Theo Epstein Speaks: Soler, Schwarber, Baez, Russell, Contreras, Almora, More

theo epstein press conference speaksAs Spring Training approaches (Hey! Pitchers and catchers have officially reported today!), even for a relatively settled team, there’s been a myriad of open items and questions heading into camp.

Lucky for us, Cubs President of Baseball Operations joined Jim Bowden and Craig Mish on Serious XMs Fantasy Baseball Channel to discuss many of those questions and more. You can listen to the interview at Sirius.comnicely transcribed by the CCO – or take in some of the highlights, along with my thoughts, below.

  • At a certain point in the negotiations with Jason Heyward, Epstein got the impression that the Cubs were his preferred destination. Because Epstein wanted Heyward as well, the impetus turned to the front office and ownership to “make it work.” Ultimately, Heyward took less guaranteed money to be with Chicago (even if some MLB execs think it was outrageous), which wound up becoming a theme with several Cubs free agents, this winter. [Brett: I liked Epstein’s description of the negotiating process, and I couldn’t help but think of passing notes in study hall. “Do you like us? Circle YES NO”.]
  • Epstein expects a big season out of Jorge Soler – who is “not just a slugger,” but an advanced, polished hitter at the plate – as evidenced, for example, by the 2015 playoffs. Having purposefully slimmed down this offseason, Soler is focused on improving his right field defense for 2016 (luckily, the Cubs have the best right fielder in baseball in the same locker room to lend his advice).
  • [adinserter block=”1″]

  • Epstein really likes Kyle Schwarber. There’s a rather large segment praising everything from Schwarber’s bat, makeup, pitch recognition skills, timing, power, use of all fields and more. The plan, for now, is that he will split time between left field and catcher both this Spring and in Chicago.
  • Epstein confirms that Javier Baez was just about to be called up to the majors when he broke his finger last season. Obviously, that’s a bummer, but when Baez did finally come back, Epstein was encouraged to see him immediately accomplish one of their developmental goals: calm down in the batters box.
  • If you recall, Baez did perform quite well after his return to the Cubs, and made significant strides in nearly all of his batted ball and plate discipline statistics. Epstein ended on Baez by saying, “He’ll be our backup shortstop, our backup third baseman, our backup second baseman. He’ll be one of our backup outfielders. I think he’s going to see a lot of time this year.”
  • Epstein once again recalls the Addison Russell/Billy McKinney/Dan Strailey for Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel trade from 2014, refusing to call it a bad move for Oakland. Apparently, the A’s rotation had some guys reaching innings limits and dealing with injuries that were not public knowledge at the time. Billy Beane did not want to squander the A’s legitimate competitiveness that season, so he made a gutsy move. Epstein admires it. [Brett: And, to this day, I still think it was a solid move for the A’s. They had a great team that year and a particularly good chance to make a run, which would have been severely harmed if their pitching had faltered. A team like the A’s has to strike when the striking is good. Throw in the fact that Russell was dealing with a serious hamstring injury at the time, and you can understand the deal a little better from the A’s perspective.]
  • Speaking of Russell, Epstein believes that power is an underappreciated part of his game. In fact, the Cubs expect him to hit a lot more home runs and be a “pretty dynamic offensive player.” It’s easy for fans to forget that Kris Bryant, for example, had just been drafted and begun playing in rookie ball when he was Russell’s age. He has so much projection left.
  • [adinserter block=”2″]

  • When asked about prospects who might make an impact somewhat near-term, somewhat down the road (technically for fantasy baseball purposes), Epstein brought up Willson Contreras and Albert Almora. Both players he says – in not so few words – are extremely talented, underrated and ready for AAA this season. More importantly, both play positions that are ultimately unblocked by young players at the Major League level and are a big part of the Cubs future. I’d tentatively expect to see both in Chicago before the season is over and it doesn’t sound like they’re going anywhere after that. [Brett: Sorry I keep cutting in. I thought it was interesting to hear Epstein mention that Contreras, a catcher, has an opening long-term at the big league level. Not that it would be a huge surprise, but that suggests Schwarber as a full-time catcher, even down the road, is unlikely to materialize. He could still get in occasional starts, though, as part of a mix-and-match (which is actually what I really hope to see for him over the next five or so years).]
  • And, for fun: Epstein used to play fantasy baseball back in high school, but before that, he used to play a computer game called MicroLeague Baseball – where he purchased a special floppy disk so that he could play the “General Manager Function.” He’s since stopped playing fantasy baseball (that’s like, his life), but still does the fantasy football thing every year. In fact, he says he won the Red Sox Front Office fantasy football contest both years the Red Sox won the World Series: “Trust me, I was insufferable during those years, just walking around the office like Rickey Henderson – like I could do no wrong.”
  • written by

    Michael Cerami began covering the Chicago Cubs for Bleacher Nation as a part-time contributor in 2015. One year later, he joined Bleacher Nation full-time, covering the Chicago Cubs and Major League Baseball. Today, Michael runs Bleacher Nation, contributing as a writer (Cubs, MLB) and an editor for all sections of the site, including the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and Blackhawks, as well as MLB, NBA, NHL, and NFL. In 2019, Michael was the co-host of NBC Sports Chicago's Cubs Post-Game Show Outside the Ivy. You can find him on Twitter/X @Michael_Cerami

    more cubs news

    Wrigley Field is Gonna Be Lit This Year (As in New Colored Lights!)

    Last year, the Cubs started using their new LED outfield lights to do a little dancing display during 'Go Cubs Go,' lighting along with the song and throwing in a W. It was very fun and I liked it. This...

