Thoughts are still with the folks out west, dealing with the terrible wildfires. Scary to hear that more winds are coming once, which could exacerbate things again. Hopefully there will be enough respite soon to get these under control.
- The 2025 International Free Agent period opens up on Wednesday, January 15, and the Cubs are poised to put together a strong class:
The Chicago Cubs have four top talents in the upcoming 2024-25 international class:
INF Wilfry De La Cruz (DR)
SS Juan Cabada (DR)
OF Juan Thomas (DR)
SS Jaims Martinez (CUB)
Jaims is a hidden gem, a switch-hitter with great makeup, an athletic family, and significant… pic.twitter.com/p7Egk5kMZ4— Francys Romero (@francysromeroFR) January 12, 2025
- Each of De La Cruz, Cabada, and Thomas are considered top-25-ish prospects in the class, with De La Cruz and Cabada near the top-10 on some lists (with the arrow up on Cabada), and Thomas is lower on the lists I’ve seen, but is another arrow-up guy. And, candidly, I’d not heard about Jaims Martinez until now, but I like what I’m seeing/reading!
- Caveat to all of that: Roki Sasaki. No one knows for sure where or when he’s going to sign in relation to the IFA period opening up, but we do know that his presence is already impacting the certainty of some IFA commitments.
- Last year’s top Cubs IFA signing, Fernando Cruz, is in the States as we speak getting in work ahead of Spring Training:
- Cruz, 18, didn’t get much action in his debut season in the DSL (presumably missing chunks of the year for injury), playing just 25 games. There’s a chance he’ll stick around Arizona all year and play in the Arizona Complex League, though, and that’s when we would have a really good sense of what he could be as a prospect. Significant potential and projection.
- With no minor league options left, Matt Festa will have to make the Cubs’ Opening Day bullpen or hit waivers. You can see visually why the Cubs went out and got him, though, because they like guys who do weird things:
- Festa clearly has the stuff to miss bats, and he’s flashed it at times before. But that super low delivery height (which got even lower last year with the Rangers) combined with a pretty extreme cut fastball and sweeper also just make him a guy who stays off the barrel and induces a lot of weak contact. The Cubs love guys like that, even if the rest of the league tends not to push guys toward contact (for obvious reasons). There’s a chance they try to sneak him through waivers at some point when rosters become crowded in Spring Training, but he fits the Cubs’ mold pretty clearly.
- These funds tend to get distributed to teams that boosted their local revenue in the previous year, and since it’s such a large number thanks to the massive luxury tax payments this past season, it could make for some very large distributions:
- It’s TBD whether the Cubs will get any of that central fund, and if so, how much. I hate even having to think that it could impact the moves they make the rest of the offseason, but it has become increasingly clear to me that they are working on a tighter budget than last year. An injection of $5 to $10 million could lead to them being able to land a higher-tier signing in the bullpen, for example.
- Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff missed all of 2024 following shoulder surgery (anterior capsule), but it sounds like he’s been working on a relatively normal offseason throwing program this offseason. The Brewers signed him to a deal that essentially gave him a year to rehab and then the 2025 season to show he was back to himself, though that may not come fully until the second half (and it’s possible the Brewers bring him back slowly before that). Woodruff, who’ll be 32 next month, was outstanding in his prime, but you just never know what you’re going to get after a long rehab from shoulder surgery – it seems to be much less predictable than, for example, elbow surgery.
- I’m sorry, did you say hard knuckleball?! Cubs! SIGN HIMMMMMMM!!!!
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