Do the Cubs NEED to add Zac Gallen to the rotation? | CHGO Cubs Podcast

Coming up next on everybody's favorite, the CHGO Cubs podcast presented by Toyota Cubs

Khan brings us a little trip down memory lane explanations about the outfield and maybe

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Hey Chicago, what do you say? It's the CHGO Cubs podcast on a Monday presented by Toyota

Let's go places. Come on in everybody. How is your weekend? You know what? I had a pretty

good weekend at Cubs Khan and we're going to talk all about it. Yeah, as we mentioned,

presented by Toyota, Joey Christoppel, Luke Stuckmar, Sean Anderson on the ones and twos.

Luke, how are you, my friend? How is your weekend? Well, let me tell you. I'm

disappointed in the finish of the Bears game. What a ride that was. And I do have a question

for you about it as we went through the emotions of that Bears game last night. It got me to

thinking it flashed me back just in a little bit to say a Suzuki hits a three run homer and

Andrew Vaughn hits a three run homer, right? Like the throw to commit. I don't know if I've ever

been as excited as that. I'd have to go back to 85 Bears to be that excited about a Bears play,

right? Like even my wife jumped across the room because she couldn't believe it. And it was the

only place she watched of the entire game, okay? But the letdown of the interception was like,

okay, it's over. They're going to lose now. It is over. And that's how I felt after the

interval. Maybe not comparable in size for excitement, but was the letdown similar for you?

So the thing that was great about that shot right is he's backing up and he's backing up and the

camera's panning and panning and panning. He unleashes it and then it pans and pans and pans.

Who's over there? Nobody's over there. Cole commits over there. He's alone. He catches the ball.

Touchdown. Like nothing really surprises me anymore when it comes to the Chicago Bears.

I will tell you though, um, I'm not over it yet. We're being shown we're going back and forth

about like I'm I'm I'm not mad at individuals. I'm not mad at the coach, the quarterback,

the wide receiver, whatever it is. I'm just mad at the missed opportunity. And I can't help but feel

like Luke, this has ear a little eerie parallels to another Cubs one. This feels like the 2015

Cubs to me. Like we we slayed the dragon of our rival. We took down the Cardinals. They beat

the Packers and then in the following round or game, when it talks to Cubs, Mets, you know,

those pictures shut down all the young stars in the young core. The same way that I think

Colson loved them did not have a good game. Roman Dunes, they did not have a good game.

Luther Burton did not have a good game. That's the parallel that I'm feeling right now, Sean.

Hold on. So I have hindsight. I have knowing what happens. Okay. You're all upset. I was like,

oh, it's a great season. You're like, I'm not ready to pat him on the back. You know what happens

the next year. If it's exactly what happens in 2015 in 2016, the Bears win the Super Bowl. That's

why I'm so there. They're going to beat the Browns in the Super Bowl next year and you're all

mad about it. Yeah, because Luke, this is my this is why I'm mad Luke is because I feel like a lot

and we should we're patting them on the back. It was a great season. I'm here in the word house money

a whole lot. But what that 2015 team did at that moment, I asked myself, can this young core get

back there? Are they going to come back? And then that 2016 team came back with a vengeance. I want

the 2027 or 2026, 2027 Chicago Bears to come back with a vengeance. That's what I want from

the young core. That needs to be solved. That's out for them to achieve. But that's why that's how

I'm feeling about it right now. And the only difference, the real difference here between 2015

and this Bears team is injuries are so much more a part of the NFL and the Bears were relatively

healthy this season. And you only have that window of that rookie quarterback deal to really have

your best chance of getting it done. But that said, Joey, they have a quarterback. They have a coach.

They have some other players. And for the first time in decades, I see a path. I see the light.

I see a chance. And that is what I saw in 2015 was like, wait a minute. They have arrived. So maybe

there's a chance. I saw half was at the game. By the way, sitting in the cold with time and

Nico and they were out in the elements. Now I saw PCA was in the elements before the game,

but maybe he watched it from a suite. I don't know. I don't know where he watched it, but it was

cool to see Cubs people embracing that as well. And maybe guys like Braggman and some other guys

just getting a taste of man. We can make this city electric. What will the Bears record be when

the Cubs win the World Series in 26? You know, that was the first question that popped in my mind.

Well, what, what will the Bears record be when the Cubs win their World Series for the second time?