    The 2024 Chicago Cubs for Dummies

    Boom. We made it. The offseason is over, and the Cubs regular season - and those elevated expectations - begins tomorrow. But in case you slept through the winter, I'm here to catch you up on everything you need to...

    Why Craig Counsell Wanted Miles Mastrobuoni on the Cubs’ Bench

    I don't know why Miles Mastrobuoni bugs some folks, but it's probably heavily-weighted toward his small-sample, bad-batted-ball-luck start last year, and that time he didn't dive while playing in right field. It can be hard to shake initial impressions, I...

    Kinda Sounds Like Craig Counsell May Have a Set Top Three in the Batting Order

    New Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell has said, generally, his batting order philosophy is the very simplistic (and very correct): just get your best hitters the most at bats. Sure, there's some play in that to set up good match-ups,...

    Los Angeles Dodgers Signing Will Smith to a TEN-YEAR Extension

    The Los Angeles Dodgers have done it again. And by it, I mean they have signed a funkily-structured contract that is going to leave some folks annoyed. The Dodgers are extending catcher Will Smith on a DECADE-long deal with a...

    The Stretch: 2024 MLB Season Preview

    On Monday, during a team-building conversation with some of the Bleacher Nation and Betsperts Media Group folks, we discussed sports—shocking, I know—and Brian Twining asked the group what their favorite sport was. For me, it's baseball. There's no debate. I...

    We Have to Talk About Some of the “Deals” the Cubs Sat Out in Free Agency

    This week, in a conversation with Jon Greenberg at The Athletic, Cubs President Jed Hoyer made an honest and sober (but also moderately disappointing) admission about the 2024 Chicago Cubs: "We need to perform probably at or a little bit...

    The Chicago Cubs Are Reportedly Now Worth Over $5 Billion

    Given all the tumult in the baseball broadcasting world, and the uncertain future for that portion of revenues, you'd be forgiven for expecting that MLB franchise valuations would slow their recent surge. But, according to Sportico at least, you'd be...

    Reds Second Baseman Matt McLain Had Shoulder Surgery

    The injury to Matt McLain's shoulder issue obviously wound up being worse than he and the Cincinnati Reds had been hoping. The damage to his left (non-throwing) labrum ultimately required surgery: https://twitter.com/m_sheldon/status/1772993402604339478 When the hope is that a guy can...

    Cubs Actually Getting a Whole Lot of Votes to Win the NL Central

    ESPN dropped its big season preview, and included were a set of divisional predictions by way of their writers, editors, and analysts voting. There's nothing in the way of proof or certainty there, but with 26 voters, I do like...

    Latest News

    Orioles vs. Angels Probable Starting Pitchers – March 28

    The Baltimore Orioles (0-0) open their 2024 season with a home game against the Los Angeles Angels (0-0) on Thursday, with first pitch at 3:05 PM ET.The Orioles will call on Corbin Burnes versus the Angels and Patrick Sandoval.Orioles vs....

    Celtics vs. Hawks Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats and Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Atlanta Hawks (33-39) are big, 17.5-point underdogs as they attempt to build on a three-game winning streak when they host the Boston Celtics (57-15) on Thursday, March 28, 2024 at State Farm Arena. The matchup airs at 7:30 PM...

    Celtics vs. Hawks Predictions, Best Bets and Odds – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Atlanta Hawks (33-39) are big, 17.5-point underdogs as they attempt to build on a three-game winning streak when they host the Boston Celtics (57-15) on Thursday, March 28, 2024 at State Farm Arena. The contest airs at 7:30 PM...

    Bucks vs. Pelicans Predictions, Best Bets and Odds – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The New Orleans Pelicans (44-28) are only 2-point underdogs against the Milwaukee Bucks (46-26) at Smoothie King Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024. The game begins at 8:00 PM ET on NBA. The matchup's point total is 223.If you are...

    How to Watch Indiana State Sycamores vs. Utah Utes: Live Stream or on TV

    The Indiana State Sycamores (31-6) will attempt to build on a three-game winning streak when they host the Utah Utes (22-14) on April 2, 2024. The Utes have also won three games in a row.Indiana State won its most recent...

    How to Watch Seton Hall Pirates vs. Georgia Bulldogs: Live Stream or on TV

    The Seton Hall Pirates (23-12) will attempt to extend a three-game win streak when they host the Georgia Bulldogs (20-16) on April 2, 2024. The Bulldogs have also won three games in a row.In its previous game, Seton Hall beat...

    Diamondbacks vs. Rockies: Start Time, Streaming Live, TV Channel, How to Watch

    The Arizona Diamondbacks, led by Corbin Carroll, take on Nolan Jones and the Colorado Rockies in their first game of the season, at 10:10 PM ET on Thursday.Keep reading to find out all the details on how to watch Arizona...

    How to Watch Mariners vs. Red Sox: Live Stream or on TV

    Luis Castillo will take the ball for the Seattle Mariners when they square off against starting pitcher Brayan Bello and the Boston Red Sox in their season opener on Thursday, with first pitch at 10:10 PM ET.The article below will...

    Guardians vs. Athletics: Free Live Stream, TV Channel, How to Watch

    The Cleveland Guardians, led by Jose Ramirez, square off against Brent Rooker and the Oakland Athletics in their first game of the season, at 10:07 PM ET on Thursday.If you're trying to watch this game, keep reading for streaming and...

    Senators vs. Blackhawks Prediction: Picks, Live Odds and Moneyline – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The bookmakers give the edge to the Ottawa Senators on home ice (-198) over the Chicago Blackhawks (+164) when they face off on Thursday, March 28 at 7:00 PM ET.Senators vs. Blackhawks Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Senators (-198)Underdog: Blackhawks (+164)Total: 6.5Best...

    more cubs news