Bryant and/or Baez May be traded

[Dtwncbad]

MLBtraderumors story says the Cubs are in transition with Epstein acknowledging he may trade one or both.

I could be very, very excited about landing Bryant, with the fantasy being getting him without including Adell.

Fun to think about anyway.

[wopphil]

Its interesting that the Cubs could be sellers. Quintana might be a nice back of the rotation piece for us. 

[jordan]

Bryant’s going to take probably 2-3 top 100 prospects or a #1 SP in a package. Angels can’t do that. 

[floplag]

I dont get what the Cubs are doing right now... sure you had a down year but your printing money up there, why break up that team?  Shot happens things didnt work this year but there is no reason to expect they wont be back next as far as i can see.
Is this one of those they have ML ready kids i know nothing about things or what am i missing?  Honest question i dont really follow them so im not up on thier farm but i cant see why they are doing all this right now. 

Sidenote, yeah, Bryant, we dont have the parts to pull that off without losing Adell, though, one wonders if he might be one of the few guys he might be worth considering in such a move.

[angelsnationtalk]

Cubs don't have to trade him which is likely that discussions start with the name Adell.

Can we get pitching first? Please?

[Stradling]

20 minutes ago, floplag said:

I dont get what the Cubs are doing right now... sure you had a down year but your printing money up there, why break up that team?  Shot happens things didnt work this year but there is no reason to expect they wont be back next as far as i can see.
Is this one of those they have ML ready kids i know nothing about things or what am i missing?  Honest question i dont really follow them so im not up on thier farm but i cant see why they are doing all this right now. 

Sidenote, yeah, Bryant, we dont have the parts to pull that off without losing Adell, though, one wonders if he might be one of the few guys he might be worth considering in such a move.

They have a horrible farm is my understanding and an aging pitching staff with Lester and Darvish, with Hamels as a free agent.  Quintana hasn’t been what they expected, Russell basically destroyed his career, Kimbrel is in year one and was pretty bad.  It’s basically a team with Bryant, Rizzo, Baez, Shwarber and Darvish.  Oh and they had a $200 million payroll this past year.

[Stradling]

4 minutes ago, angelsnationtalk said:

Cubs don't have to trade him which is likely that discussions start with the name Adell.

Can we get pitching first? Please?

Yes, in pitching threads we can get pitching, in a thread that was about Bryant and Baez, well that thread would be about getting Bryant and or Baez.  

[angelsnationtalk]

1 minute ago, Stradling said:

Yes, in pitching threads we can get pitching, in a thread that was about Bryant and Baez, well that thread would be about getting Bryant and or Baez.  

Thank you Captain Obvious. 

[Stradling]

3 minutes ago, angelsnationtalk said:

Thank you Captain Obvious. 

You’re welcome.

[CanadianHalo]

I wonder what kind of contract Hamels will be looking for this offseason given his age. 

If reasonable he could be a nice get if we can land 2 other guys. (Cole & ???)

[Vlad27Trout27]

I think it's more about them having a high payroll and very limited room. 

I proposed this deal last year, but don't know how it'll work out this season.

Chatwood and Happ for a prospect in our system, maybe Jones and Ortega?.

Than maybe we Pack Cozart with someone, and trade him to offset the salaries...don't know if anyone would want him...idk maybe pack him with Suarez to the padres for hedge...... or Barria.

[Stradling]

2 minutes ago, CanadianHalo said:

I wonder what kind of contract Hamels will be looking for this offseason given his age. 

If reasonable he could be a nice get if we can land 2 other guys. (Cole & ???)

He seems like a tweener, he will either be available in March for a minor league deal or he will be 1 year and $8 million.

[Second Base]

Quite frankly, I'm not sure the Angels could afford such a deal and maintain any semblance of a strong farm system. Even if one if v those guys doesn't cost Adell, they'll probably still cost Rengifo, Marsh, Adams, and Soriano.

And that's at minimum.

[UndertheHalo]

the Angels have to spend money to allow the farm to develop.  we're still at a stage where there is not enough in the development system to move the talent necessary to get players like this.  I think more then anything a lot of Angels fans were wrong about what the condition of the farm was after the 2018 season.  Eppler and Swanson aren't magicians.  A historically bad farm takes a long time to get back on track.  They've done well relative to the situation, but top to bottom the farm is still not deep enough to execute these kinds of trades without really compromising the progress that has been made.  That seems pretty obvious to me now.

[Blarg]

4 hours ago, Dtwncbad said:

MLBtraderumors story says the Cubs are in transition with Epstein acknowledging he may trade one or both.

I could be very, very excited about landing Bryant, with the fantasy being getting him without including Adell.

Fun to think about anyway.

Bryant will be first year arb and is already making $12.5 million. He is a free agent in 2022. So how does he fit into the payroll when you need at least two front line starters? 

Don't get me wrong, I'd love Bryant on the team ever since I saw him in the AFL 5 years ago but currently there is no budget room for him if you are going to get pitching. 

[Stradling]

Just now, Vladdylonglegs said:

So you’re saying that they need to rebuild. Why can’t you see the same thing with the Angels who are in a MUCH worse position than the Cubs?