There'll be six and one by then, seven and one by them. I think that's right around there.

And that was the thing too, right? Is that this was a really fun weekend in Chicago sports. And

I were fresh off of Cubs convention, which I was able to attend Friday and Saturday in Luke

and like, we were talking Cubs and the passion was high. And the optimism is overflowing right now,

especially at that Cubs convention, but that should be expected. But when the cameras were off,

that's all the players wanted to talk about was the Bears. What was happening to this city

when the Bears are successful, when the Bears are deep in the playoffs. And I get it, this will

always be a Bears town. But it was not lost on these Cubs players that, you know, when they have

hopefully their success in 2026, they can capture the city the exact same way. And they were a part

of it and having fun with it. And then hopefully they're going to be the ones out there performing and

producing, creating that excitement this summer. And that was not lost on those players all weekend.

Or Jed Hoyer, who wore a Bears jersey, Brian Horge, Hoyer jersey on Saturday.

Yeah, he obviously got that on the discount. But, you know, I was at that was it 2010 was the NFC

championship, right? Against the Packers. I was at those two playoff games reporting. And I don't

remember that kind of showing from Cubs players and Cubs front office like they're still going on

at the same time. I don't remember that the baseball team was embracing the football team like that.

There might have been some players there, but I don't remember it being like this. And it's,

I don't know. Maybe that's corny, but it just seemed kind of cool to see that two franchises

supporting each other. Right. Like it's not it's not a box score thing, but it's the middle of

January. So like create a little space for us for a second here. But there is definitely a large

portion of Cubs players on this current roster that care about the city. And they care about

being Chicago Cubs and they care about doing it together. Now, is that going to have them win

100 games? No. But during a long season, Luke, sometimes those intangibles will help you get through

whether it is a rut at the plate or maybe you've lost five or six in a row. You've got players

on this team that maybe are taking on new roles or guys that are coming in like in Alex Pregman,

they're trying to not just assimilate, but become one of the leaders and pillars of the team moving

forward. And the fact that they're all kind of pulling on the same rope and pulling on the same

rope for Chicago. It doesn't mean nothing. It might be a little something, but it doesn't mean

nothing. No, agreed. I enjoy the fact that fans in this city give so much to the players. Right.

And this is a chance for the players to sort of embrace the city back. And wasn't it maybe just

a little bit ironic that the last big play of the bear season ended with Cole Komet swinging

a bat. So I say to you, so long to a great bear season, it is officially Cubs season. This is it.

Baseball's back. Here we are. We're the next chance you got at winning a championship.

Next chance, best chance, baby. Well, it is. And hopefully now nine minutes in, we can get to

Cubs talk because the chat's ready to riot. Godfather specifically bears. This ain't no stinking

bears channel. Wow. So Godfather's so excited about the Chicago Cubs and the moves that they're

making. That's all he wants is Cubs chat. He's so happy. Well, let's get to it. Like Luke, I want to

I want to get your opinion on two things. The first one is clearly like this off season

has fulfilled a lot of dreams in the dream bucket for Cubs fans. And we wanted a big bat. We got

it. They we wanted a starting picture. We have it. Um, show to him and August returning. If

you're a big fan of that, that's great. But now you've been conditioned as a Cubs fan to think

they must be done. This is it. They they they they they fulfilled our wishes. What more could we

ask for? Let's not get greedy here as Cubs fans. But there's news and there's information that

continues to lead Cubs fans to believe that the Cubs might not be done that they need more. And

you heard it from the mouths of the manager this weekend at Cubs convention. You heard it from

the general manager. And now you see this report from Bruce Levine and 670 the score today saying

that maybe the Cubs aren't out of the Zach Galen sweepstakes or bidding if you will. What is your

take on Zach Galen possibly being added to this rotation? Um, that we've gone over that rides

already 670 deep. I love it. Like I know I wasn't first of all, I've never been against Zach Galen

because he's had some great years in his career. And I think he can he can still bring it and

potentially if they can unlock that. But I didn't want him as their main move of the offseason,

right? Well, he's not. And now if you look at let's say if they can add Zach Galen just to take it

sorry, Godfather, but just to take this back to the Bears for a second. Uh oh. We all looked at

that team going into the season and thought, wow, this could be different. Now I don't know if we

thought it was one play away from the NFC championship. But we looked at it and said, what was

the one thing that was still missing? Pretty obvious past Russia. We all thought, man, what if they

could still go get the guy from the bangles or what if they could go get Micah Parsons before he

went to the Packers and he thought, well, maybe it's a little bit early for that. Well, the same

might be true for the 2026 Chicago Cubs. But I still look at it and say, what are they missing?

