NEWSLETTER
The tenor of public comments lately from Chicago Cubs executives have painted the picture of an offseason where the organization will focus on picking up at least one impact starting pitcher, a second quality starting pitcher, and then complementary, veteran offensive pieces, rather than an impact starting offensive player. Obviously this front office is never going to say, with 100% certainty, precisely what they’re going to do, but you can understand the factors that lead to this kind of offseason plan: (1) the Cubs need impact pitching, (2) although the offense has been an issue in recent years and could be an issue again next year, offense is probably not the long-term need, (3) available impact offensive pieces are going to be few and far between this offseason, and (4) veteran complementary pieces could really help with the Cubs’ twin desires to compete next year but also develop their young players at the big league level.
All that said … the front office rules nothing out. They know that adding a quality, regular offensive piece could pay huge dividends in the coming years, if it came in the right spot, and the deal made sense. Could that piece be an upgrade behind the plate? Could it be top catching free agent Russell Martin?
We’ve seen the Cubs connected to Martin multiple times already this year, and, even as much as there is to like about Welington Castillo, you wonder if the team as a whole could be upgraded by bringing in someone like Martin (or, since we’re on the subject, Miguel Montero in trade). Earlier this week, we discussed the Cubs’ extreme woes with pitch framing, something at which Martin excels, and he’s obviously a veteran guy who handles a staff well. In some ways, the offense that Martin could bring – don’t bet on a total repeat of this season’s breakout – is merely the cherry on top of his value. Moreover, because the Cubs are at least a couple years away from having a regular catching prospect emerge in the bigs (and, even then, it could be someone like Kyle Schwarber, who projects to be more of a part-time-catching-part-time-outfielding guy), signing someone like Martin doesn’t realistically and immediately block a top prospect.
That is all to say: even as the Cubs rightly focus on pitching this offseason, I’d still like to see them following Martin’s free agency to see if there’s a deal that makes sense. To that end, there are a variety of Martin bits to discuss …
