NEWSLETTER
There’s still plenty of time and players, but with another two wild days on tap – and then a long shutdown – let me just say about the Cubs’ offseason mantra du jure: It can’t be intelligent spending if you don’t spend at all. We’ll see what’s what when it’s all said and done, I guess.
• The lack of Cubs movement over the past five days is becoming concerning, but I have to remind myself not to be as concerned about the lack of rumors about the Cubs. Around the league, the Cubs are among the less-leaky front offices, so on a lot of the smaller deals, you just flat don’t hear until the team announces it (or a reporter catches wind of a deal that’s already done and is about to be announced). Kevin Goldstein’s latest chat reminded me that some orgs just operate differently in that regard, for better or worse: “Yankees. Don’t see any reason to panic. They just don’t leak like other teams …. Speaking of not leaking … it’s actually super hard but also creates a culture that frustrates some as circles need to be very small and very tight.”
• Not that any of that means the Cubs will complete any significant transactions before tomorrow night, of course. It seems pretty clear that they made an organizational decision to be extremely patient in relation to the CBA expiration, and while it made sense on paper back in October, I really don’t know now. You stay disciplined and stick to your guns and all that, fine fine. But when the market moves, sometimes you have to move with it if you want to actually get your preferred targets. For all we know, the Cubs haven’t yet missed out on their preferred targets, which are all likely to be short-term guys. Again, no beef there, as I was always sold on the idea that THIS particular Cubs team could and should focus on short-term, high-AAV, high-risk, high-upside types, but … a lot of those starting pitchers have already signed. I can see the Cubs finding some good position players from here, but the starting pitchers, well, it’s a lot harder to see.
And the reason I'd be pissed is because there's simply no good reason not to do AT LEAST that much this offseason. It doesn't harm the long-term. The market is (was?) full of short-term options. The needs are obvious.
But I probably won't get there until like March. 🤷♂️
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) November 30, 2021
• Apparently Max Muncy’s postseason injury was a torn UCL in his non-throwing arm. He only just revealed the news while discussing, almost in passing, his rehab process. Now, his situation is apparently a little different from a torn UCL caused by repeated throws, and was instead caused by a collision at first base. Somehow that’s maybe not as bad? Or at least it doesn’t have to be as bad? The Dodgers haven’t spoken publicly on any of this, but there’s no indication Muncy had surgery. So he might just be able to rehab it this offseason and be good to go next year. Muncy, 31, raked last year for the Dodgers, and is signed through 2022 with a club option for 2023.
• Major League Baseball has handed down Marcell Ozuna’s punishment for violating the domestic violence rules, and it’s on the lighter side of these suspensions:
MLB suspends Marcell Ozuna for 20 games unpaid in keeping with MLB/MLBPA domestic violence policy. Announcement says Ozuna has already served those 20 games while he was on administrative leave between Sept 10th and the end of the 2021 season. pic.twitter.com/HHnXWSCaOo
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) November 29, 2021
• So I guess now he just comes back to the Braves next spring like nothing happened? The 31-year-old outfielder, whom the Braves did not need to win the World Series, still has three years and $52 million left on his deal. It seems really unlikely that the Braves would just release him, but as we’ve seen with the Cubs and Addison Russell, this stuff is hard to come back from. It’s so ugly and vile that it sticks. I guess we’ll see how Ozuna proceeds to make things as right as possible, but then again, as we saw with the Cubs and Aroldis Chapman, maybe it only matters how well he plays. (Yes, I still have really mixed feelings about that part of the 2016 season, even after five years.)
• Speaking of which, I wonder what happens if Trevor Bauer’s legal case is resolved this offseason without a prosecution. Will MLB have concluded its own investigation, and will it likewise determine that a retroactive suspension is plenty? Then what do the Dodgers do? Surely he’s not coming back?
• Meanwhile, his agent was out there trying to claim credit for Max Scherzer’s contract:
Cool to see Scherzer use this new “market” Bauer strived to create for players—shorter deals w/ higher AAV for top-market guys. Creating that market & getting teams comfortable w/$40M+salaries was a huge challenge. Awesome seeing him &his agent use this new market to build off of https://t.co/TGmceuYBXw
— Rachel Luba (@AgentRachelLuba) November 29, 2021
• … that … is not even remotely why Scherzer got the deal he did at age 37.
• This guy is doing us a service by checking all the boxes perfectly to become a proper Cardinals villain:
Steven Matz, officially a Cardinal for the next four years, says he's excited to throw to Yadier Molina, be part of the Cardinal Way and play for the "Best Fans in Baseball." pic.twitter.com/EuGD7UKty1
— Zachary Silver (@zachsilver) November 29, 2021
• These are just fun:
2021 PitchingNinja Award for Slowest Called Strike 🏆
Winner: Brock Holt (31.1 mph) pic.twitter.com/jypfb91Ce0
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) November 30, 2021
• No key Cubs here, so that’s a plus if you have to stretch:
We put our injury risk model to use in looking ahead to the 2022 MLB season
Which players are most likely to get injured?
There are probably a few players you wouldn't expect
Check out the @billjamesonline Handbook excerpt via @VigManOnCampushttps://t.co/tM05wVq8uY
— SIS_Baseball (@sis_baseball) November 22, 2021
• My big hope for today:
For the tender deadline today, re-upping a post on why the Cubs should try to acquire Tyler Glasnow today. https://t.co/GOywzXw61G
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) November 30, 2021
• A sensible swap:
It Feels Like Dylan Strome and Jake DeBrusk Should Be Traded for Each Otherhttps://t.co/owFim2Sk9V
— Bleacher Nation Blackhawks (@BN_Blackhawks) November 30, 2021
• That Bulls game last night was a lot of fun to watch, especially to distract me from baseball BS:
Enhanced Box Score: Bulls 133, Hornets 119 — November 29, 2021https://t.co/3FFJsk0gop
— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) November 30, 2021