Because we have a better farm, we have been rebuilding, they have tradeable assets not named Trout.  We have significantly less payroll than they do.  A lot of our players have more value to us than what they would bring back in return.  Vladdy, we are where we are, so at this point who has trade value?  Simmons, but only kind of because he is coming off of a down year, and he has one year left on his deal.  Our most tradeable asset is Ohtani, but when you rebuild like you are talking about do you trade a 23 year old?  No, you keep him as part of the rebuild.  

[wopphil]

Would anyone agree to take Darvish and 75 to 80 percent of his remaining contract if it came with Quintana and didnt require parting with Adell or Marsh? 

Before planning the idea, Darvish was very good this year and mostly healthy, and Quintana's FIP was almost a run better than his ERA. 

[Chuck]

4 hours ago, wopphil said:

Its interesting that the Cubs could be sellers. Quintana might be a nice back of the rotation piece for us. 

Hard pass on Quintana unless we're giving up a lower end prospect like Kevin Maitan...

21 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Bryant will be first year arb and is already making $12.5 million. He is a free agent in 2022. So how does he fit into the payroll when you need at least two front line starters? 

Don't get me wrong, I'd love Bryant on the team ever since I saw him in the AFL 5 years ago but currently there is no budget room for him if you are going to get pitching. 

We do need pitching and that's obvious, but Mike Trout needs some protection in this lineup. Big time! 

With Ohtani back to pitching and getting three days off at DH surrounding his starts, plus the occasional day off against tough lefties, you insert Matt Thaiss and Albert Pujols into those scenarios. 

La Stella had a solid half season, but can he repeat? Upton should rebound, but can he stay healthy? We're losing 33 HR in Calhoun and Fletcher/Simba and whoever we have at C unless we sign Grandal is going to produce little to nothing as well. 

Priority is starting pitching, but this team needs another guy like a Donaldson, Rendon or Bryant in the lineup as well if they want to even come close to competing with the Astros and A's in the division. 

[Blarg]

Why would Chicago let go of two good pitchers when it doesn't look they have any prospects to fill their ranks? 

[floplag]

43 minutes ago, Stradling said:

They have a horrible farm is my understanding and an aging pitching staff with Lester and Darvish, with Hamels as a free agent.  Quintana hasn’t been what they expected, Russell basically destroyed his career, Kimbrel is in year one and was pretty bad.  It’s basically a team with Bryant, Rizzo, Baez, Shwarber and Darvish.  Oh and they had a $200 million payroll this past year.

i get what you are saying but its also a team that won 95 a year ago, 92 before that, seems a little early to write them of after one down year dont you think?  Thats still a hell of a core to build around?

[Stradling]

2 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

Hard pass on Quintana unless we're giving up a lower end prospect like Kevin Maitan...

We do need pitching and that's obvious, but Mike Trout needs some protection in this lineup. Big time! 

With Ohtani back to pitching and getting three days off at DH surrounding his starts, plus the occasional day off against tough lefties, you insert Matt Thaiss and Albert Pujols into those scenarios. 

La Stella had a solid half season, but can he repeat? Upton should rebound, but can he stay healthy? We're losing 33 HR in Calhoun and Fletcher/Simba and whoever we have at C unless we sign Grandal is going to produce little to nothing as well. 

Priority is starting pitching, but this team needs another guy like a Donaldson, Rendon or Bryant in the lineup as well if they want to even come close to competing with the Astros and A's in the division. 

Upton will provide protection, is it Kris Bryant protection, no, but he isn’t done yet.  Unless Arte totally goes ALL IN, they aren’t getting a premiere bat this off season.  The only way they get a premiere bat is if they trade Adell for a premiere arm.  

[Stradling]

1 minute ago, floplag said:

i get what you are saying but its also a team that won 95 a year ago, 92 before that, seems a little early to write them of after one down year dont you think?  Thats still a hell of a core to build around?

I don’t really disagree but at the same time when you are “out of money” and have big money going to unmovable parts (Lester, Kimbrel, Heyward), not unlike the Angels (Albert and Upton), then you choose to either go all in again or trade your two stars and bring back as much talent as you can get.  Darvish is fine and can win you a playoff game, but after that it would be tough to win many games, and they don’t have a bullpen despite spending big money on a closer that hasn’t worked out quite yet.  

[wopphil]

10 minutes ago, Blarg said:

Why would Chicago let go of two good pitchers when it doesn't look they have any prospects to fill their ranks? 

They probably aren't motivated to move Quintana, but would probably love to rid themselves of Darvish's contract.

[Chuck]

19 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Upton will provide protection, is it Kris Bryant protection, no, but he isn’t done yet.  Unless Arte totally goes ALL IN, they aren’t getting a premiere bat this off season.  The only way they get a premiere bat is if they trade Adell for a premiere arm.  

I have concerns about Upton's ability to stay healthy. When healthy he's good, but not great. This team needs another big bat IMO because if Upton has issues with his tendinitis or he declines offensively (which he showed in a small sample size after his return from the DL this season, this team is F'd on scoring runs even with a good rotation). 

[Stradling]

17 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

I have concerns about Upton's ability to stay healthy. When healthy he's good, but not great. This team needs another big bat IMO because if Upton has issues with his tendinitis or he declines offensively (which he showed in a small sample size after his return from the DL this season, this team is F'd on scoring runs even with a good rotation). 

He’s been the perfect example of health his entire career until this year.  You should be more  concerned with Trout or Simmons health than Upton based on history.