Tag / Kris Bryant

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Two Sides Of The Same Town

cws-chiFollowing last week’s trade deadline deals, Ryan Tepera and Craig Kimbrel became the 36th and 37th people I’ve seen play in person for both the Cubs and the White Sox.  With the first round of crosstown kicking off this afternoon at Wrigley, here’s a look at those players, in alphabetical order.

David Aardsma

After posting a decent season with the Cubs in 2006, Aardsma was traded to the White Sox for Neal Cotts.  Aardsma lasted one season with the Sox, where he was unable to duplicate his success from the year before.

Jason Bere

Drafted by the White Sox in the 36th round in 1990, Bere debuted with the big league club in 1993, finishing 2nd in Rookie of the Year voting.  After an All Star selection in 1994, injuries marred the remainder of his tenure on the South Side, which ended in 1998.  He resurfaced with the Cubs in 2001 and had a decent season, but he went 1-10 in 2002 before being let go.

Emilio Bonifacio

Bonifacio spent back-to-back partial seasons in Chicago, first for the Cubs in 2014 after signing as a free agent, where he played decently enough to be flipped at the trade deadline, along with James Russell, to the Braves for a young catching prospect by the name of Victor Caratini.  He returned to Chicago in 2015, signing with the White Sox, where he he did not do well at all, hitting .167 in 47 games before being released in August.

Welington Castillo

Debuting with the Cubs in 2010, Castillo spent time behind the plate for the Cubs until May of 2015, when, having been replaced in the starting lineup by Miguel Montero, he was flipped to the Mariners.  He returned to Chicago in 2018 after signing with the White Sox as a free agent.  On May 24th of that season, he was suspended 80 games for a violation of the PED policy.  The White Sox then cut bait following the 2019 season, shipping him off to the Rangers.

Neal Cotts

Acquired by the White Sox in the Billy Koch trade, he debuted with the team in 2003.  He was a key contributor in the bullpen during the 2005 championship season, and was the only relief pitcher to appear in all 3 rounds of the playoffs that season.  Following the 2006 season, he was traded to the Cubs for David Aardsma, and he spent the next 3 injury filled seasons on the North Side.

Scott Eyre

Joining the White Sox organization in a 1994 trade with the Rangers, he debuted with the big league team in 1997.  He split the next 4 seasons between the rotation and the bullpen, not to mention between Chicago and Charlotte, before being moved to the Blue Jays following the 2000 ALDS loss to the Mariners.  He joined the Cubs as a free agent for the 2006 season and enjoyed 2 seasons of relative success, before falling apart in 2008, when he was traded to the Phillies.

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End Of An Era

When Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer took over baseball operations for the Cubs following the 2011 season, they started a rebuild effort that combined high draft picks with savvy trades in an effort to end the longest title drought in US professional sports.  They key to that rebuild, four prospects ranked in the Top 50 by nearly every publication prior to the 2014 season, became known as the Core Four.  Javier Baez, the 9th overall pick in the 2011 draft, Albert Almora, the 6th selection in 2012, Jorge Soler, a Cuban defector who signed a 9 year, $30 million contract in June of 2012, and Kris Bryant, the second overall pick in the 2013 draft were expected to lead the Cubs to the promised land and, in 2016, they did, each contributing to the team’s first World Series title in 108 years.

Bryant and Baez were the only two left heading into the 2021 season.  Both were traded today.

Kris Bryant is heading to the Giants, with OF Alexander Canario and RHP Caleb Killian coming back to the Cubs.  Bryant, the 2015 NL Rookie of the Year and the 2016 NL MVP, has seemingly been on the trading block for years now, ever since the Cubs won his service time grievance.  Ironically, he was the last one out the door, following yesterday’s trade of Anthony Rizzo and this afternoon’s moves with Craig Kimbrel and Javier Baez.

Canario, a top 15 prospect in the Giants’ system, showed flashes as a teenager prior to the pandemic, but has seen his strikeout rate increase as he’s gone up to higher levels of competition.  Killian, likely rated in the top 40 of the Giants system, was an 8th round pick in 2019 and has seem some success this year coming back from the pandemic.

After winning the World Series in 2016, the Cubs, with their young talent, looked to be on the verge of a dynasty.  5 years later, that dynasty is over without ever really starting, having dropped their last 4 consecutive post-season games dating back to the 2017 NLCS.  Now, 10 years after the start of the last rebuild, Jed Hoyer has to start again.

Bryant’s and Baez’s numbers in a Cubs uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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A Flurry Of Activity

The Cubs have seemingly turned Wrigley Field upside down, shook real hard, and let the pieces fall where they may.  With less than an hour until the trade deadline, they’ve made two huge deals, sending closer Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox for second baseman Nick Madrigal and reliever Codi Heuer and, in a separate deal, sending Javier Baez and Trevor Williams to the Mets in exchange for Pete Crow-Armstrong.

