The SMARTEST Team in Baseball

the Chicago Cubs have not had it easy since winning the World Series in 2016. they've been to the postseason three times since then lost in the Wild Card twice and lost in NLCS with a record of four and one in that series by the way so they haven't been the best team since then right going into 2021 the Cubs had their set core this score featured absolute Ballers and Anthony Rizzo Chris Bryan and Javier Baez this chorus would of course got them to the World Series win and these three really felt like they were locked together with the Cubs like they wouldn't be traded ever well in 2021 the Cubs simply weren't very good they also had expiring deals with a lot of their core and knew it would be in the best interest of a good future to get rid of these three we'll start with the bias trait which I think ultimately may even have the biggest impact on this organization the Cubs sent out Javier Baez and Trevor William Williams into the Mets organization and they got a very big Prospect in return as we know the Mets were at a point a very aggressive point that was where they would go ahead and just make the biggest trades you could imagine and the biggest free agency deals that you could imagine well in this trade they sent away Pete Crowe Armstrong yeah you know the top prospect now for the Cubs who actually just got promoted to AAA and in 2023 so far is batting 280 with 15 home runs and an 880 Ops the guy looks like the real deal and is a very very good shot to be on that Cubs 2024 opening day roster keep in mind the Mets traded him a year after they took him which was of course in the 2020 draft where he went round one pick 19. keep in mind the Cubs acquired him for Javier Baez who had an expiring contract anyway and was playing poor for the Cubs to begin with so I think that this is real Lee what began as a new era for Cubs baseball one of the other trades that they made in 2021 featured Chris Bryan he was dealt to the Giants but this may have been the most emotional trade of them all because these guys had actually been preparing for them to be potentially dealt for a little while but still this one really affected Brian because when he founded out that he was traded and he just really started breaking down right he was in The Dugout he just started crying and crying and crying and I mean unfortunately baseball is a business you know that was the business side of it so how has this trade actually panned out well honestly as of right now it hasn't met really much at all Caleb Killian one of the two prospects they got in this trade uh made his debut in 2023. he pitched three Innings giving up seven runs to the Marlins he was later set back down to AAA where he hasn't looked bad and he even actually got called back up yesterday to the big league so we'll see what he has in the in the tank I guess but he's looked pretty pretty solid in AAA the last trade before getting into the new era of Cubs baseball was Anthony Rizzo this trade hasn't really had a ton of meeting for the club so far but it could in the future they got outfielder Kevin ocontra and he right now has looked very very good at the high a level and I could see a promotion in a double A really any week now you know he's their number four Prospect as well right now so I have high hopes for the kid we'll see what he has to the table I guess in the future these are pretty much so all the notable trades that they've made and all the notable moves that they've ended up making what is now of course one of the top Farm systems in all the baseball some are ranking them top three some top five and of course obviously this is a top 10 farm system in baseball but let's get into some of the other moves that are currently impacting the Cubs in a super positive way in the 2021 offseason the Cubs went in knowing that they were going to be buyers they absolutely did not want to take the approach of let's do nothing in free agency and be in a massive rebuild and just wait for the farm system to be bundled up instead they went ahead and started by bringing in Catcher Jan Gomes and he of course was brought in on a two-year contract worth 13 million this even includes a third year option which I do believe that they will end up using so far in 2023 Jan has been great at 36 years old he has a 273 batting average and nine home runs he's just been one of the more productive catchers in all of baseball this season and even a key part of what they've done in 2023 which again you know we'll get into the results of 2023 very very soon but let's continue about the roster construction which involved Marcus strowman yeah the starting pitcher from the New York Mets they brought him in on a giant contract which was three years worth 71 million dollars he's now 32 years old and has been very very productive throughout the contract or I guess the time that he's been on this team I think overall he's always out there giving them quality starts and you know they even signed a few Bullpen arms as well but I don't think any of those are really that notable but the most notable move that they did make was say a Suzuki of