Triantos can't play 3B. They moved him to 2B and he was bad there as well. He is probably a LF/DH in the long run, and probably trade bait unless they trade Morel.

Busch was being tried out at 2B/3B because the Dodgers have Freddie Freeman at 1B. Reports were that he was bad at 2B and a little better at 3B. Long term, he's probably a strong side platoon 1B but he can play some 3B in a rotation until the trade deadline.

If anything, this seems to imply that they don't have hopes for Mervis as a major league player, or at least they don't feel they have time to develop him in a playoff chase.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

If Ferris actually makes it to the majors the Dodgers will have a Ferris/Buehler in their rotation

that all could be..

whether triantos can't play here or freddie freeman plays there, the fact of the matter is the dodgers wanted ferris and got him. that is the only reason the dodgers engaged the cubs in conversation. they wanted ferris. with busch relatively cheap and 'talented', you'd think that he could have been part of the dodger solution to alleviate their ridiculous payroll. clearly, the dodgers not interested in that at all. why not? likely, the dodgers don't believe he's talented enough.


not sure what hoyer's thinking is here. i guess the under 3.50 era for a 19 y/o lefty starter in his first pro season didn't keep their attention. only 1 HR against in 56 innings pitched. 77 Ks in 56 IP. it certainly got the dodgers' attention.

make a trade with the rockies, not the dodgers.

The Busch trade is Hoyer playing chicken with Boras on Bellinger, whom they probably should still sign in case Pete too many names is a bust.

Hoyer is doing a good job of it. Bellinger will sign the first week of Spring Training, probably for four years at a high AAV and some kind of mutual option for another two after that. SF doesn't have a spot or any money (they just signed Jordan Hicks to be a starting pitcher), and Toronto already has a full OF and Guerrero at 1B, plus the hassle of living in Canada.

They may even get Chapman on a 1 year pillow contract with a 1 year player option, as nobody is racing to sign him either.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

He's a 2027 starter in a league that's going to have major labor strife after 2026, on a team where only Swanson had a guaranteed contract for 2027. And that's assuming that Ferris doesn't miss a year with arm surgery.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

bruce L. gets to ask the first question. the male helen thomas.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Sounds like Colten Brewer time.

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If we nominate Trump we will get destroyed & we'll deserve it.- L Graham
I’m going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information. No one will be above the law.- DJT 2016
MAY THEY ROT IN HELL. AGAIN, MERRY CHRISTMAS!- DJT 12/25/23

And down 1.043 billion Dodgers to ZERO Cubs.

To some degree, it sounds like the Cubs could be bidding against themselves to bring back Bellinger if SF/Toronto are sort of only half-interested and there isn't any other known teams in the mix.

With Milwaukee signing Hoskins, it really does feel the Cubs are going to end up bidding up the price of Bellinger. They can still sign Matt Chapman, but it seems like they are bringing back the team from last season unless they start investing in some of the pitching that is available.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Did not realize he is 34 yo. I thought Cubs were going young.

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Arguing with a fool proves there are two.

So I guess the 8 spots in the bullpen has the following tiers:

- Closer: Alzolay
- Crafty veteran setup/backup closer: Neris (edited, I hate autocorrect)
- Hard throwing setup: Merryweather
- 7th inning: Leiter
- Long/spot starter/extra innings: Smyly, Assad
- Pitch when losing: Almonte, rotate someone from Iowa with options like Little, Cuas(?), maybe Rucker or Thompson.

Not a horrible bullpen. Probably 10th-11th in MLB. If Merryweather and Little continue to improve, and somebody like Keegan Thompson comes back to his 2022 form, they could be very effective.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

Does Mervis know?

I think Little has stuff to be closer.

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So Matt Mervis has made the transformation trom AAAA firstbaseman to high leverage MLB bullpen arm all in the matter of three months?

Jesus Gramps, get your meds adjusted

Fucking stupid cellphone auto edit... That was Neris

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

̶M̶e̶r̶v̶i̶s̶ ̶, Fulmer & Boxberger gone will help the bullpen.

Depth from a minor league system finally producing pitchers who are having success given the Cubs were 5th in bullpen IL days the last 2 years is a plus.

The bullpen went from 21st for 2 years then 13th in '23. Asking a lot of the same guys to maintain or go up a notch or 2 wouldn't be a breakthrough development.

The Cubs best offseason work has always been for the rest of the division to concede before opening day. Looks like #wearegood this year

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Uh... why?

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

COVID

I was told that we didn't need to worry about that anymore thanks to the vaccine and the fact it's harmless.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Sucks. We're you planning some heavy Spring Training viewing?

Paying to watch ZZ do remote pbp.

Maybe in the last week or two ya. I love baseball.

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"Play until it hurts, then play until it hurts to not play."
http://soundcloud.com/darkside124 HOF 2013, MM Champion 2014

Theo back with the Red Sox, including an ownership stake.

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