing could be an answer to Josh Hader and the “super-reliever” strategy that is starting to take over the league. Teams are beginning to rely less and less on their starters to go deep, but opting to play match-ups sooner in games.
This idea is supported by the ability of hitters to perform at a much higher success rate the third time they see a pitcher. If that is the case, teams can start to bring in relief pitchers early, playing match-ups and maintaining a pitching advantage deeper into ballgames. What better way to take on this mentality, than to do it with a nasty reliever that dominates both righties and lefties? And if you can’t bring in a guy like Hader, why not bring in the guy that likely started the super reliever role in this modern game, Miller.
Levine also notes that the Cubs could kick the tires on former closer Zach Britton, as well as Adam Ottavino, Cody Allen and Joakim Soria.
Ottavino is interesting, not because he is coming off a good season and could be a nice addition, but because he thinks he would dominate Babe Ruth.
“I had an argument with a coach in Triple-A about Babe Ruth’s effectiveness in today’s game,” Ottavino recalled. “I said, ‘Babe Ruth, with that swing, swinging that bat, I got him hitting .140 with eight homers.’
“He was like, ‘are you nuts? Babe Ruth would hit .370 with 60 homers,’ and I’m like, ‘I would strike Babe Ruth out every time.’
“I’m not trying to disrespect him, you know, rest in peace, you know, shout out to Babe Ruth. But, it was a different game, I mean the guy ate hot dogs and drank beer and did whatever he did. It was just a different game.”
Maybe he’s suggesting that if Ruth hadn’t passed away, and the spry 123-year-old Ruth were to step up to the plate, he would strike him out? I like the balls kid, but Ruth would still hit in today’s game.
Trading with Texas again?
It seems that the Cubs and the Rangers just mesh well together. The player that is currently on the tip of everyone’s tongue is Jurickson Profar. Evan Grant, who covers the Rangers for the Dallas Morning News, has mentioned that Profar is on the block.
This does run counter my intuition, though, because I think Mazara still needs to have a standout stretch of baseball for Rangers to realize his max value. https://t.co/vxidRvupWg
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) December 10, 2018
Which then we hear this interesting tidbit.
One source says Cubs/Rangers have talked Jurickson Profar.
— TomLoxas (@TomLoxas) December 10, 2018
Ok, now I sense a question coming… “who is Profar, and how can he help?” Then I can sense the, “should I be excited?”
So Profar screams Joe Maddon. In 2018, Profar played all four infield positions, as well as a game in LF. Reading his career games per position, Profar has played SS 104 games, 3B in 89 games, second 67 games, suited up at first in 43 games, and left field in 31 games.
If they were to send Addison Russell to Texas, the change of scenery could help him as well as the Cubs. Profar would allow Maddon to play mix and match with Profar and Ben Zobrist at second base, allowing Javier Baez to take over shortstop on a more permanent basis. Profar, right now, is a similar hitter as Russell, having hit a career high in every offensive category in 2018 (his first season getting more than 500 plate appearances).
If you’re interested in what he’s capable of, just take a look at his performance in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Dude hit .545 in Pool A, while playing center field and turning just about every head in the game.
Burying the lead
Lastly, there’s some more, perhaps important news on that rumor that the Cubs don’t have money to spend this offseason. While there have been tons of press on the Cubs tight budgets, there have been some rumblings that the Ricketts have signed off on the possibility of adding someone like Bryce Harper, and whatever monetary investment that might take. Here is what Levine says:
At the GM Meetings in November, agents indicated the Cubs had told them the had limited financial flexibility.
Has anything changed? It remains unclear, but on the flip side, rumblings also exist that the Ricketts family has signed off on the possibility of a big expenditure for a star like Harper. Only the Cubs know, and only time will tell how big of a free agency splash they can make.
As the offseason continues to move forward, it just feels like the Cubs are going to jump into the Harper dealings with both feet. This supports the rumor that Julie DiCaro spoke about, and this feels like the way Theo Epstein prefers to do business. We saw the Cubs acquire Jose Quintana without a peep from the media. Then there was the surprise announcement that the Cubs signed Yu Darvish on a Saturday morning in February. With how quiet the Cubs have been on the Harper front. How quiet Harper has been. How quiet Scott Boras has been. This just seems like someone is putting Bryce on a tee for the Cubs to grab.
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This is two day’s old news.