Bleacher Bums Forum

The first question with Machado would be, "Where would he play?"

Shift him to 2nd and put Baez at SS?

Shift him to LF?

Leave him at 3B and move Bryant to LF?

Hope Maddon finds a 10th position on the field to put him in?

The next question is whether last year was an abberation or a clear indication of what to expect for the next year or two?

In 2017 Machado had an OPS+ of only 107, which certainly is not terrible, but also is not all that great.

And just what is expected from Russell in the future?

Those three questions need to be answered before moving to the issue of whether he would sign an extension, what an extension might cost, or whether the trade might be worthwhile even if he would not consider an extension and insists on leaving via FA.

Let's assume the Cubs have ~$25 million a year left to spend on pitching.  What would everyone here prefer?

- Spend all (or at least the vast majority) on Darvish.  Bullpen either stays as it is, or the Cubs take a flyer on a guy they can get for $2 million (like Duensing last year, but probably with less success)
- Make mid-level additions to both the rotation and bullpen (Cobb and Reed)
- Spend for Davis, then add a lesser SP (maybe someone like Jhoulys Chacin or Jeremy Hellickson)

Tough one.  I guess I'm going to say Darvish, because he seems like he has the reputation for having the stuff to win some postseason games. 

I'm just going by gut instinct, not by head.  I think *if* the Cubs signed him, that would be much more exciting, and I'd have higher hopes entering March.  How I'd feel over the ensuing years, of course, who knows! 

One other note/perspective:  as it stands, until they add SOMEBODY for rotation, Montgomery stands as 5th starter.  So whether it's somebody like Darvish, or Cobb, or Hellickson, if/when they do add a starter, that effectively moves Montgomery back to the pen.  So, in a sense, whether they sign starter+reliever, or 2-relievers, the pen ends up with the same number of guys.  Montgomery + two other guys, it's one for rotation and two for relief either way.   

I do wonder if the Darvish rumors are being leaked just to pressure Cobb to sign. I don't know where he's going to get more than about 4 years, $50 million if the Cubs are no longer part of the bidding.

It could be a situation where two things are in play--Cobb is asking for more than expected, and Darvish's market is less than expected. If Cobb is asking for something like 4/$80 and Darvish's expected price of 6/$150 has fallen to something like 5/$120, then why not pay the extra for Darvish?

About time you were rational about SOMETHING.

...It could be a situation where two things are in play--Cobb is asking for more than expected, and Darvish's market is less than expected. If Cobb is asking for something like 4/$80 and Darvish's expected price of 6/$150 has fallen to something like 5/$120, then why not pay the extra for Darvish?

That's a good perspective, I think that makes a lot of hypothetical sense.

They could also be looking to drive the price up.

I agree that that would be a great move.  But I expect that he will bring much more than that, which would make it a not-so-great move.