Neither Morrow nor Cishek inspire that much confidence, but then again, relief pitchers can always be found at the trade deadline. Morrow is slated as the Opening Day closer, through the veteran Cishek has been in that role previously with the Marlins and Mariners, and could be the understudy waiting in the wings. While the Cubs seemingly upgraded their bullpen on the cheap, the relief corps probably is still in need of some additions. While these pieces are nice to have, they are not differentiators in any way compared to the league’s elite and second-tier relievers. In addition to the starters, the Cubs revamped their bullpen as well, signing Morrow and Cishek and re-upping Duensing’s contract. For under $40 million over three years, there’s solid upside here. A tinkering with his arm slot or other mechanics could yield significant fruit. Although he won’t be a top-of-the-rotation starter, he has a reputation as a ‘spin-rate’ guy, who has had trouble putting good numbers into good results.
2018 MLB SCHEDULE CUBS UPGRADE
It’s likely Darvish’s 2018 is better than Arrieta’s, and this ends up being a major upgrade for the Cubs.īeyond Darvish, Chicago inked Chatwood. He’ll be a good - if not better - replacement for Jake Arrieta, whose performance has been getting discernibly worse. Darvish, however, was a sneaky good signing, at a reasonable price. Re-signed LHP Brian Duensing to a two-year, $7 million contract.īeyond the signing of Darvish, the Cubs didn’t really make any major splashes this offseason.Signed RHP Steve Cishek to a two-year, $13 million contract.Signed RHP Brandon Morrow to a two-year, $21 million contract.Signed LHP Drew Smyly to a two-year, $10 million contract (Smyly is on the 60-day DL, recovering from elbow surgery).Signed RHP Tyler Chatwood to a three-year, $38 million contract.Signed RHP Yu Darvish to a six-year, $126 million contract.Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports Key offseason moves: Enjoy, and welcome back! Chicago Cubs 2017 record: 92-70, first in NL Central PECOTA 2018 projection: 91-71, first in NL Central FanGraphs DC 2018 projection: 94-68, first in NL Central BtBS writers 2018 prediction: first in NL Central (16/18) They’re the power couple we need. We’ll roll out previews for each division over the next two days (AL on Tuesday, NL on Wednesday). Baseball is back! To get ready for the 2018 MLB season, we at Beyond the Box Score are previewing all 30 teams, looking at the moves they’ve made since last year, the player (or players) who could make a big difference this year, and reflecting on their overall outlook.
0 kommentar(er)
