Should Mullins go back to leadoff in 2025 vs RHP?

[Sports Guy]

To me, you trade Mullins for a few reasons:

1) the need to get more right handed in the OF..problem here is finding a good defensive LFer or CFer who is a plus with the bat and right handed.

2) Don’t want to lose him for nothing….also, with the depth in the minors taking a shot, trading a vet for what you need may be the better way to do that (ie, the Hays trade)

3) You don’t trust his health for another full full season.

 

What I think is the most likely outcome is the Os sign a RH 4th OFer and Mullins stays.

[DrinkinWithFermi]

Just now, wildcard said:

Do get paid foolishly at times.   Not smartly.  

The Swanson contract was certainly foolish, but a league average hitter that plays very good to elite defense at a premium position is still quite valuable. $15 million for a single season of such a player would not necessarily be foolish, it's just a matter of whether or not Cedric could earn it in this hypothetical scenario that has been discussed.

I lean towards no, but I don't think it's a slam dunk either way.

[LookitsPuck]

53 minutes ago, Moose Milligan said:

Because SG has wanted to trade him for years.  

IMO, I think Mullins is here to start the season but whether or not he's here for a full season hinges on what Bradfield does in the minors.

I agree with this. I could see a similar situation as Austin Hays. Elias hasn't been bashful to trade veterans. Hays, Mancini, could see the same of Mullins at the deadline. And he'd be a valuable piece if they did trade him. 

[Moose Milligan]

47 minutes ago, DrinkinWithFermi said:

 

I don't think the Cubs take that gamble if he was an average (or even slightly above) defender at SS. The fact that his floor was an elite defender at a premium position with at least a league average-ish bat is probably what convinced them to take the plunge, which I feel is fairly analogous to the league-wide perception of Cedric.

I don't think the Cubs take that gamble if he weren't a former 1 overall.  

 

[DrinkinWithFermi]

Just now, Moose Milligan said:

I don't think the Cubs take that gamble if he weren't a former 1 overall.  

 

Also probably true.

Like I said, he was simply the first guy that came to mind when I Google searched my brain for "league average-ish hitter who plays excellent defense at a premium position and gets paid a lot" lol.

[wildcard]

I think they keep Cedric because they need him.   Cowser, Cedric and Kjerstad with some back up from some right-handed hitters.  Maybe Mateo and maybe some Westburg vs lefties.     

[Fiver6565]

31 minutes ago, LookitsPuck said:

I agree with this. I could see a similar situation as Austin Hays. Elias hasn't been bashful to trade veterans. Hays, Mancini, could see the same of Mullins at the deadline. And he'd be a valuable piece if they did trade him. 

I think trading a respected veteran mid-season at this point, is an iffy proposition.  There was some scuttlebutt even over the Hays thing - who knows how much of that was true, or how long any bad feelings lasted, if there ever were any.  But I don't think its going to become a regular thing, is my gut feeling on it.  Plus, Ced provides something that is harder to replace - very good CF defense, for a team that needs very good defensive coverage in both CF and LF.  I don't think EBJ is going to ready by the deadline to replace Ced, the way Cowser clearly was to replace Hays as the everyday LFer (in fact he basically already had).

A trade this offseason, I could see perhaps.  But midseason seems unlikely to me

[Gentile4]

No, I don't think Cedric should bat leadoff, but I'm not sure the current roster contains a viable option. I get the fact that we were 4th in runs scored using Hyde's lineups, and that's difficult to refute, but do we really want either Henderson or Westburg's power numbers in the leadoff spot?

[sportsfan8703]

6 hours ago, Sports Guy said:

The more pressing question is should Mullins be back with the team.

Mullins is more valuable to the 2025 team than what he would bring back in a trade.  IMO.  I hope he pulls a Santa and nets us a QO pick.  Then we get that QO pick plus his 2025 contribution to the team.  

I could see him being highly motivated, and going 20/40 next year.  

[wildcard]

20 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Mullins is more valuable to the 2025 team than what he would bring back in a trade.  IMO.  I hope he pulls a Santa and nets us a QO pick.  Then we get that QO pick plus his 2025 contribution to the team.  

I could see him being highly motivated, and going 20/40 next year.  

Really.   A QO.  I don't see that happening but who knows.

[DrinkinWithFermi]

19 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Mullins is more valuable to the 2025 team than what he would bring back in a trade

Yeah, I can't imagine teams going crazy bidding against each other to acquire one expensive year of a 2ish WAR platoon CF.

We got 1.5 expensive years of a then-struggling Dominguez and Cristian Pache (who was promptly DFA'd) for 1.5 years of Hays, so I don't really see Mullins bringing back enough to make trading him worth it.

[btdart20]

3 hours ago, DrinkinWithFermi said:

The Swanson contract was certainly foolish, but a league average hitter that plays very good to elite defense at a premium position is still quite valuable. $15 million for a single season of such a player would not necessarily be foolish, it's just a matter of whether or not Cedric could earn it in this hypothetical scenario that has been discussed.

I lean towards no, but I don't think it's a slam dunk either way.

Not to derail, but the verdict on Swanson's contract is TBD.  1st half was abysmal.  2nd half quite good with a .795 OPS.  But the defensive comp is fair.

Ced's history has a unicorn in it that skews expectations. 

[DrinkinWithFermi]

Just now, btdart20 said:

Not to derail, but the verdict on Swanson's contract is TBD.  1st half was abysmal.  2nd half quite good with a .795 OPS.  But the defensive comp is fair.

Ced's history has a unicorn in it that skews expectations. 

He had a sub-100 career OPS after 6+ years in the league (including a 99 OPS+ in his penultimate year of original team control) and only one full 162 game season as an above average hitter, which happened to be his contract year, and yet he was guaranteed 9 figures over 7 years.

I think it's entirely fair to call that a foolish move regardless of how it works out.