Man, I could use another arm of depth because there's still a lot of question marks about the

pitching staff and the health of some of the guys, right? Whether it's steel, whether it's

void, having not pitched that many, whether it's Kate Horton finishing his season with injury.

And I look at it and I say to myself, wow, what if they could have Horton,

void, steel before it's all over said and done. Tyrone, Shoda, that's five, right? Then you look at

co, who else am I missing? Colin Ray is six. I'm obvious aside, Ben Brown, Jackson Wiggins.

Now we're into that mix and now you're looking like you're pushing towards like what I was dreamy

now. Like eight potential quality starters you can look at and say, listen, I know we're going

to break down. I know guys are going to have injuries. But never at any point in this season,

we're going to be, we can't get it done because we have depth. We have super depth. And when we

get to the trade deadline, hopefully we're so good. We realize, all right, let's pick a couple

and trade them for those prospects that we're now seeking back. Go ahead and do it. This is the

time Cubs. Don't, don't stop here. If you're going to push past the taxes Carter Hawkins says

is no longer a problem, go ahead and do it. Why not? Use it as a bonus. Yeah, let's, let's roll

into a quick break here on see if there's a good conversation going throughout this one comment

because we did ask Godfather, you know, what do you have to complain about? First convention

in a long time, I had nothing to complain about. Yeah. So we, we should frame that. This is like

a historic moment from Godfather. I'm just waiting for the day he changes his profile logo to

Tom Ricketts. Then we'll know he's truly changed. I might get a tattoo that on my bicep.

invention. No complaints. I'm with Tom in no complaints. All right, let's roll into a quick break

here because on the other side of the break, and I want the chat to get involved. If Zach

Galen were to come to Chicago, how much money are you willing to give him? Are you giving him

multiple years? Is it a one year deal? What would the offer be in the table that you would slide

across to Zach Galen? That would, you think would be palatable for him to sign with the Cubs? And

would you want him on the team in general? I see some people in the chat saying, oh, there's no

room. There's no way. There's no way you can always, it's a good problem to have people to have

good starting pitching. You can honestly never have enough. But let's take a break here on the

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covered. Don't get left out in the cold. Please come back here on the C.H. Joe Cubs podcast

presented by Toyota. Let's go places. Joey Kostopoulos Luke stuck minor Sean Anderson on the ones and

twos. We asked him before the break. And I'll bring it to you, Luke, that look, Zach Galen, I believe

sign an arbitration deal for about $10 million a one year deal last year, 13. Thank you very much,

$13 million last year. Now on the open market clearly is not gotten the money that he wanted. They

did extend him the qualifying offers that would cost the Chicago Cubs draft compensation and some

international spending money. But again, they're getting some of that back because Kyle Tucker is now

Los Angeles Dodgers. So what would that look like to you? Like if you are the Cubs and you're going

to Zach Galen, Luke, what is that? It feels like it have to be a one year proof of a deal.

Yeah. And would it be $15 million? Would it be $20 million? Where do you think that number would

start? Was that Galen? I would think at least $15 million, but I sort of think of it as

Belinger the first time around for the Cubs, right? Like that worked out. I don't have a problem

with that. Like somebody who's had really good success in his career and you could say,

listen, you got one year, you rebuild it with us. I don't know that I would go

beyond that, even an option maybe for a second year. I don't know that I would really go there, but

I guess if it lowered the price of the first year, I would consider a second year with an option.

But think of the depth you're talking about in that pitching rotation. Like I don't even know where

Galen fits in. So like the flip side of I'm saying, yes, yes, yes, the flip side of it is,

well, are you going to spend $15 million on a guy that you're not sure is in your top five?

I mean, that's realistic, but I'm just saying, yes, have you looked at the way pitching works

anymore? Yes, I'm willing to do it. I hope Tom and Jed are.

