Lester to Cubs - 6 years / $155 million

[Matt Breen]

Cubs get Lester - 6 years and $155 million. Also a 7th year that can vest that's worth $15m.

 

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2014/12/cubs-to-sign-jon-lester.html

 

Giants reportedly offered more, but Lester must have liked the Chicago situation better.

[502 to Right]

The sleeping giant has awakened.

[trwi7]

I think there's a decent chance the Brewers finish last in the division in 2015.

[3and2Fastball]

I think there's a decent chance the Brewers finish last in the division in 2015.

 

It is beginning to look like the Brewers might be battling it out with the Reds to stay out of the cellar. It is still early in the off-season and it'll be interesting to see what other moves the Brewers and the rest of their division rivals make. I would hope that these recent developments w/ the Cubs will make Melvin & Mark A reassess whether they truly have a roster that can contend in 2015

[WV Brew]

Another Lind buster. Doug's strategy may be in trouble. Seriously, I hope Theo Epstein continues to go the expensive free agent route.

[davego]

Yikes.

[Dead Simmons]

The sleeping giant has awakened.

I don't know if you're serious or not, but I believe the Cubs will now contend all the way into September. Barring any blockbuster acquisitions I can see them finishing ahead of the Cards, Brewers and Reds. It's going to be one hell of a season in the Central!

[pete]

WSCR has a baseball show every Saturday morning. Last week the reporter who is on said the Cubs had 55 million to spend if I recall correctly. I don't know how the contracts break down by year but so far 26 for Lester, 13 for Montero and 10 for Hamell - corrections welcome. The rumor about them wanting Gomes is probably nonsense, but it would be great if that were the finishing touch.

 

I think as a GM I would prefer Liriano for 3/39 and not just because of the contract.

[endaround]

We all remember that with Samardzija the Cubs were all set to win 95 games and then they traded him.

[JohnBriggs12]

Just wait till Bryant comes up around Memorial Day. He's capable of doing what Braun did in 07.

 

I live here in Chicago area, and all the talk has turned to baseball on both sides of town. Get ready for Cub fans taking over Miller Park again.

[Patrick425]

Slow down people. The cubs add a few players and a new manager and suddenly everyone thinks they are going to go from 73 wins and last place to 90 wins and competing for the pennant. Also, the Brewers roster now is basically the same as it was during the season and hopefully Braun will be healthier next year.....and they are going to go from 82 wins to what? 70 wins and last place? I think the division got even more competitive, but I'm not ready to say that the Brewers have no chance yet. They still have a solid core of players in Gomez, Braun, and Lucroy along with a decent starting rotation.

 

Come down off the ledge everyone. I understand that last year was painful, but it's over and it wasn't nearly as painful as say, the years between 1997 and 2004. Let's not bury the Brewers before the next season even starts. This is a Brewer Fan site..correct?

[TooLiveBrew]

Well, crap. This is definitely not good news.

[superfly]

Slow down people. The cubs add a few players and a new manager and suddenly everyone thinks they are going to go from 73 wins and last place to 90 wins and competing for the pennant. Also, the Brewers roster now is basically the same as it was during the season and hopefully Braun will be healthier next year.....and they are going to go from 82 wins to what? 70 wins and last place? I think the division got even more competitive, but I'm not ready to say that the Brewers have no chance yet. They still have a solid core of players in Gomez, Braun, and Lucroy along with a decent starting rotation.

 

Come down off the ledge everyone. I understand that last year was painful, but it's over and it wasn't nearly as painful as say, the years between 1997 and 2004. Let's not bury the Brewers before the next season even starts. This is a Brewer Fan site..correct?

 

 

The sky is falling, just like every offseason when the Vikings (and Miami, San Francisco, Tampa Bay etc) sign all of the free agents & Packer forum posters say its all over and we might as well off ourselves. I find it curious that everyone already credits all of these minor leaguers the Cubs have to be All-Star caliber players when most of them haven't even seen the bigs for a half season. Who's to say they all pan out? Sure the Cubs got better, but Pennant chasing year 1? Seems laughable to me...its the freaking Cubs. Something bad will happen like it always does.

 

Today if MA opened his wallet and signed a guy like Scherzer everybody would think its A-OK after the initial whining about too much money, or traded for a marginal 3B prospect in Cecchini. People just want NEW incoming names thats all.

[Boomer5]

This is a good signing for the Cubs, no doubt about it. Their prospects so far have been very underwhelming despite the hype. Bryant looks like the real deal though. The rest are strike out machines. Their stats are actually quite funny.

 

As one poster pointed out, this is the Cubs, so they will mess this up somehow, someway.

 

The Brewers were in the Reds class anyhow for last place. Maybe the prospects + Lester for the Cubs take them to contention, but that doesn't change that the Brewers are not going to compete with StL and Pitt as of now anyhow.

[JohnBriggs12]

This is a good signing for the Cubs, no doubt about it. Their prospects so far have been very underwhelming despite the hype. Bryant looks like the real deal though. The rest are strike out machines. Their stats are actually quite funny.

 

As one poster pointed out, this is the Cubs, so they will mess this up somehow, someway.

