Bleacher Bums Forum

Hoerner is a better hitter when he’s not focused on pull-in-air, IMO…

Let Nico be Nico. Let Moises be Moises. If they ain't broke don't fix 'em.

I'm arguing with myself.  *IF* you add a pitcher, he replaces Assad.  Maybe that's strategic?  Send Assad, Brown, Hodge, Wiggins, Wicks, Little, and Neely to Iowa as nice option-able contingencies.  . 

Makes baseball sense to me to replace Assad with Gallen.  Yes, Assad may just be as good or better a pitcher; but also possible that Gallen might just be better, perhaps significantly so.   If Jed were to sign Giolito or Bassitt or Littell, the same reasoning would need to apply.  Are those guys even as good or better than 3.45-career-ERA Assad, or with the Cubs defense and Wrigley will they actually be definitely better?  Even if replacing Assad is a lateral move or a downgrade, does adding an Assad-quality guy available at Iowa make it more than worth it? 

Scherzer, Nick Martinez, Aaron Civale, I kinda by then it's a no-brainer.  Those guys are worse, and you're downgrading the big-league staff too much to replace Assad with one of them. 

With the current roster, if healthy we've got 13 pitchers.  Ten guaranteed big-league contracts and can't be optioned, only 3 or 4 have options:  Horton, Palencia, and Assad.  (Maybe Cabrera).  Either way, Horton, Palencia, or Cabrera aren't guys you want to send down to make room for Nick Martinez or Max Scherzer. 

So pretty much Assad is the top-13 pitcher that you might option.  *IF* you want to sign an additional pitcher, it's to displace Assad on your preferred opening roster. 

I'm in the camp of signing Valdez and then shipping someone like Taillon or Boyd off for young talent to fill the system.  A rotation of Valdez, Horton, Boyd (or Taillon), Imanaga, and Cabrera would be formidable, perhaps tops in the league.  We don't need more #3's or 4's.  Not to mention Steele's return.

You might get a prospect for Boyd but no way Taillon has surplus value. At best you’d get somebody to take him without having to attach a prospect yourself.

And he signs with the Sox, 1 year $6 million.

It's too bad there are no links to the Cubs and Valdez. I mean, if they're legit considering Gallen they're prepared to go past the tax line anyway and Valdez is the guy who actually moves the needle. Maybe they really think he's toxic.

Hoyer has shown aversion to players with character flaws since Milton Bradley, Chapman, and Russell caused some negativity.  I think Valdez's incident with his catcher has cost him ooddles of cash.  Reports are his agent is sending out packages portraying his popularity with teammates rather than his stats and accomplishments.  It doesn't take much to become a pariah like Bauer.