CubsCon draws to a close today, and although the revelations were limited, it was definitely a weekend of positive vibes … nice to see …
- Nico Hoerner spoke about his offseason, but there wasn’t much to update yet on his recovery from forearm surgery in October:
- If Hoerner isn’t even throwing or hitting yet, it’s still on the table that he won’t be ready to go for the Japan opener in less than two months. Not impossible, but you’d hate to rush the guy for two games, when he’d otherwise have an additional two+ weeks to keep ramping up for Opening Day Number Two. Hoerner was similarly mum on the timeline on an MLB Network hit:
Nico Hoerner, wearing the brand new @Cubs alternate jersey, joins #MLBTonight to talk about the addition of Kyle Tucker, this weekend's Cubs Convention and more! pic.twitter.com/5cTJs99Kk4— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 18, 2025
- It’s TBD what the Cubs are going to do on the bench, and it’s possible that whatever “third base” depth option they sign will be able to fill in at second base in the short-term, while Matt Shaw plays third base. Or, it’s possible Shaw will play second base until Hoerner is ready to go, and then move back to third base. Either way, until the Cubs make that bench addition, whatever it is, they have a strong incentive to limit information out there about Hoerner’s precise timeline.
The Cubs sure sound like they are going to give Matt Shaw every chance to win the 3B job and run with it, but they want to make sure they have support/depth/protection around him. It's good for the team, but also potentially good for Shaw's development.— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) January 18, 2025
- Not a surprise here, but glad that it’s been discussed:
Craig Counsell says the Cubs do expect Seiya Suzuki to do a lot of DH'ing this year. They talked about it this week, and Seiya understands and is on board. But injuries happen, that's just the reality. So Seiya will of course still see time in the OF.— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) January 18, 2025
- As things stand today, I’ll assume that Alexander Canario or Vidal Brujan is the back-up center fielder if there were a very short-term in-game need or one-day-off situation. If it’s a longer-term injury, then Kevin Alcรกntara probably comes up to fill in. But in-between, and especially if the Cubs wind up with some other big bat on the bench, you do wonder if the Cubs might try to have Ian Happ fill in briefly in center field and let Seiya Suzuki play left field. I tend to think not (and this underscores why Canario may have to make the team as things stand right now), but it’s interesting to think about.
- Listen to Clark IMO:
- Me, age 11:
- It sounds like the Blue Jays really did complete that Myles Straw trade – taking on most of his salary in exchange for $2 million in IFA bonus pool space – without knowing whether it would matter or not. They just were trying to show Roki Sasaki they really would make him the largest offer. Didn’t work, since he announced his (almost certainly long-already-decided) choice of the Dodgers just a few hours later.
- Although it was very disruptive to the market, Ben Badler notes that at least five IFA prospects actually wound up getting larger signing bonuses because of the Roki Sasaki hold-up/uncertainty. So that’s good, at least. Still no official signing yet, by the way, for the Cubs’ two final bigger names reportedly in the class (Cuban infielder Jaims Martinez, and Mexican pitcher Tadeo Gomez). Wonder if the Blue Jays, flush with IFA funds they can’t use on too many targets, are trying to poach guys like that.
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