 

The Brewers were in the Reds class anyhow for last place. Maybe the prospects + Lester for the Cubs take them to contention, but that doesn't change that the Brewers are not going to compete with StL and Pitt as of now anyhow.

 

 

Soler isn't a strike out machine. He's the real deal. Rizzo, Bryant and Soler is one powerful middle of a lineup. You are also forgetting that Rizzo's just 25 and is coming off a breakout year and Castro is still just 24. They can probably live for now with vets like Sweeney and Coghlan in the OF and once Bryant takes over third, they can shift Valbuena to 2nd if Alcantara and Baez still struggle. I would suspect they still aren't done though.

[hawing]

The Cubs' offseason changes do seem poised to challenge the whole "cursed" theory.

[Boomer5]

This is a good signing for the Cubs, no doubt about it. Their prospects so far have been very underwhelming despite the hype. Bryant looks like the real deal though. The rest are strike out machines. Their stats are actually quite funny.

 

As one poster pointed out, this is the Cubs, so they will mess this up somehow, someway.

 

The Brewers were in the Reds class anyhow for last place. Maybe the prospects + Lester for the Cubs take them to contention, but that doesn't change that the Brewers are not going to compete with StL and Pitt as of now anyhow.

 

 

Soler isn't a strike out machine. He's the real deal. Rizzo, Bryant and Soler is one powerful middle of a lineup. You are also forgetting that Rizzo's just 25 and is coming off a breakout year and Castro is still just 24. They can probably live for now with vets like Sweeney and Coghlan in the OF and once Bryant takes over third, they can shift Valbuena to 2nd if Alcantara and Baez still struggle. I would suspect they still aren't done though.

 

You are right, Solar looks like a legitimate prospect.

 

As much as I found the Cubs mega hype to be more laughable than real, the reality is I like the Cubs plan a whole lot better than the Brewers right now. The Cubs have upside to see 100 wins by 2016 with another #1-2 type starter FA, the Brewers don't.

[pacopete4]

All we can do is hope this blows up in their faces. It probably won't, but we can hope.

 

 

Very similar to the Brewers, we just hope we get the best seasons from all of our players so that we can hopefully reach 90 wins and hopefully get a playoff spot. That's about all we can do as Brewers fans because our future is bleak the way we are operating right now.

[Boomer5]

For the Brewers to get to 90 wins, Nelson and Wily will need to form a powerhouse 1-2, Broxton/Smith will need to be elite, and the offense needs a miracle. I am not sure who on offense can turn this team to a somewhat slump proof line up????

[Matt Breen]

The Cubs are approaching things pretty much as they need, but I'm not ready to crown them contenders just yet. They have a lot of young hitters that simply will need time to adjust to the major leagues. While Bryant might come up to the bigs and rake, he could also struggle. Same with Baez and Solar and Russell.

 

I think the Cubs could be contenders in 2016. If they add another top flight starter next off season, such as David Price or Zach Greinke, give their young guys time to settle in, etc., they could be very good.

 

No question, they'll be a fun team to watch next year. I just don't think they'll be playoff contenders quite yet.

[brewcrewdue80]

The reason one assumes the Cubs go from 73wins to 90 is addition of Lester, Soler, Bryant, Montero. The Brewers improvements in that regard is Lind cancelling out Montero's improvement. Bryant's 3b skills alone is like adding Tulowitzki for Segura of 2014. I'm sorry I just believe Bryant is about to become a top 10 hitter in all of Baseball when given the chance better than Braun returning to form. Rizzo gets to bat ahead or behind that? A non-offensive OF will have Soler/Almora/Alcantara roaming it soon.

 

In an OPS mind it's like taking a Cubs team OPS of .700 and it moving to .825 and meanwhile Milw was at .775 last year and will be .780 in 2015. Thus the panic.

Plus Lester>than any of Milw's top pitching. Where does Milw begin to beat out the Cubs if they're behind the Batters and already 1/5th behind in SPs?

[FidoMcCokefiend]

Not saying the Cubs win this year, but they have arguably the best GM and manager in the game, they have unlimited money which will only increase over time.

 

Being in the same division as the Cards and now this Cubs team does not bode well for this franchise.

[SRB]

For a few years prior to his career year in 2014, Lester was basically... Kyle Lohse. I'm not too concerned about the Cubs dropping $155M on an overrated pitcher that is arguably not even a legit ace. It's not like they picked up Kershaw.

[jerichoholicninja]

The Cubs will be better than last year, that is almost a guarantee. How this will affect the Brewers is going to depend on how luck plays out next year: which team will be healthier, who's young players will improve, who's bullpen won't be a disaster? The Cardinals are still the class of the division with the Pirates a somewhat distant second. The Reds, Brewers, and Cubs will probably be bringing up the year. Of those 3, the Cubs are the team I see having the last chance of actually being in playoff contention come September.

[SRB]

Steamer projections for 2015

 

J. Lester: 192 IP, 3.28 ERA, 8.7 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, 3.6 fWAR

M. Fiers: 173 IP, 3.64 ERA, 8.8 K/9, 2.5 BB/9, 2.0 fWAR