And it's fascinating that they're talking. Now, at Cubs Convention, the first question,

I believe that was asked to crack counsel with something along the lines of like, are the Cubs

done or did you know, they've added all this depth. And Craig was emphatic that no, we need more

depth. He wasn't talking specifically pitching or maybe on the position player side, but he seemed

to be saying all quadrants, we need to continue to fortify and insulate and create more options.

He even also named check. He's like, there's a couple of names out there that'll be pitching for us

that no one's even talking about right now. So I found that to be rather fascinating, but he wouldn't

go into further detail when it comes to that gallon, right? Yeah, maybe when it comes to that

gallon, 15 million feels about right, but it would have to be probably incentive laden to me,

like let's just say 15 base. And if you hit certain markers, we can get you up to 18 to 20

a year, which is probably the going rate for frankly, a guy who did not have a great year last year,

but he's had some quality years at the big league level for the last four or five years. He probably

isn't 18 to 20 million dollar pitcher. My only question then that remains is as you said, like

who's the odd man out? And does this also maybe speak to the, I keep going back to the return

for the Edward Cabrera deal? And I know all in case he was the headliner, but the pieces that came

after that just made me think like our, our, the Cubs cautiously optimistic the Edward Cabrera is

going to stay healthy, remain healthy and pitch a full freight of hopefully 25 to 30 starts this

year. Or are they saying this can maybe be more of a long term play also that we love the upside

of this player. And maybe his medicals aren't great right now, because as you've mentioned,

we've talked about on the show, he finished the year with a slight UCLA tear in his elbow, but

it was still pitching. Maybe they're just trying to fortify and think bigger pitcher will also

helping themselves right now. When you look at the project and starting rotation for the Chicago

Cubs, Kate Horton, Edward Cabrera showed him a Naga, Matthew Boyd, James and Tyone, possibly to

return Justin Steel, Javier Assad, Colin Rae, Penn Brown, Wiggins, Jordan Wicks, and then maybe

adding Zach Galen to the mix. Matthew Boyd was an all star last year. Showed him a Naga was an

all star of the year before. James and Tyone is a starter. He's not coming out of the bullpen.

You just traded for Edward Cabrera and, and Kate Horton's your prize prospect. So I'm all for

competition. I'm also asking like, you know, who's out? Who's in who's out, right? And maybe that's

a fascinating thing that they're trying to build there with that rotation for the 2026 Cubs.

Well, maybe if you started the season with a six man rotation that included Zach Galen,

and likely we'll have early season injuries. So that just might take it back to five guys anyway.

And then your Ben Browns and your Assad slide into the bullpen automatically. And Wiggins stays

in Iowa a little bit longer until he's needed and necessary. And we don't really know

when Steel's back, although he said he threw off the mound right before Cubs come,

which is unbelievable news. But let's not rush him along and let's say that that's a couple months.

Will you get a couple months again? And now again, you're able to think about

surplus and the possibility of, are we healthy enough to trade somebody? Is Wiggins pitching

enough in triple A? Did nobody get hurt? Does it look like a bearers good? You can answer some of

those questions and then have that flexibility later in the season. If you assign Zach Galen,

he's not, he's part of the rotation. It almost automatically tells you six man rotation unless

you have somebody hurt in the spring, which come on. Like when's the last time the Cubs in the

first month of the season didn't have an injured starting pitcher. Every year, it's every year,

right? Whether it's steel to start the game, whether it was start the season in game one or whether

it's been, you know, somebody injured in spring training. Every year somebody's been got a

Javier Assad's oblique just and steel goes down. He's had the hamstring, Annie had the,

Annie had the arm stuff. Showed him an aga wasn't exactly the start of the year, but it's pretty

dang close. Yeah, this happens fairly regularly. And it's a change, it's a change in the game, Joey.

And I, the Cubs have recognized it. Now, whether or not they're going to put their money where their

mouth is on it, they have in other spots this off season, but it's a change in the game. Arms

just go down so much easier than they ever have because guys are throwing harder and crazier

than they ever have. And we're starting to see the inning shrink. And I think we're going to start

to see the collection of arms get even bigger and bigger. And you'll have, you're going to have less,

I think you're going to have less utility players before it's all over because you're going to have

to keep stockpiling arms. You're going to have to everybody's learning that. And the Cubs are in a

financial position to make that stock pile of arms quality, not just quantity. And I think that's

a big deal, especially if you're able to move one or two of them later in the season because

then you can pick who you really want to move if everybody's healthy. Right. And, you know, I,

I know he's a team first guy to as well. And a guy who's going to be pitching for the World

Baseball Classic, you know, Matthew Boyd seems like an obvious fit as a guy that turns into a swingman.

