Willson Contreras is primed for a monster 2020

Last night Willson Contreras continued his huge summer camp hitting two home runs, including a monster 444-foot blast, against the Minnesota Twins in an exhibition game. He had already hit four home runs during the Cubs intrasquad games so he could be on the verge of a huge breakout in 2020.

Contreras is coming off a very good 2019 where he hit .272/.355/.533 with a career high 24 home runs in 409 plate appearances and was named an All-Star for the second time in his career. He started 92 games behind the dish catching 811.2 innings pitched, and while he has gotten a lot of criticism for his framing, he has seemed to make changes to his approach that will be extremely beneficial to the Cubs if those changes prove to be effective. His arm continues to be extremely impressive as his 1.93 pop time ranked second in all of baseball and he threw out 29 percent of base runners

The 28-year old got off to an impressive start hitting an excellent .286/.381/.556 along with 18 home runs and would've been a strong MVP candidate if it weren't for Cody Bellinger or Christian Yelich. However, he  injured his hamstring against the Brewers in early August and struggled to a .238/.280/.475 second half that saw the Cubs fade down the stretch and miss the playoffs for the first time since 2014. 

He will be a huge beneficiary of the 60-game season. Catching is a physically grueling position and having to only worry about 60-games instead of the usual 162 could help him stay healthy throughout a full season. Being able to rotate Victor Caratini and Josh Phegley behind the dish along with having the designated hitter position at the Cubs disposal will allow them to keep his legs fresh.

This isn't the first time he has hurt his hamstring, he missed about a month in 2017 with a similar injury. Like 2019, he struggled in his return posting just one extra base hit in 50 plate appearances although he did collect 11 hits while drawing 12 walks. 

A healthy Contreras has proven to be an elite hitter along with playing a premier position, and if the changes to his framing pays dividend he very well could be a dark horse MVP candidate for the National League.

Cubs set their 30-man roster

Today the Chicago Cubs announced their 30-man roster for Opening Day and made some corresponding roster moves.

The Cubs are rolling with three catchers as Josh Phegley made the roster along with Willson Contreras and Victor Caratini. He will likely play sparingly, but he made a strong impression during the Cubs Summer Camp.

The team will be rolling with 16 pitchers as Rex Brothers and Casey Sadler have both made the roster. The bullpen is arguable the most questionable part of the team, so they likely want as many options as possible early on so they can mix things up.

Jose Quintana will start the season on the 10-day injured list while he still recovers from his thumb injury, it isn't known how much time he will miss, but he shouldn't be gone for too long. 

Daniel Descalso was limping after a foul ball and was placed on the 45-day injured list with an ankle sprain. He was a huge disappointment last season after signing a three-year deal after the 2018 season, and it's possible he's played his last games with the Cubs as they have a team option that is very unlikely to be picked up after this year.

Since Brothers and Phegley both had to be added to the 40-man roster the Cubs had to make some moves to open some roster spots up. The Descalso move was one, and the other one was designating 27-year old IF Robel Garcia for assignment. Garcia was a nice story coming all the way back from the Italian leagues to the big leagues, but he struck out way too much to be a viable big league option.

There is also an extra opening on the South Bend roster as OF Mark Zagunis has opted out of the season, so it's possible the Cubs will make an addition to fill that roster spot.

The Bryant implication in the Betts deal

As you may have heard the Los Angeles Dodgers have signed star outfielder Mookie Betts to a massive 12-year $365 million dollar extension. Betts, who was rumored to be dead set on testing free agency, has instead secured the bag now with the uncertainty surrounding the world.

Since 2015 here is the top 4 in Wins Above Replacement (WAR) according to Fangraphs:

1. Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels) 44.2 WAR - signed a 12-year $430 million extension prior to the 2019 season
2. Mookie Betts (Los Angeles Dodgers) 35.4 WAR - signed a massive extension today
3. Kris Bryant (Chicago Cubs) 27.8 WAR - a free agent after 2021
4. Christian Yelich (Milwaukee Brewers) 27.7 WAR - signed a 9-year $215 million dollar extension in Spring Training

The obvious problem with this is these players have been getting big money contracts while the Cubs have been penny-pinching in recent years and could be primed to led the third most valuable player in baseball over the past five seasons walk in free agency.

Bryant, of course, is not at the same quality as the two players above him. He's not quite the all-time great inner circle talent that Mike Trout is, and he's not the all-around superstar that Mookie Betts is while playing a premier position. But he is still an huge piece of the Cubs and an extension should be a top priority for the Cubs.

The 2021 offseason will be a fascinating one for the Cubs. Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Schwarber, and Javier Baez are all due to become free agents so that will be a day of reckoning for the Cubs. They most likely won't be able to extend everyone, but they will need to be willing to open up their check books.

Focusing on Bryant, 2019 was a nice return to form after an injury plagued 2018 season. He hit .282/.382/.521 with 31 home runs, he showed excellent plate discipline walking in 11.7 percent of his plate appearances while striking out in 22.9 percent.