The first move, along with yesterday’s acquisition of Ryan Tepera, fortifies the White Sox bullpen as they look towards October baseball, giving them two All Star closers to choose from as Tony LaRussa sees fit.  Madrigal, the fourth overall selection in the 2018 draft, should hold down second base on the north side for years to come, assuming he can stay healthy.  He’s been out since early June with a hamstring tear and is expected to be ready for spring training.  Heuer has been a workhorse, and is the pitcher I’ve seen in the most games this year, but has gotten knocked around a bit more than the White Sox expected.

Baez, the ninth overall pick in the 2011 draft and the runner in the 2018 MVP race, has been a centerpiece of the Cubs run these last 7 years, debuting in 2014 and cementing himself in the lineup in 2016.  He is reunited with his friend and Team Puerto Rico teammate Francisco Lindor with the Mets.  Crow-Armstrong was the first round selection of the Mets in the 2020 draft and is currently their 5th ranked prospect, according to MLB.com.

With all of this, the one guy everyone expected the Cubs to move, Kris Bryant, is the last man standing.  Will something happen in these last couple of minutes?  Time will tell.

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Trade Winds Are A Brewin’

With a little more than 24 hours remaining before the trade deadline, the White Sox finally made a move, acquiring second baseman César Hernández from Cleveland for Double A pitcher Konnor Pilkington.  Hernández, who won a Gold Glove and led the AL in doubles last year, has hit a career high 18 home runs while hitting .231 with 47 RBIs and a .738 OPS.  The White Sox have been looking for a second baseman since Nick Madrigal went down with a torn right hamstring in early June.

Pilkington, the third round pick of the White Sox in the 2018 draft, is 4-4 with a 3.48 ERA in 14 starts this year for Birmingham.  He was rated as the 17th best prospect in the White Sox system by Baseball America at the start of the 2020 season.  To make room for Hernández on the 40-man roster, the White Sox released right-handed pitcher Tyler Johnson.

Meanwhile, on the north side of town, Anthony Rizzo and Kris Bryant are not in the lineup for today’s tilt between the Cubs and the Reds.  One or both of them are expected to be moved prior to tomorrow’s deadline.

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2021 All Star Break Batting Leaders

The All Star Game is in the books, as the American League extended its winning streak to 8 straight and White Sox closer Liam Hendriks earned the save, only the second White Sox player to do so.  As baseball takes the day off to prepare for the second half, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 32 games I attended, starting with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 5
Javier Baez 4
Adam Eaton 3
Patrick Wisdom 3
Yasmani Grandal 3
Carlos Santana 3
Brad Miller 3

Hits

Name Total
Tim Anderson 28
Yoan Moncada 26
Jose Abreu 24
Nick Madrigal 21
Yermin Mercedes 14

Runs

Name Total
Tim Anderson 17
Jose Abreu 14
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Hey Now, You’re An All Star

First, the good news.  Five Chicago players will be making the tip to AtlantaDenver next week for the All Star Game.  Starters Lance Lynn and Carlos Rodon and closer Liam Hendriks will represent the White Sox, while third baseman Kris Bryant and closer Craig Kimbrel will represent the Cubs.  It is the first mid-summer classic for Rodon, second for Lynn and Hendricks, fourth for Bryant, and eighth for Kimbrel.

Now, the bad news.  Unlike in years past, the teams will be wearing their All Star jerseys in the game itself, rather than just in the surrounding ceremonies.  The National League will be wearing white, with the team logo on the left breast superimposed over a three letter acronym for the team (CHC for the Cubs, for example).  The sleeves have a flower pattern at the cuff that makes little sense, with either an American flag or All Star Game patch, depending on the arm.  The back has a star below the player’s number signifying their number of All Star selections.  The American League will wear the same, but in navy blue.  Both leagues will wear navy caps with a giant star underneath the team’s logo.

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Tearing It Down

A few years from now, we will look back and ask ourselves exactly when did the Cubs rebuild officially begin.  Was it when Theo Epstein decided to walk away from the last year on his contract, leaving $10 million on the table?  Was it a few weeks later when fan-favorite Kyle Schwarber was non-tendered?  Or, was it yesterday, when the Cubs sent Yu Darvish, Victor Caratini, and cash to the Padres in exchange for Zach Davies, Owen Caissie, Reginald Preciado, Yeison Santana, and Ismael Mena.