He made an all-star team last year. It's kind of hard to tell a guy, especially in a contract

year, that hey, we're asking you to take on what would be considered a reduced role. And being maybe

more of a piggyback starter to as well on certain days and giving you multiple innings and turning

into a threat out of the bullpen. So maybe that's a situation. Another rumor that was out there,

or at least a reported rumored of interest for the Chicago Cubs, apparently talking about Miguel

Andohar, um, the guy that that provided a lot of great power a couple of years ago is definitely

falling off the map. Um, I think he's an offensive first player. Uh, but, but here's the news is whether

it's Andohar or whether it's Galen or whatever it is, Luke, is that it is clear, especially coming

off of this Cubs convention, that the Cubs are not done. Um, they are looking to add on to this team.

And for everyone in the chat, and I appreciate you coming up and with your comments and stuff about

where's so and so going to play and how is this all going to work out? Well, these guys are going to

have to go out there and earn their spot. And no one is more under that spotlight of earning the

spot that Matt Shaw. Um, I want to get, I want to get into this conversation because I think that was

the big piece of news, Luke on Friday at Cubs convention was not just like, oh my god, we sent, we

signed Alex Breggman. Does this mean we trade Nico Horner? Don't trade Nico Horner? Just say no.

Does this mean we trade Matt Shaw? The big talk on Friday was immediately,

Jed Hoyer and Craig Council coming out and saying, yes, Matt Shaw is going to have to learn and

take some reps in the outfield. If he wants to find his way into this lineup, he's going to have

to get versatile. And then they double down on it. Then Ian Hap talked about it and how convenient

Luke that the 2016 reunion was this weekend because Craig had no problem, name checking some

2016 players of this guy did it. This guy did it. That guy did it. And then Matt Shaw himself said,

yes, they've told me I'm going to have to learn to play some outfield. So like this is confirmed,

Luke, that he's going to have to learn how to play multiple positions, maybe three or four

positions this year to be able to fit into this lineup because that's what the Cubs are trying to do.

Built so much depth that you have to earn your way into the lineup.

I think Matt Shaw should spend a lot of time with Ben Zobrist this winter. And when they get

to spring training, the Cubs need Ben Zobrist there to literally be the shadow for Matt Shaw.

Every time he's got a question, hey, Ben, Hey, Ben, Hey, Ben, Hey, Ben, Hey, Ben, Hey,

Zo, Hey, Zo, just keep picking his brain about how you're able to do this, right? And it really

is sort of crazy because the best thing that Shaw did last season was play defense. I think we

were all shocked by how good he was at third base. And he's coming into this. And it's just the way

it is. And this takes me back to Nico had that great season defensively as a shortstop.

When we were all questioning, is Nico a shortstop? Can Nico play shortstop? And then they went

out inside Dan's B and Nico's like, all right, I'll go over to second. This is the same thing.

Like we all question whether or not Shaw could do it defensively. He more than did it. And now

Braggman's here and it's like, well, you're going to have to be a team player. Go learn these

other positions. Give us that versatility because you might need that outfield versatility.

And that's how you're going to get your bats. If you want your bats, learn to play outfield

this spring. Start working on it now in private workouts. And so he's got plenty of time.

Yeah, plenty of time. I mean, you can go from third base to outfield.

Ian Haps said as much this weekend that he was the second baseman through the minor league system.

And they had no spot for him. So he started learning how to play in the outfield first in

right field and then moved over to left. And who did he talk to to learn Ben Zobrist? That is

exactly what he said in front of a microphone this weekend. Before we go to break, let's tease it.

Let's play the Craig Council sound that we have from Cubs Convention talking about match shot

playing the outfield and also name checking a very famous 2016 player who also had to learn how to

play other positions to create that versatility on that amazing team. Let's hear from Craig

at the Cubs Convention. I have a lot of confidence that he's a I think his transition to third

year right showed that he can do it now. This is this is the outfield. I think moving an

infielder from the out to the outfield is a little easier than the other way around.

