22 replies to this topic

[EQ76]

If you were the new Cubs GM, you have about 50 mil to work with and a weak FA class. What are 5 realistic moves you would make to this team for next year? For example, I would...

• Hire Ryno to manage
• Trade Big Z & Soriano for anything and pay most of their salaries
• Pick up A Ram's option
• Give the 1B job to LaHair
• Focus on bullpen and sign/trade for players to give us a top bullpen. (Makes up some for lack of starting pitching available)

[Brett]

1. Dump Zambrano for whatever I could get.
2. Ditto Soriano.
3. Let Ramirez walk.
4. Strongly consider moving Byrd, Dempster, and any other older player not under contract for 2013, at the trade deadline.
5. Suffer through a crappy 2012 season with the knowledge that my organization will be in a much better position to strike in 2013.

I would probably be fired within two months.

[MichiganGoat]

Great Topic, nice to see you on here EQ. So here are mine:

1-Release ARam

2-Get Woody to sign a extension that keeps him a Cub till he retires, I wonder if 3/6M would work.

3-Sign Betemit to be 3B/infield utility

4-Sign a veteran inning eating starting pitcher

5-Sign Fielder

[Cubsklm]

Fire Quade
Fire the entire coaching staff except for Rudy
Hire Ryno
Get a lead off hitter that plays CF (Span)
Dump the following players
Baker, Dewitt, Hill, Soriano, Zambrano, Byrd, Grabow
Sign a SP
Sign a bat that plays either LF or RF
Colvin plays the other OF spot
Keep Ramirez, no contract extension
Try to sign Fielder or Pujols, if not keep Pena
Dumpster, Castner, Garza, ?, and Wells is not bad.
The bullpen is fine.

[MichiganGoat]

Fire Quade
Fire the entire coaching staff except for Rudy
Hire Ryno
Get a lead off hitter that plays CF (Span)
Dump the following players
Baker, Dewitt, Hill, Soriano, Zambrano, Byrd, Grabow
Sign a SP
Sign a bat that plays either LF or RF
Colvin plays the other OF spot
Keep Ramirez, no contract extension
Try to sign Fielder or Pujols, if not keep Pena
Dumpster, Castner, Garza, ?, and Wells is not bad.
The bullpen is fine.

I find Span interesting, but I've really grown to like Castro as a leadoff hitter, but if Sori and Byrd can get moved then an outfield of Colvin, Jackson, and Span would be interesting... but there are a lot of if's with that outfield.

[Cubsklm]

Span is a 280 hitter, will steal 20 bags and lead off. He's available because of Revere. I like Castor hitting 3rd. I don't think it will be a stretch to see him hit 300 with 15 hrs and 80 rbis.

Span CF
Barney 2B
Castro SS
Fielder 1B
Ramirez 3B
Open Bat for LF/RF
Colvin RF/LF
Soto C

[CUB5]

1. Dump Zambrano for whatever I could get.
2. Ditto Soriano.
3. Let Ramirez walk.
4. Strongly consider moving Byrd, Dempster, and any other older player not under contract for 2013, at the trade deadline.
5. Suffer through a crappy 2012 season with the knowledge that my organization will be in a much better position to strike in 2013.

I would probably be fired within two months.

Actually I agree 100%, though I would change #5 and bring up Brett Jackson to see what he can do in the bigs.

[Brett]

1. Dump Zambrano for whatever I could get.
2. Ditto Soriano.
3. Let Ramirez walk.
4. Strongly consider moving Byrd, Dempster, and any other older player not under contract for 2013, at the trade deadline.
5. Suffer through a crappy 2012 season with the knowledge that my organization will be in a much better position to strike in 2013.

I would probably be fired within two months.

Actually I agree 100%, though I would change #5 and bring up Brett Jackson to see what he can do in the bigs.

That's a part of number 5.

[King Jeff]

my moves would be as follows
1A. Fire Mike Quade, hire someone who is competent enough to manage in the majors.
1B. Add two starters, release/trade Zambrano
Getting rid of Z should be a priority, not a handcuff like Milton Bradley was. If he can't be traded, release him in time to consider all other options.(maybe a Zambrano for AJ Burnett contract swap could be worked out) I would sign one free agent starter and work a trade for another. Mike Pelfrey, Johnathan Sanchez, and Jeremy Guthrie would all be decent back end starters who could be had without giving up a haul. As for free agents, I would look at Edwin Jackson if he doesn't get too expensive. Anyone else and I'd have to consider taking a flyer on an injury recover/reclamation(someone who doesn't break the bank);ie; Joel Piniero. I also would talk to the Braves to see what they want for one of their starters (Derek Lowe or Jair Jurjjens are probably the ones they would want to move)
2. Let Ramirez and Pena walk, dump/trade Soriano, move Byrd to left. The outfield woutd be Jackson, Colvin, and Byrd, with Campana and another minor leaguer as the backups.
3. Trade Dempster, Marmol, and Soto at the deadline or at some point during the season. I think moving them during the offseason would be too hard and I think most teams look to free agency before trades during the offseason.
4. Sign Betemit if you can, otherwise platoon third and second next year between Baker, DeWitt, Barney, Flaherty, and LeMeiheau
5. Try to sign Prince Fielder ( don't think he would come if the team was trading everyone off, but if a quick turnaround was promised for 2013, he might consider it.) If he doesn't sign, let LaHair, Colvin, or a low cost free agent man first for a year, while searching for a young first baseman who is blocked (yonder alonso??)
6. Hope the team doesn't suck too bad next year, and make sure the young guys get plenty of opportunity to succeed, while loading up for the big class of 2013.

