A Schwarbernundrum
It was fantastic and almost unbelievable that Kyle Schwarber was able to DH in the World Series, and a case could be made that the Cubs would not have won the World Series without his presence in the lineup.
That being said...
Being able to DH in World Series road games in A. L. parks is one thing, but the Cubs will have to decide at some point if Schwarber will be able to play a defensive position going forward.
Obviously it's much too early to come to any conclusions, but IF (big "IF") it becomes apparent that Schwarber cannot be at least a semi-regular catcher or even a passable left-fielder in the field, it may become necessary for the Cubs to think seriously about trading Schwarber to an American League club where he can be a full-time DH. It's not that Schwarber is indifferent about defense, because nobody works harder than he does. It's just that he might not be able to play defense (whether it be catcher or left-fielder) with enough skill to avoid future injuries.
Supposedly the Yankees asking price for Andrew Miller last July was Schwarber, so if he can actually fetch a pitcher of that quality in a trade with an A. L. club, it might not necessarily be a bad thing to trade Schwarber IF it turns out that he is limited defensively.
That's why it was unfortunate that the National League did not adopt the DH in the new CBA, because that would have solved the problem before it became one.
If the Cubs do find it necessary to trade Schwarber, it is at least good to know that the Cubs top two prospects (Ian Happ and Eloy Jimenez) project to be left-fielders at the big league level (Happ ETA 2018 and Eloy ETA 2019), and two other Cubs Top 10 prospects (Mark Zagunis and Eddy Julio Martinez) are corner outfielders as well.
If the Cubs want to indeed sustain success beyond the 2015-21 Bryant-Rizzo-Russell-Lester-Hendricks-Baez contention window, they will need to avoid trading any more next generation top prospects for short-term fixes. While Gleyber Torres was seemingly blocked by Russell and Baez, he actually was part of the next generation of Cub prospects who would have theoretically provided potential replacements for Bryant, Rizzo, Russell, and/or Baez, should any or all of them not sign contract extensions beyond 2021.
That doesn't mean that trading Torres for Aroldis Chapman was in and of itself the wrong thing to do, just that it can't become a blueprint for roster management going forward, IF the Cubs want to avoid another three-year rebuild 2022-24.
With both Jake Arrieta and John Lackey scheduled to be free-agents after next season, the Cubs will likely need two starting pitchers in 2018. So the idea of trading Schwarber to an American League club for a quality starting pitcher with (let's say) three years of club control might become a lively topic of conversation at next year's Winter Meetings. Schwarber could be next year's Jorge Soler.
Again, it it obviously too early to think too seriously about the possibility of trading Kyle Schwarber, and while I would certainly hate to see him go, it is something to keep in mind as the Cubs go forward through the 2017 season.
Recent comments
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crunch 5 hours 30 min ago (view)
side note...k.wong is on 1st putting on one of those "baserunning mitts" (hand protection for sliding) that's extending past the length of his hand/fingers by at least 2-3 inches.
they're going to have to start regulating this piece of equipment if this keeps up...
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crunch 7 hours 36 min ago (view)
Q with LAA in his debut for them...HBP, a wild pitch, and BB through 7 pitches...then 3 pop-outs to follow.
blah blah spring training...
baseball on TV...neat.
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First.Pitch.120 10 hours 51 min ago (view)
We just traded for Maddux!!! ......... nope, the other one.
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crunch 23 hours 22 min ago (view)
yeah, i'm just saying i did consider piling onto it with a troll-level post about the trade...it's practically asking to be written that way.
jeff passan did it quite well... https://twitter.com/jeffpassan/status/136577746706...
that said, i had no idea zach bryant existed before today, but his early numbers looked oddly good (which means nothing without context that early in his career).
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Charlie 1 day 1 min ago (view)
Oh, I mean the trade. You were quite diligent in posting!
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crunch 1 day 3 hours ago (view)
i contemplated writing the post totally trolled out as hell with "zach" coming after a wall of text.
i decided the cubs being cheap was enough pre-season punishment without piling on.