Darvish, who has three years and $59 million left on the deal he signed before the 2018 season, went 8-3 with a 2.01 ERA in 12 starts for during the COVID-shortened season, finishing in second place in NL Cy Young Award voting.  Caratini was his personal catcher and hit .241 with 16 RBIs last year.  After struggling upon his arrival in Chicago, Darvish started to regain his form midway through 2019 and continued on into 2020, helping the Cubs win the Central Division title and return to the post-season after a one year absence.

Davies, 27, will become a free agent after the 2021 season.  He went 7-4 with a 2.73 ERA in 12 starts for the Padres in 2020.  The prospect package will not be of much help to the Cubs in the immediate future.  Caissie, an 18-year-old outfielder, was the Padres second round pick in this year’s draft.  Preciado, a 17 year old switch hitting shortstop, signed with the Padres in July of 2019 out of Panama.  The 20 year old Santana, also a shortstop, made his pro debut in 2018 in the Dominican Summer League. Outfielder Mena, 18, is a left handed hitting Dominican also signed in 2019.

Given the state of the NL Central, the Cubs may still contend for a division title next year.  Obviously, Jed Hoyer and company would prefer to retool on the fly and build up the farm system while still trying to compete.  But, this move definitely makes the Cubs weaker heading into 2021.  And, barring extensions, Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, and Willson Contreras will all become free agents by the end of 2022.  It seems as though the Cubs contention window, which opened with a bang in 2015, closed with a whimper when they were swept out of the playoffs last October.  This trade did little to keep it open, but may have laid the groundwork for the next window.

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Playoff Batting Leaders

Game 1 of the AL Wild Card Series is in the books and the White Sox look to close out the A’s this afternoon.  The NL Wild Card Series kicks off this afternoon, with the Cubs doing battle against the Marlins.  With that in mind, it’s time to take an updated look at the offensive leaders from the now 30 post-season games I have attended since 2000.  So, without further ado, we start off with:

Home Runs

Name Total
Kris Bryant 4
Javier Baez 3
Paul Konerko 3
B.J. Upton 3
Dexter Fowler 3
Enrique Hernandez 3

Hits

Name Total
Kris Bryant 11
Javier Baez 11
Dexter Fowler 10
Anthony Rizzo 10
Moises Alou 9
Jason Heyward 9

Runs

Name Total
Dexter Fowler 7
Paul Konerko 6
Daniel Murphy 6
A.J. Pierzynski 5
Kris Bryant 5
Javier Baez 5
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Grievence Denied

After nearly 5 years, an arbitrator has ruled in favor of the Cubs in the grievance filed by the MLBPA on behalf of Kris Bryant.  The grievance, filed in May of 2015, alleged that the Cubs manipulated Bryant’s service time in an effort to keep an extra year of team control before Bryant was eligible for free agency.  The hearing took place this past October, once it became obvious that Bryant and the Cubs would not be coming to an agreement on a long term contract that would make the grievance moot.

Bryant split the 2014 season between Double A Tennessee and Triple A Iowa.  Despite hitting .325 with a combined 43 home runs and 110 RBIs between the two levels, he did not get a September call-up by the Cubs.  Determined to break camp with the big league team the next spring, Bryant slashed .425/.477/1.175 with nine home runs in 40 at-bats in the Cactus League.  However, that was not good enough to supplant Mike Olt, and Bryant was returned to Triple A to, allegedly, work on his defense.  When Olt injured his wrist on April 11, the Cubs waited until April 17 to put him on the DL and recall Bryant, the very day they gained an extra year of control.  Bryant went on to win the NL Rookie of the Year award, hitting .275 with 26 home runs and 99 RBIs while Olt, after finishing the year with the White Sox, never played in the major leagues again after the 2015 season.

So, the Cubs retain control over Bryant for an additional two years.  Whether he steps foot on the field again as a member of the team is still up in the air.  With the Cubs too close to the luxury tax threshold for Tom Ricketts’ comfort, Bryant has been rumored to be on the trading block all winter, with the result of his grievance, and the length of time before he becomes a free agent, seen as being the holdup in closing a deal.  While trading Bryant may be the best way to replenish a farm system left bare by 5 years of contention, while also lowering the team’s overall payroll commitments, doing so does not signal an intention to try and win in 2020, while the remainder of the team’s core moves closer to free agency themselves.

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2019 All Star Break Batting Leaders

The All Star Game is on tap tonight in Cleveland, with six total representatives from the Cubs and White Sox, let’s take a look at the first half offensive leaders for the 23 games I attended:

Home Runs

Name Total
Jose Abreu 4
Tim Anderson 3
Willson Contreras 3
Leury Garcia 3
Eloy Jimenez 3

Hits

Name Total
Tim Anderson 23
Jose Abreu 21
Leury Garcia 19
Yoan Moncada 16
Eloy Jimenez 13
Kris Bryant 13

Runs

Name Total
Tim Anderson 11
Leury Garcia 11
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