I think match shown that he's a very good athlete. And I think Jed made the case and

it made the point in Alex's press conference of Chris Bryant did this. Hobby by is did this.

And so it's it's we're not making something up out of thin air here you know this is something

that some talented players have been able to do and I certainly think certainly have a lot of

confidence in that can do. When you hear that Luke what's your reaction? Yes that's absolutely

what they should do this year. I wouldn't I wouldn't trade shot right now. Get this versatility and

then you go into next off season when it happens and you say wow look at the versatile player we

have now. If you want to trade for match on we want to keep Nico Horner we can or vice versa or

whatever you want to do. I love it. I love it and I do think Shaw can do it. And he's got all the

people around him that can help him. Braggman can help him. Hap can help him. Zobrus can help him

right. He's got plenty of people to lean on go do it. We got plenty more here on the C H show Cubs

podcast. Let's take a quick break on the other side of the break. We got match saw sound

talking about playing the outfield himself. We're going to get to some of your comments and

questions here. But first let's hear from some of our wonderful partners on the C H show Cubs

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How it started? How it finished? We are back on the CHGO Cubs podcast coming off of Cubs Convention

and some big news. We're talking about Matt Shaw going to the outfield. How the Cubs brought it

up. Joey got some great sound there at Cubs Convention. And it got me to think as we were going

to break how it started? How it finished? Sometimes in the off season. Once football is done,

we get a little we get a little scurry in the head, right? We start thinking about what? What if?

What if this guy does this? And we go a little bit out over our skis, right? I remember being

awfully excited about Gage Tater Workman. Now, he had a terrific spring training and we thought,

wow, they have found lightning in a bottle. Same thing with Patrick Wisdom, say go all the way

back in Cubs. You could go over and over at times that it's happened. But Gage Tater Workman was our

backup at third base. And we thought, what if Gage Tater Workman does this? What if Gage Tater Workman

does that? I like Matt Shaw as my backup guy and utility depth a lot more than I like Nick

Madrigal, Gage Tater Workman, all these other guys. I believe Shaw is an everyday player,

but that shows how the depth of this team has quickly grown. That shows how the Cubs have taken

this next step to, okay, this guy was on another team and maybe we catch lightning in a bottle. He's

got a cool nickname. I'd print the shirts to know we've seen this guy do it and we know he can do

it. And now he's depth. So this was Joey, you got some Matt Shaw sound, is that correct?

Yeah, so and what you're talking about right now is it's been a while since the Cubs have had a

super sub. And when sometimes when you try and adjust the lineup or you try and mix things up or

you try and give someone a blow or maybe something that's a little less than 100%. You don't want

to skip a beat, right? And forgive me, but like the days of Vidal Bruhahn, the Cubs seem to be

kind of moving beyond that, right? So I understand a lot of people in the chat right now talking about

like, well, Matt Shaw is heading to Boston or whatever. Frankly, you know, we'll see what happens,

and I'm not here to declare one thing or the other, but that's not the vibe that I got.

The vibe that I got is how are we going to help Matt Shaw and Matt Shaw is going to have to

figure out what he needs to do to learn the position. Let's hear from Matt Shaw himself talking

at the Cubs convention about making his transition to the outfield and what it's going to be like for him.

I look forward to outfield. I think in field in general just takes a lot more reps than going

out to the outfield. I played outfield like growing up a lot. So I look forward to run around out

there. Outfield is definitely fun. And they have bad stuff. I think there's that

bats there, you know, and obviously it's up to me as it's up to all the guys to to earn their

spots and to play well. So no different than if I was, you know, playing third or playing second

or playing whatever, you know, I still have to earn those at bats. So, you know, something I really

look forward to this year. So that's an acknowledgement right there that that's what's coming for

Matt Shaw. And it wasn't just Matt Shaw either. And this is another reason why I think he's going to

be in the fold in 2026. Ian Hap talked about, yeah, he's going to get with me and spring training.

And I'm going to teach him the way that Ben Zobras tried to teach me. And then it was also,

I believe PCA was like, I have full confidence that Matt, he's going to be great out there. I'm

excited to run around with him in the outfield. And then the other part about it, Luke, was the other

thing that I kind of took away was when you, when you hear from Breggman, you hear from Danzby,

you hear from Nico, you hear from Ian Hap. A lot of their mantra. And look, I've been one that's

critical of this because I think these guys need to day off from time to time. There's four or five

guys in PCA. There's four or five guys in this lineup that pride themselves on playing every single day.

