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Travis Sawchik
12:50
I still wouldn't be investing nine figures
John
12:50
Has the Cubs' inability to develop starters been overblown? Hendricks spent about two thirds of his minor league career with the Cubs, so it seems strange that Texas gets the credit for him. And the front office has made a conscious decision to prioritize bats early in the draft, which has really limited their shot at finding an impact starter through the draft.
Travis Sawchik
12:51
Development doesn't get enough credit for prospect success ... but the Cubs have enjoyed only 30 homegrown innings from pitchers in Epstein era. That's kind of alarming.
Andy
12:51
Im getting nervous about Jonathan Lucroy.   I don't see how his market was dependent on any other player, and I perceive that it's more difficult for catchers who miss these early days of ST for the value of 'learning' a staff.    I personally don't see either BAL or WAS as likely solutions.   What happens to Lucroy?
Travis Sawchik
12:52
It doesn't help that has framing numbers have fallen off a cliff ... He's in a tough spot but WAS could talk themselves into him. Nats have a glaring void at catcher but I don't think Lucroy is the answer
kevinthecomic
12:53
Uh oh.  Boras is running the owner end-around again.  Reports saying he met with D-backs owner Ken Kendrick last week.
Travis Sawchik
12:53
I hope every club president has briefed their owner on this practice
Matt
12:53
Why can't the Orioles afford Machado?  They are a top 10 or so payroll.
Travis Sawchik
12:54
Even if O's offered equal money why would Machado want to stay?
CamdenWarehouse
12:54
Boras didn't misread the landscape.  Maybe the navigation charts.
Travis Sawchik
12:54
Fair enough. Boras has been sounding the warning bells for a couple years now
AdamZ
12:54
Seems to me a big issues is that the 'best' free agents this year are all good, but not great players who think they should be paid like a 'great' player because they are the best available.
Travis Sawchik
12:55
I think this is part of the issue and part of the reason all the Boras guys are unsigned
JDM is a great hitter, though. Boston should get that done
Mike
12:55
re: Cubs and pitching development, what the Cubs haven't done is compensate for their bat-first focus with some kind of strategy, the way that the Dodgers targeted guys who would be 1st-round talents but were currently injured (Walker Buehler in the 4th round because he required TJS, top-half 1st round talent if he came with an elbow ligament).

The failure to figure out how to compensate is a reasonable critique.
Travis Sawchik
12:56
I think even Cubs' leadership has admitted they haven't done a great job in this area
Lou
12:56
If you were Cody Bellinger or Corey Seager, would you sign a "team friendly" extension?
Travis Sawchik
12:57
If "team-friendly" is nine figures, yeah, I'd have a tough time turning that down regardless of my earning potential
Sonny
12:57
Do you have any insight on Hosmer letting long contracts linger? Is that Boras blowing smoke or is Hosmer just the biggest Hosmer fan and himself holding out hope some owner will do something incredible and give him his 8 year contract?
Travis Sawchik
12:58
I could see Hosmer/Boras misreading the market, or the perception of his value
12:59
I think an opt-out for Hosmer would make some sense, if he can prove he can make some changes to his bated ball profile
E
1:00
Why don’t vegetables taste as good as cheeseburgers?
Travis Sawchik
1:00
That is a question, isn't it?
scottz
1:01
Do you ever think these "who says no" posts are from MLB front offices looking to ground-truth their own analyses of offers with an objective source (i.e., you)?
Travis Sawchik
1:01
Ha. Wasn't there a strange possible instance of this in a Sullivan chat earlier this offseason?
E
1:02
How unfair is it that teams are evaluating and offering contracts based on data that the players and agents don’t have access to?
Travis Sawchik
1:03
The public data is pretty good ... some of Statcast is public ... players know their biometric, data, right? FOs have an information edge, for sure, but players  arent' in the dark
A Random Dude
1:03
Think the Cubs are going to be out on guys like Cobb now that they have Darvish? He gives them what they needed at the top of the rotation; but what about at the back? Teams need more than just 5 starters and Montgomery...
Travis Sawchik
1:03
I would think so
Jordan
1:03
MLBPA really needs to consider having some agents on the negotiating team for the next CBA, I'm thinking talking heads from all classes of players to help get the players agenda to the table. Boras is a lawyer and an extraordinarily intelligent man, he can see a lot of angles others don't see right away, if only he would STFU!
Travis Sawchik
1:04
I think there will be an expanded number of voices in the process
The MLBPA might need some quants, too
Endy Chavez
1:05
"WAR ranks [Archer] at 156 among pitchers (1.2)" What? Is any of that true?
Travis Sawchik
1:05
None of that was true. Archer projected to be a 4-win pitcher
Matt
1:05
Now that the low-hanging fruit of analytics has been plucked by all teams, is it more difficult/impossible for small-market teams to consistently compete? Will we see a salary cap or vastly increased revenue sharing in the next CBA?
Travis Sawchik
1:06
Much more difficult but adapting more quickly to new areas of insight can still be powerful
kevinthecomic
1:06
i could see a low-level front office employee using these chats to get some feedback on their ideas before presenting them to the GM -- sound career move
Travis Sawchik
1:06
Maybe we need to be verifying identities and usernames
Matt
1:06
Shouldn't more teams be trying to win?  If 10-12 are not trying to win/tanking, that only leaves 18 for 10 playoff spots.  Seems like there is room for avg/below avg teams to spend a bit & go for a wild card spot.
Travis Sawchik
1:06
Right?
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