20 replies to this topic

[Mike Taylor (no relation)]

Jacoby Ellsbury, (30), Free Agent:
Lead-off guy with pop in his bat (one year), fast, injury history, and Theo Epstein used to be his GM.

Carlos Gomez, (28), Free Agent:
Not a typical lead-off guy, in that he has a BB rate under 5%, but, his power numbers are improving, above-average defender and he steals bases. Splits are similar home and away. Only right handed bat in this bunch, could be a platoon partner.

Brett Jackson, (25), controlled:
Leads off in Iowa for 2013, but has a nationally-reported high SO%, well above-average defender, developing power, quick and high ceiling. Needs work, but versatile enough to move to a corner position.

David DeJesus, (34), $6.5M option:
Sees a lot of pitches, gets on base, but cannot steal, average defender in CF, above-average defender on the corners.

Curtis Granderson, (33), Free Agent:
We saw his SO% rise by depending on the long ball, struggled in the field (even though no errors, -18.2 UZR/150). I bet he moves to LF and lets Brett Gardner handle CF in 2013. He'll be expensive, though. I think Robinson Cano would be a better candidate to dump a lot of money on, because they are both free agents in 2014.

---------------more options---------------------
Matt Szczur, (25), under control:
Fast, athletic-type with pop. He struggled in AA last year, hitting .210/.285/.357 in 35 games. He'll have to turn a major corner to be a CF option.

Junior Lake, (24), under control:
A long shot for CF, technically. If he moves to the OF to utilize his cannon-arm, it will more likely be a corner spot (I think he's playing CF in the Winter Leagues, though). His bat will take him there if he does. We'll have to see how he does in AAA this year. .279/.341/.442 is acceptable for an infield position, though.

[SirCub]

Not a bad crop. I think Ellsbury would be my preference right now. But a lot can change in a year.

[thewaynorth]

I'm just not sold on Jackson - and wouldn't be disappointed to see him shipped out.

Ellsbury would be high on my list from the five above.

[CubChymyst]

I am not as high on Ellsbury as others might be. He had 1 great year and the 2 years before he was only average. Might be more interested in Gomez as a platoon partner depending how Schierholtz and DeJesus do.

[calicubsfan007]

I think Gomez would be our best option. I can't imagine letting Ellsbury go and I don't have much confidence in Jackson. I hope Jackson does step up so that we don't have to overpay for an older guy that might be on the decline.

[SirCub]

I think Gomez would be our best option. I can't imagine letting Ellsbury go and I don't have much confidence in Jackson. I hope Jackson does step up so that we don't have to overpay for an older guy that might be on the decline.

Yea, in-house would be ideal. And it is totally possible for Jackson (or one of the AA guys) to step up this year and be ready. As of right now though, it doesn't look good.

[Kygavin]

• I think we all agree that Jackson isnt going to be the answer, and i wonder if Theo and Co. hurt his trade value by having him play in the bigs last year and expose his giant flaw.
• Ellsbury wouldnt be a bad option but paying the price that his career year would most likely dictate wouldnt be the best use of money in my opinion but i wouldnt be terrible unhappy.
• Gomez would be the cheapest of the 3 FA's but he plays good D and wouldnt need to be platooned since he has no RH/LH splits. The only problem is that he hadnt posted an OBP over .300 until last year
• Granderson, I wouldnt be happy with since he is older and has become nothing more than a HR hitter and an average defender but not a CF to build around

[calicubsfan007]

• I think we all agree that Jackson isnt going to be the answer, and i wonder if Theo and Co. hurt his trade value by having him play in the bigs last year and expose his giant flaw.
• Ellsbury wouldnt be a bad option but paying the price that his career year would most likely dictate wouldnt be the best use of money in my opinion but i wouldnt be terrible unhappy.
• Gomez would be the cheapest of the 3 FA's but he plays good D and wouldnt need to be platooned since he has no RH/LH splits. The only problem is that he hadnt posted an OBP over .300 until last year
• Granderson, I wouldnt be happy with since he is older and has become nothing more than a HR hitter and an average defender but not a CF to build around

I do agree that Gomez is likely our best option. And I hate saying that. Not the best set of options.

[Kygavin]

I know this topic is for 2014 but what about Grady Sizemore for 2013? a cheap 1 yr deal with incentives. If he proves that he is healthy for the first half, he can be dealt and if he isnt then the Cubs dont really lose a whole lot since Jackson isnt ready anyway. No idea if Sizemore would be interested but it would be a good way for him to rebuild value and the Cubs gain an average/above-average CF for a few months

[SirCub]

• Ellsbury wouldnt be a bad option but paying the price that his career year would most likely dictate wouldnt be the best use of money in my opinion but i wouldnt be terrible unhappy.

I tend to think that is price is going to be set according to what he does this year. 2011 will definitely be a factor, but so will 2012. I think whatever you get out of him this year will be assumed to be his baseline going forward.

[Mike Taylor (no relation)]

Grady Sizemore won't be healthy until mid season. If he even gets healthy.

[hansman1982]

Wow, this single post gets me on board with signing Bourn.

[Kygavin]

Ya in that case Sizemore isnt a good option but Im still not a fan of signing Bourn. Too much value tied to his legs which are usually the first thing to go when players reach their mid 30's

[Cubsin]

We have other internal options as well in Jae-Hoon Ha and Logan Watkins.

Almora should be ready by 2015 or 2016. If we could get Bourn on a two or three year deal at a sane price ($10-12/year), fine. He's not a $15/year player now, and his value will decline as he ages.

And no, I don't think we'll sign him at that price.

[Cubsin]

Kudos to all of you for never mentioning the name Tony Campana.