[EQ76]

not a bad plan Jeff.. sounds very possible on many of those ideas. I forgot to mention, but I think a Big Z for Burnett deal makes so much sense it could just happen.. either way, without some magical moves by the new GM, we're gonna need some guys to step up and perform if we want to compete.. Burnett could keep us very bad or make us a whole lot better depending on how he pitches.. (assuming they make that trade) Either way, I think we're getting a bad contract back for Zambrano..

[Ian Afterbirth]

Fire Quade TODAY.
Hire anyone who will play the kids - let's say Ryno as long as we're fantasizing here.

That's all I would do today but it's a necessary first step in my assessment of the assets I have.

[Hangman]

If I was the New GM I would do a complete rebuild.

1) Would talk to Ramirez, Pena and Dempster. Tell them that we are now in a rebuild stage and ask them not to except Arb and Get the 5 extra Draft pick for
Next years Draft.

2) I would call press Conference and tell the public it is time to fix the Mistakes of the Past and start from the Beginning.

3) Release or Trade Soriano and Zambrano.

4) Shop Garza, Marmols, Soto and Byrd.

5) Use Farm system to the Best of the its ability (which is limited)

6) Sign Derek Lee and Betemit or Encarnacion (if his option isn't picked up) if needed.

[King Jeff]

5) Use

I like this part of the plan.

[Brett]

If I was the New GM I would do a complete rebuild.

1) Would talk to Ramirez, Pena and Dempster. Tell them that we are now in a rebuild stage and ask them not to except Arb and Get the 5 extra Draft pick for
Next years Draft.

2) I would call press Conference and tell the public it is time to fix the Mistakes of the Past and start from the Beginning.

3) Release or Trade Soriano and Zambrano.

4) Shop Garza, Marmols, Soto and Byrd.

5) Use Farm system to the Best of the its ability (which is limited)

6) Sign Derek Lee and Betemit or Encarnacion (if his option isn't picked up) if needed.

As painful of a 2012/2013 as this might make for, I do think this is probably the right approach. Stop trying to patch-work things and just start over.

[T C]

so, this is late but whatever

5 steps for next year:

1. DO NOT SIGN PRINCE FIELDER/ALBERT PUJOLS
2. DO NOT SIGN CJ WILSON TO MORE THAN 18mil/yr
3. Trade Josh Vitters, Carlos Marmol, and Geovanny Soto for David Wright and a top mets pitching prospect, and then immediately extend Wright. This saves the mets money, allows castillo to play, and gets us a top notch 3B. Also (obviously) do not pick up ramirez's option
4. Trade Marlon Byrd mid-season, call-up BJax
5. Allow Tyler Colvin to play every day.
....
6. Dump Z for whatever you can get. Same with Soriano
7. Extend Starlin Castro at about 5 yrs/18 mil with options on his first two FA years
8. Do not resign Pena

Which set me up to my plans for the 2013 season...

This organization needs to completely rebuild and work towards a point in 2013 or 2014, where you have All-Star, top-5 shortstop Starlin Castro and All-Star, top-5 CF Brett Jackson anchoring the top of the lineup, with a (this may be a stretch, but he was worth 3.12 WAR/650 in his rookie year) strong Tyler Colvin in right, with (Pick one: Cole Hamels, Zack Greinke, Shawn Marcum, Matt Cain) and (pick two: Gavin Floyd, Scott Baker, Jake Peavy, John Danks, Matt Garza Extension) leading a very shiny new rotation. We can then add a cheap Delmon Young in left, a cheapish Mike Napoli at first. Hopefully a few other top prospects are starting to find their way to the bigs by then, too.

yes, I am aware of how unlikely it is to buy all of that after 2012, but its not out of the question. The first group of pitchers will all get SUPERHUGE deals, but the Cubs can afford that (and if we wanted to be really awesome, we buy two of em). And the second group would all receive modest deals, and I see them working out like the Ted Lilly deal did.

By not signing Fielder or Wilson, and not resigning Pena, and being rid of Zambrano's contract, youve saved about $70 mil/yr since 2011, which you can throw at an Ace ($25 mil/year), two upper-mid level starters (15 mil/yr each) and then have the leftover money plus an increase in payroll to facilitate signing a mike napoli or someone similar, or extend Garza, or sign another Ace. Some of this money will go to pay David Wright.


Then you have a serious contender in 2013 as such:

SS Castro
CF BJax
3B Wright
1B Napoli
LF Lahair/Delmon Young/Tyler Colvin
C Castillo/Clevenger
RF Jae-Hoon Ha/Tyler Colvin/Unforseen addition
2B Barney/Flaherty/Lemahieu
P Pitcher

1. Ace (Hamels/Cain/Greinke/Marcum)
2. Danks/Another Ace
3. Garza
4. Cashner
5. Wells/SomeProspect

CP - Chris Carpenter/Some cheap FA closer (who are usually effective)
SU - Samardzija
SU - Marshall