Warm stove: shark or Arrieta for puppies? Battle of Mets / Dodgers by Bauer? Hader is asking the price? Sandy Dreaming? More

Warm stove: shark or Arrieta for puppies? Battle of Mets / Dodgers by Bauer? Hader is asking the price? Sandy Dreaming? More

by

Oh boy. Have you been paying attention? Because the last few days have been a great journey for Cubs news, rumors and transactions, and I think it’s not over yet. Things are really happening.

Not going in any particular order, Tom Ricketts allegedly increased the 2021 budget for players’ payroll, the Cubs signed Joc Pederson and former candidate Kohl Stewart for major league deals, Jake Arrieta is playing for the teams and can there is mutual interest for one In Chicago, Jeff Samardzija is launching for the Cubs, and direct rumors from the Cubs persist with Chris Archer, Mike Foltynewicz, Carlos Rodon and Kolten Wong.

Meanwhile, the Cardinals have signed again with Adam Wainwright and may be on the verge of negotiation for Nolan Arenado.

Thing!

There is a shark in Chicago and other puns

Parsing words is always a dangerous game when it comes to rumors, but when I read Patrick Mooney’s latest news about the Cubs’ efforts towards Jeff Samardzija, it’s hard not to get the feeling that there’s something there – maybe something a little more than just normal old exhausting all options:

Mooney: The Cubs are among a group of teams that are expected to attend Jeff Samardzija’s training on Friday, while continuing to evaluate their options on the pitch side. If healthy – and if the price is right – Samardzija could be the type of veteran starter who absorbs tickets and brings a competitive personality to the Wrigley Field club. Although the Cubs have not narrowed their focus on Samardzija – and their free agent process is still in development – there is an obvious history and local connection to the ex-Cub / ex-Notre Dame star.

If I had to guess, this would not be a thing or / or thing about guys like Samardzija and Jake Arrieta (and who else have they shown interest in at this level – there are tons). In a nutshell, the Cubs are going to need someone to eat some entrees this season – even if the rest of the pitchers work very well. Going from a season of 60 games to a season of 162 games will come at a price. Does this mean that the Cubs will add ALL kinds of nostalgia to eating older veterans? No. I’m sure they want some guys with some advantage for a more mid-term stay with the team if that is the case (Carlos Rodon? Mike Foltynewicz? Chris Archer?), Hence Kohl Stewart.

I’m just saying that Cubs are looking very clearly and openly to add several initiators:

Arrieta throwing, Mets interested – also, other actions to do

Speaking of Arrieta, Mets is participating in his session today and seems to have some legitimate interest in him now that Steven Matz has been eliminated from the rotation and out of the books. Obviously, Trevor Bauer is still an option (most likely, I bet) and Jackie Bradley Jr. is still a target, now that they have lost George Springer, but Andy Martino clearly says, the Mets changed Matz’s Salary to add another player:

Bauer, the Mets and the Dodgers

To that end, it certainly looks like Trevor Bauer for the Mets is going to happen. According to Jon Heyman and Andy Martino, Mets currently has an offer for Bauer in the 3-4 year range with opt-outs included, but for something less than the $ 36 million average annual value that Bauer is looking for (because OBVIOUSLY). Bauer supposedly wants a deal longer than that – Heyman mentions the Cole / Strasburg line, which, again … LOL – but that’s the status of things for now.

Of course, Mets are not the only option:

Dodgers have been big on these short-term AAV offerings for the past few years, so I can see that they make some sense, given what Bauer is looking for. But I just don’t see how Bauer believes he will achieve a record AAV on anything more than a short-term contract.

Josh Hader’s commercial offers

Do you know what has surprised this off-season? The lack of trade rumors for guys like Craig Kimbrel and Josh Hader. There have been a few, mind you, but not a ton. Today, that may be changing, at least as far as the closest Brewers are concerned.

Robert Murray writes that “Milwaukee brewers continue to hear commercial research for rescuer Josh Hader”, although they do not feel that Tue to exchange it. And indeed, the asking price, according to Murray’s sources, is absurdly high:

The price asked by Hader, according to sources familiar with the situation, is a combination of major league players and potential customers.

“We are not going into that,” said an American League executive.

“Don’t waste your time,” said another executive.

Michael’s Reflections

• At the beginning of the off-season, I told Cubs fans to look ahead and forget the past … and the Cubs got into a time machine and pretended it was 2015:

• Can we avoid Joc Pederson’s disinformation campaign before it starts?

• I remember being so nervous that he would steal Kris Bryant’s 2015 NL ROY award in 2015. Do you remember how insane his first half was? He hit 20 home runs before the All-Star break with a 137 wRC +:

• This is so unbelievably unreal that I probably shouldn’t even put it in writing, but there were few precious reasons for optimism in this off-season period that I just want to manufacture some dreamy vibes. Just leave me alone. So, here it goes: * IF * Matt Carpenter, a third baseman – and his $ 18.5 million salary in 2021 – should return to the Rockies as part of a deal with Nolan Arenado, and * SE * the payroll. Cubs’ payout just eased a bit, and * IF * previous reports between Cubs and Rockies in a negotiation with Arenado last year (and starting this off-season) were true, so MAYBE you can see how Kris Bryant and his $ 19 salary , 5 million, but the more favorably projected 2021 performance could be a comp for Carpenter in a similar exchange with the Cubs. There is probably still no chance that the Cubs will be willing to absorb whatever is left of Arenado’s $ 199 million deal for six years, but imagine Arenado’s third glove, Javy Baez’s short glove and the Anthony Rizzo’s first glove. Now imagine that the Cubs also hire Kolten Wong … there are four favorite Glove Gloves in the field. Now wake up, because we’re going to … (But fun, right?).

• Cardinals say they want to bring Wong back …

•… but Wong wants to go back to St. Louis?

• Here is a vague thought based on the rumor below: If the Braves also checked Arenado, you should ask yourself if they would be more seriously interested in trading for Kris Bryant. And if the Cubs are suddenly less concerned with losing every penny in Bryant’s trade, you should ask yourself if a team like Braves might suddenly be better able to close a deal that the Cubs would consider (i.e., Cubs earning wages for best return).

Offal

• Oh, hey! Matt Moore! I remember him. After launching 85.0 2.65 ERA ball entries in Japan, Moore is returning to the major leagues in a guaranteed $ 3 million deal with the Phillies. This is very crazy. Good for him. The Phillies are probably not finished yet, my friends.

• Old friend alert:

• I’m not sure if we could say that it definitely excludes any rumors of Willson Contreras Nats (the Nats could simply include Yan Gomes in a business otherwise, and Avila would be the backup), but we don’t particularly like those rumors anyway.

Source