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Charlie 1 day 4 hours ago (view)
This is a straight up troll
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crunch 1 day 5 hours ago (view)
rsox aquiring ZACH bryant from the cubs.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player...
ptbn from the josh osich deal.
totally useless trade...hopefully not a terrible loss.
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Hagsag 2 days 6 hours ago (view)
Chase Strumpf and Andy Weber invited to the ML camp.
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Dolorous Jon Lester 2 days 12 hours ago (view)
Ryan Tepera returns. Major League deal
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crunch 3 days 10 hours ago (view)
spring training TV is usually fluid...adding and subtracting broadcast games...
first cubs TV (as of now) is March 3 (wednesday) on ESPN at 3pm EST.
radio broadcasts available for almost every game that's not televised. the cubs get going on monday and some other teams will start the day before.
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crunch 4 days 6 hours ago (view)
dj snelton's left elbow is screwed up...6 weeks rest then re-evaluate.
looks like he's going to try to avoid having surgery.
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Arizona Phil 4 days 22 hours ago (view)
AAA leagues really need to play through the month of September, because with September rosters being limited to 28 instead of 40, players will need to be moved back & forth between MLB and AAA throughout the month of September instead of just through the month of August.
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Mike Wellman 6 days 6 hours ago (view)
I get you, SW. Here in Des Moines, Cardinal fans flocked to I-Cub games when Memphis Redbirds were in town. That won't happen in '21 and even if it does in '22 & beyond it won't be as frequent as when they were in the same division. Not that I'll miss seeing Cardinal gear @ our ballpark...
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Dolorous Jon Lester 6 days 7 hours ago (view)
Ervin claimed by Braves. So we lose a potential future (and also current) asset in exchange for one year of a very mediocre Jake Marisnick.
This team has no direction at the moment.
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Sonicwind75 6 days 7 hours ago (view)
As a midwest kid now living in Texas, new scheduling is a bummer. Only get a chance to drive and see Cubs once every 3 years with interleague. Really looked forward to those games in Round Rock and the one season in San Antonio. I understand it makes more sense in the big picture, just selfishly disappointed.
Comments
AZ Phil, I know the Cubs have
neat...didn't hear about that
Manny Parra is still in the
HAGSAG: Manny Parra is still in the Cubs organiation only because the Cubs are on the hook for his April 2016 TJS. I think he will probably continue his rehab by throwing "live" BP and eventually pitch in "sim" games & EXST Cactus League games at Extended Spring Training, and then the Cubs will see where he's at come June. Or he could get released before that.
I think the Cubs need to tell
I'm not sure the issue is
Schwarber will be fine in LF,
mark trumbo kyle schwarber
mark trumbokyle schwarber should be okay in LF. hopefully with jay/almora it won't sting too much. the bar is already set pretty low for expectations there. hopefully he can meet those expectations as a minimum.phil bickford (MIL pitching
There is no reason to think
This may have been posted a
Very kind of you!
"According to Patrick Mooney
He can't start throwing until
cool...that would get
Exactly, and for that reason,
Why does everybody forget
CUBBIES-4-EVER: I haven't
CUBBIES-4-EVER: I haven't forgotten about Trevor Clifton. I have him rated as the Cubs #7 prospect overall and #2 starting pitcher prospect (behind only Dylan Cease) and I've been saying that here at TCR for months, and I have Jake Stinnett as the Cubs minor league SP breakout candidate in 2017. Both are Rule 5 Draft-eligible post-2017, so barring injuries or collapse Clifton will very likely be added to the MLB 40-man roster by next 11/20 (at the latest) and Stinnett should get strong consideration for the 40 as well.
Az Phil,
Fwiw, Clifton is rated by
Why, cubbies.4ever? Because
Jon Morosi @jonmorosi
Well now I'm hungry for gumbo
supposedly LAD/k.jansen are
Dodgers about to give two bad
5/80 for jansen...16m/yr
Stooopid
Jeff Nuich@JeffNuich
Peter Gammons
Obviously Rizzo.