course a Japan player an outfielder brought in on a five-year deal worth 85 million dollars and again there were other moves that were made but I believe that these are the most important and the most notable I guess moves that were made by this Cubs team in 2022 the Cubs went 74 and 88 and they didn't look ready to contend and I think that we knew going into the season that this roster likely wasn't going to be doing great things and they definitely didn't do great things so the next offseason it was yet again interesting from Chicago their one goal going into 2023 was was really let's go ahead and make a roster that can contend and one that will contend all year around and of course have a good future they said okay we have a hole at shortstop right now let's bring in Dansby Swanson on a massive seven year deal worth 177 million dollars this is of course the market for Short Stops right now in Major League Baseball the Cubs knew that they went ahead and brought and danced me and overall I think that this deal is panned out he struggled a little bit at first but I think finally has things under control again with a 264 average 17 homers and an 804 Ops I'd expect the 29 year old shortstop to continue his success for this year and carry it out onto next year and as great as this all sounds right this wasn't even the best move that they made the best move they made was outfielder Cody Bellinger who was brought in on a one-year contract worth 12.5 million dollars with a 25 million dollar option for 2024 they took a gamble on the former MVP who the previous two years really struggled with the Dodgers fast forward to now he's batting 326 with 16 homers and a 925 Ops the gamble turned into one of the best moves by the Cubs and a very long time and one of the best moves in Major League Baseball so he's only 28 years old I would look for an extension to come his way by the Chicago Cubs right now in 2023 the Cubs are second in their division at 58 and 54 and I think that they will end up winning that division the reds are one of the most overrated teams in baseball and if you want to hear more about that go watch yesterday's video but then you also have the Brewers of course who are kind of solid right they're solid and I like what they have but I think that the Cubs are better and have a much higher ceiling the Brewers are 60 and 53 so a team in the Cubs that are only one and a half games back are right on their tail the Cubs are 15-4 on their last 19 games and this team is just dominant and I think that they'll even continue this I mean this month it's just been absolutely special right it's gonna continue to be key for them as well as if you want to win that division there's a lot of factors that go into it they have a lot of divisional matchups this month and of course this is featuring the Brewers and the Pirates the Brewers the team that they are competing with and then the Pirates who have really looked not very good which of course that really turns into your must win games going into Pittsburgh [Music] they also have to win this series that just began against the Mets and win the White Sox series in a few weeks plus they play the Tigers and the Royals for quite a few games this month so if they can win the games that they need to which of course they've done over the last month they'll be in good shape and I think the best shape in the division even I mean right now that team is fun and you know as good as I've even made them sound out to be I don't even think that they're at their Peak I think Saya Suzuki has a lot of potential and I think if he could get it going this team will just be on a whole other level in that lineup and same goes for Jameson's high on you know I think he could be a solid arm in that rotation he just has to start to get it going and has to try to do it very very quickly this team is very very smart and you know I think that they knew when to sell they knew when to buy and of course they didn't want to buy again and you know they knew when to sell off the right players at the same time and then bring in cheap players who are going to be able to give you extreme quality like Cody Bellinger and then along with expensive players who have mostly panned out like Dansby Swanson I think that this team will likely win the division in 2023 and if not 2023 watch out for 2024 I mean really just watch out because I would expect this team to go off I hope you guys have enjoyed make sure to drop a like if you have not already and peace out

Channel: Purely Baseball

Views: 80,063

Keywords: cubs, chicago cubs, purely baseball, mlb cubs 2023, cubs 2023, chicago cubs 2023, cubs highlights, cubs highlights today, chicago cubs highlights, chicago cubs highlights today, chicago cubs highlights 2023, 2023 cubs hype, 2023 cubs, 2023 cubs highlights, cubs highlights 2023, cubs 2023 hype, cody bellinger cubs, cody bellinger highlights, marcus stroman highlights, cody bellinger 2023, 2023 cody bellinger, cubs cody bellinger, marcus stroman cubs 2023, marcus stroman mlb

Id: P26mxXKYphg

Length: 9min 44sec (584 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 08 2023