I still think Zobrist would be a nice fit. The Cubs really don't need him now, and have a bit of a log jam at both 2nd and the outfield - the two areas we have a need at. Hell, he'd make a pretty good leadoff hitter too.
It's really too bad we have Morales on the team. Ohtani aside, Gattis is apparently a non-tender candidate, and reasonably priced. He'd be a nice guy to have as the backup catcher / full time DH.
Yeah, I'm really not a fan of drafting catchers early in the draft. They take a long time to develop, and it seems like they fail more than other prospects do.
This is the one time when it really may NOT be about the money. I mean, he was having his parents put his salary away for him in Japan and give him a monthly allowance ($1000 I think?). If he stayed in Japan two more years, he wouldn't have been subject to bonus pools and would have gotten a massive contract coming over. Everything right now points to him not giving a damn about the money.
That doesn't mean we're at the top of the list though.
I wonder if we're the other team in on Bryan Shaw? He'd actually be kind of interesting. One of those guys who's velocity is actually increasing, and might be more consistent than any other reliever available. Shapiro is also really familiar with him.
You have to add the 39.6% federal tax to the Florida 6%. So 45.6% compared to the 53 or whatever for us. Add to that the fact that they only pay that rate for half their games, and you're basically looking at a 4% difference.
Yeah, unless it's in the last 2 minutes of the game or something, just go with the call on the floor. If more is warranted, the league can hand out a fine or something after the game.
I still think it'll be either Yankees, Dodgers, or Mariners. An outside chance of Giants, Angels, or us, for various reasons. I don't think he fits real well with either Texas team (from his point of view).
I don't think that's fair. Copollela did something illegal that allowed him to sign guys he otherwise wouldn't have gotten (supposedly), and other teams might have. Having them stripped is absolutely the right move. If other teams do it, they should be punished too.
The hacking is a completely separate kind of issue. I don't think it was dealt with correctly, and you could argue there should have been legal action taken, but it's apples to oranges.
I suspect whichever team with the highest available pool that misses out on Ohtani will get him (which might be the Yankees)
I don't think it's worth his while to wait for July, as one or two teams have good pools still available, and it would cost him a year of development.