Tenacious D

I view it as a hedge that Skubal will bail. Burnes is a true ace—he’d give us two, along with Jobe, that would give us a big edge over the next couple of seasons.

That’s fair. Might be a similar case with Skubal in two seasons when he reaches the same age. I was going by the eye test—he was the best pitcher we faced last season, in my opinion.

Pass on Kim. He’ll miss half of the season and the kids are coming in ‘26. After listening to Harris’ press conference, I think there is a good chance that Bregman is coming, or they are working on another external option. And if the speculation that Skubal could get $400M in a few years via free agency is correct, Corbin Burnes looks like a bargain at his $245M rumored asking price. Go get him.

The beauty of a one-year contract is that we don’t have to sweat beyond the 2025 season. And I hope a trade or two are coming. Would like to see how Harris approaches this—we’ve not seen him make any deals of significance.

Not sure I agree. None of the other pieces (Torres, Keith, Vierling, Jung) are SS, though maybe we’ll learn they think Gleyber can play there this season.

Prioritizing the bat. Big addition to our lineup.

This. Keith was going to have to move off 2B at some point. Give Jung another season at AAA.

Great signing. Not sure where his glove fits, but the bat plays. Good career numbers in CoPa (very small sample size, though).

No Cee Dee Lamb, either

At some point very soon, we will want to have the payroll flexibility to extend Skubal, Greene and Carpenter, among others, as well as potentially acquire future less risky free agents. Your second point is the reason that Bregman gives me pause. If he deteriorates quickly, he’ll take an important roster spot and potentially block someone else. I’d be more excited about him had he not shown signs of slipping in his walk year.

Agree with the risk, but it varies. Bregman wants to be paid like his best seasons, but he had a drop off last year and is 30. Was last season an anomaly or sign of his decline? The Astros moving away from him is pretty telling, in my opinion. He was like a Whitaker of Trammell to that organization and they decided he wasn’t worth what he was asking. They got the benefit of his best play, most of it during his arbitration, team controlled years. And now we’re going to reward him for his decline? I wouldn’t make that commitment.

A lot of risk and uncertainty to commit 7+ years and $200M+ to. My heart wants him to sign, but my head says no. Not sure where my spleen stands on this.

Not sure how credible this is, but

I’m more interested in seeing him package some prospects for a proven player who is a fit (and not a rental).

Very well done

Again, there is no evidence that Ilitch doesn’t want to spend. This could be Harris’ call, and outside of Soto and Burnes, this is a largely flawed free agent class that would give you pause to both overpay in terms of dollars and years. I’m good with mostly letting the youngsters get the AB’s and make decisions next offseason. And Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah, you filthy animals!

I would rather have Harbaugh coaching the Bears than Ben.

Everything you said was correct, except for your last sentence. Some players might also put a premium on winning environment, team composition, coaching staff, ownership, and, probably most importantly, who will pay me the most?

Was that the same era as the coked out Tigers icon?

We might have dodged a bullet there. Don’t need another Maeda. One reclamation project a season should suffice, and we already have two.

Yes. I think he’ll be there in April, with his ride or die, Kevin McG

Agree. I was referencing position players.