2016 Season

[Howling Mad]

We really should've swept the awards, I mean 108 years, what else does it take. We should've won these too

Maddon - MOY
Professor - CY Young
Addison - Gold glove

[hermes]

maddon did win last year

a cub should have gotten the cy young though

i wonder if baez will ever win a gold glove, since he moves around positions so much

[karch34]

A Cub should've gotten the Cy Young, but having two legitimate candidates hurt their chances.

I think Baez will be full time 2B next year with Zobrist taking a corner OF spot.

[Kizz Fastfists]

I think Baez will be full time 2B next year with Zobrist taking a corner OF spot.

I expect the same. Baez at 2B and Zobrist in LF. If the new CBA brings the DH to the NL, as most executives want, then Schwarber will be the DH. If there is no DH Schwarber will be a significant trade chip this off-season for a big time young pitcher. We're looking at a positional alignment along the lines of:

1B-Rizzo
2B-Baez
3B-Bryant
SS-Addy
C-Willson
RF-Heyward
CF-Almora
LF-Zobrist

They have La Stella as the utility infielder and Soler as the 4th OF. They'll either resign Coghlan or someone else that can play all 3 OF spots as a 5th OF. Montero will be the backup catcher with Victor Caratini, who got added to the 40 man roster yesterday, coming up to break in and take over as the backup catcher in 2018.

The top 4 in the rotation is set. The 5th starter could be Montgomery, but they will probably bring in competition or they could trade for someone like Sonny Gray or Sale if they decide they don't have a position for Schwarber. They need a bullpen arm or two. I don't expect them to win the bidding war for Chapman, but Melancon and Holland could make for a strong bullpen with Rondon, Strop and Edwards. They also pretty much ignore the bullpen and then trade for an arm mid-season if they feel they need to, although I hate to use more prospects on a half season bullpen rental.

[hermes]

i think they are going to hold onto schwarber as long as they can, he's actually barely played on the team (compared to a lot of the other young guys) but people are just so fascinated with him

plus he's really good at hitting

[Kizz Fastfists]

plus he's really good at hitting

He's awesome at hitting. The problem is that he is a negative at everything baseball related that doesn't take place in the batter's box. He's the perfect DH and some team might think they could manage to get by with him at 1B, but the Cubs have Rizzo and are not going to trade him to play Schwarber at 1B. I expect the new CBA, that will be coming in a few more weeks, to bring the DH to the NL and that will solve the logjam issue.

[karch34]

I still think they will need to be overwhelmed to trade Schwarber, if there's no DH for the NL. I still think that Soler and someone like Candelero get moved in a package for a young pitcher under team control. But it could go a number of ways.

[Howling Mad]

The rich get even richer. It makes me so HAPP-y. Ian Happy. With two p's, like two home runs. Another Championship, baby.

No way they trade Schwarber. He'll play left field next year and catch a handful of games. He'll have to completely embarrass himself to not get playing time behind the plate. Theo's going to give leeway as long as the 108 year draught, so get ready for patience in his catching development.

I'd love the DH in the NL. Schwarbs, obviously. I don't think it happens next year, maybe the year after.

What if I told you Baez in center field. Yah, crazy, I know. They'll give that another try in the offseason/spring training. If he's anything close to resembling gold glove skills, I say he stays. I know, crazy. I'm not going to count it out.

Unless we can swing for a homerun, pun intended, then I really don't see us making a trade. We'd need a top 3 rotation guy, a starting CF, or a legit lead-off hitter. The only real possibility that would make sense is another starter, but man we're already stacked and the rumblings of Mike Montgomery slotting in at 5 is probably what's going to happen. The rest stays the same.

With Happ doing his thing in the minors, I wonder how much his value increased and if he can be considered an A prospect. I'd trade Soler and Happ for the best lead off CF we can find.