The moves being made within the Cubs organization the last few months have all pointed toward a complete and total rebuild (Unless you’re a total dum dum homer, like myself). Even after Theo left, Lester and the Cubs mutually parted ways, we kicked Schwarber to the curb, Len Kasper opted for radio across town, and the Ricketts family crying broke for years now, I really thought the Cubs were planning and would be able to retool and make another run with the 2016 core. I believed all of this until today…
The Cubs traded Cy Young runner up starting pitcher Yu Darvish to the Padres. The news was leaked this morning, but all the pieces were not revealed until tonight. The basic breakdown of the trade is as follows:
The Padres get…
P, Yu Darvish ($22M 2021 Salary, (plus roughly $40M owed in next two seasons)
C, Victor Caratini ($1.4M 2021 Salary)
The Cubs get…
P, Zach Davies ($8.5M 2021 Salary)
SS, Reginald Preciado (Padres Prospect #11)
OF, Owen Caissie (Padres Prospect #13)
OF, Ismael Mena (Padres Prospect #15)
SS, Yeison Santana (Padres Prospect #16)
So essentially it boils down to the Cubs trading a top pitcher in the game (and his personal catcher) to save $14.9M in 2021 salary, a semi-decent starter to replace him, and 4 throws at a dartboard in prospects that the Padres really didn’t give a shit about.
Folks, when you combine that with the aforementioned moves the Cubs organization has made, this is not a team that is considering competing for at least the next few years. I know. I didn’t want to say it either, but that is just the stone cold truth. I allowed myself to get excited up until the final details were announced, that maybe we could swindle the Padres into a decent return?
“Maybe we’re just looking to shed a little bit of money and Jed is guna fleece the Padres like he did with the Rizzo trade?” NOPE
“The Padres sure are rushing into this “all-in” thing, they’re probably guna fuck it up.” NOPE
“Maybe we can get Jake Cronenworth too. We already have a SS, but he’s young and still cheap and can play 2nd.” NOPE
“Maybe we’ll land that sweet swingin’, no batting gloves, son of a bitch Wil Myers. Plug him in for Schwarber in left field” NOPE (Myers is due $22.5 MILLION FUCKING DOLLARS NEXT SEASON BTW good for him, love Wil Myers)
I guess the whole point is that it’s over. The 2016 World Series Champion Chicago Cubs core will not win another title for the Cubs, and maybe that’s ok. After this move unloading Darvish, it’s clear that there were internal talks within the Cubs front office that they were going full rebuild, not re-up, and us fans are just finding out about it. I haven’t sat down and thought about it much, but I say why stop at Darvish? Get what you can for Bryant, take a $$$ loss but get prospects for Heyward, Kimbrel fuck off, I’d even put Hendricks in the maybe pile. You can’t half ass a full tank. The only guys I prioritize to keep are as follows:
- Anthony Rizzo – Can help mold younger guys, team captain, Cubs fans will literally burn Wrigely Field to the ground if you get rid of him, and a million other intangibles
- Javy Baez – Say what you want about Javy, he exemplifies the type of player that is the “future of baseball”, swag for days, heart for days
- Willson Contreras – See Javy Baez reasons above, plus more heart, and cheaper
Lets hope this rebuild is fast and effective. I have faith in Jed. Maybe the Ricketts family will stop crying poor for once, while making Clark street look like a shopping mall in Santa Fe. Maybe next, next, next, next year, is our year.
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