His defensive metrics did take a hit as well, he had a career worst -6 defensive runs saved along with posting a -1.4 UZR which is the second worst of his career. Defensive metrics can flux significantly year to year so it's hard to make an evaluation based on one season.

Bryant has also had his fair share of injury issues, a recurring shoulder issue plagued his 2018 season and his 2019 season was ended early by an ankle sprain. These injuries likely won't severely impact his play now, but it's something to keep in mind as he moves into his mid-30's.

A good comparison for a potential Bryant extension is the free agent deal Anthony Rendon signed with the Angels. The 30-year old received a 7-year $245 million dollar deal that includes a full no-trade clause and keeps him locked up until his age 37 season. Bryant has not been as good as Rendon over the past three seasons, but he has shown in the past that he can just as valuable as Rendon.

Bryant will be a free agent going into his age 30 season and would likely be posed to become just the third player to receive a $300+ million deal as a free agent if he can continue to improve on his excellent 2019 performance.

Cubs sign catcher Jose Lobaton

The Cubs added more catching depth yesterday inking veteran catcher Jose Lobaton to a minor league deal and adding him to the 60-man roster.

Lobaton has never been much of a hitter with a lifetime .215/.293/.319 line in 1278 plate appearances between the Padres, Rays, Nationals, and Mets. He is perhaps most known for hitting a walk off home run against the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the ALDS for the Tampa Bay Rays.

His biggest value comes from his defense, at one point he was one of the best framing catchers in baseball. In 2015 he had a strike rate of 52.5 percent along with saving three runs from his framing. Although those numbers fell to 46.1 percent and zero respectively in 2018 it's also worth nothing that it was a much smaller sample size and he was catching a Mets pitching staff that ranked 10th in the NL in ERA.

It's fair to question what role Lobaton will play in the Cubs organization. They already have Willson Contreras locked in as the starting catcher along with Victor Caratini as the back up. Josh Phegley was already making a strong impression as well and the Cubs have PJ Higgins who has been in the organization for a while. He's most likely just another veteran depth piece that could give guys like Contreras and top prospect Miguel Amaya some pointers on framing.

Cubs release Brandon Morrow

According to Baseball Americas minor league transaction tracker the Cubs have released RHP Brandon Morrow ending a frustrating and injury riddled tenure.

The Cubs signed Morrow to a two year $21 million dollar deal after his dominant 2017 season with the Dodgers. He got off to an excellent start for the Cubs posting a 1.47 ERA in 35 appearances along with converting 22 of 24 save opportunities, but he got injured taking off his pants (yes really) and never threw another pitch for the Cubs.

The hard-throwing righty was just never able to return to form, suffering numerous setbacks and a variety of other injuries in the rehab process. The Cubs had signed him to a minor league deal this off season, but suffered a calf strain during Spring Training. He was considered a long shot to make the team, but he has always had excellent stuff when healthy, but the health has never been there.

Cubs scheduled unveiled

Major League Baseball announced the team schedules for the abbreviated 60 game schedule and with that we get a look at the way things will work out for the Cubs.

They open their season with a three-game stand at home against the Brewers and finish their season with a potentially dramatic three game set at Guaranteed Rate against the White Sox that could have huge playoff implications for both teams.

This has the potential to be a very fun season, each game has a lot more meaning and teams will be going all out to win every game. Every series can have huge playoff implications and the Cubs. The Cubs and their fellow division rivals play seven combined games against the Royals and Tigers who ranked as two of the worst teams in baseball last year, and that could give them a big boost.

From a travel standpoint the schedule is extremely favorable to the Cubs, they travel the second least amount of miles traveled in the league, only the Brewers travel less miles than the Cubs.

The Cubs will also play three preseason exhibition games with two coming against the White Sox and another against the Twins. It will be a good opportunity to get a look at how everything is going to work.

Jose Quintana lacerates hand doing dishes, has surgery

Add this one to the list of strange baseball injuries: the Cubs announced that lefty starting pitcher Jose Quintana suffered a lacerated thumb while doing dishes at his home in Miami.

A microscopic surgery revealed a lacerated digital sensory nerve in his left thumb that was repaired via surgery. Quintana will resume his throwing program in two weeks in which more will be known about his expected absence.

Quintana, 31, is coming off the worst season of his career posting a career-worst 4.68 ERA in 171 innings pitched for the Cubs. However, his FIP of 3.80 is only slightly about his career average and his career-worst .326 BABIP and 65.9 left on base percentage suggest that he was definitely a victim of some bad luck.

This shortened season is a pivotal one for Quintana. He is a free agent after this season, and although his Cubs tenure has overall been a disappointment he would have a chance to build up some value with a strong showing this season.

Quintana is likely to miss some time in the regular season, although the exact time frame is unknown. It will be interesting to see if the injury will effect his ability to grip his pitches since a nerve was lacerated. The Cubs would likely use Alec Mills to fill his spot since Tyler Chatwood already seemingly had the edge for the 5th starter spot.