They don't want to miss a single at bat or inning. Anthony Rizzo said it over the weekend that

as a player missing just one game or taking one day off could be the one day that you don't hit

five grand slams in a game. He said it. That's out of his words because he said anything's possible.

So if you're able to go out there and you're able to play, that's what you're going to do. So

if you got five guys on that roster that obviously helped provide it or going to want to play 150

plus games, yeah, Matt Shaw is going to have to learn how to kind of fit in between the cracks a

little bit. And just by that sound right there, you know, he doesn't seem to, he doesn't seem

too worried about it. But yeah, it's going to be an adjustment for him. Yeah, I love that the

Cubs have a bunch of players that don't want to sit. But Tony Rizzo, let me point out also that

that one day you sit down could also be the day that you went home for five. Sure. You know,

and then hurt yourself because your body was tired. So you also have to do what's right for

the team. And I want some of the Cubs grinders to just accept that, but not like it. Okay,

it's okay. And that's going to have how counsel is going to have to sell it to some of these guys.

I know what's best for this team. You have to listen to me. I don't want you to like it,

but you have to take what I tell you. And when I put out the lineup, that's going to be

the lineup. And if you are sitting one day, I want you to use that to do the right things to

get your body ready for the next day. And also stay ready. Kasia need you in the middle of the game,

right? Like it's okay. It's it's not nothing is longer than a baseball season. It goes on forever,

right? And hopefully you're in the postseason and it goes on forever and ever. And that's the way

we want it to feel. But I do like the depth that the Cubs have built. I like the personalities and

the drive from the players, but I also want them to be accepting of whatever is best for the team.

Yeah, this is a great comment here on the screen from Mr. Mohawk. Timmy, let's do a Toyota

Super Chat with it. Honestly, what's that? Toyota Super Chat? Yeah, baby. Can you scroll back up

a little bit so I can get a big deal out of it? Whoa. So yeah, scroll back up. Shaw is a

super sub makes 2026 Cubs a better team gives the team more depth. And they and if they don't

reassign Nico, which they should, I agree, can slide over, can Shaw, can slide Shaw over to second

next year. And also, let's see up the other Toyota Super Chat from Corey to as well in our favorites

because Luke, it's day seven of our campaign of do not trade Nico Harner. And how are we doing?

Let's check in, shall we? Matt Shaw is learning how to play the outfield, right? Like Carter Hawkins

is going around telling people that luxury tax won't be an issue. And oh, yeah, we're testing

and reading the tea leaves on Zach Galan. And then Corey Sequest here for Toyota Super Chat says,

my best friend, sister's boyfriend, brother's girlfriend heard from this exec who knows this scout

who's going with the team who saw Nico pass out a 31 flavors last night. I guess it's serious.

Well, it's serious that he should be staying on the Chicago Cubs day seven of the campaign.

It's still going well, Luke, yeah, that we now have a confirm that Matt Shaw is going to learn to

play a little bit of outfield. The Cubs are saying depth, depth, depth, depth. And it looks like

that also means, oh, yeah, let's keep the player with the highest war on the team last year in Nico Harner.

I think Nico is probably trying to numb the thought that he could even be traded, right?

He went to the Bears game. He froze his butt off outside. And then apparently he went

and he got ice cream afterwards. That's a man that's trying to numb his head saying,

why would you even take the phone call? Actually, I believe he did talk at Cubs Convention and was

like, I understand it. It's the last year of a contract. There's that's the way it works in

baseball. Like Nico's Nico knows it's a business, but it doesn't shouldn't change his approach to

the offseason. And I'm confident it won't, right? And I heard other players saying all the right

things too. Good thing we got Nico Harner, man. Look at the defense. We've got going on. And

now Braggman just brings that even more so. And I heard Rizzo talking about how Braggman was going

to help out everything on the team because he knows how to go through it. And he knows how to win.

And he'll be great depth. And I did enjoy Rizzo, by the way, talking about credit to the first

basement for always plucking the ball over at first base, giving himself a little pad on the back.

You know, right? But, but I do think he's right. What a difference we've had now in just one

signing with Braggman, the way we're talking about the depth of this team. It's just one guy.

And I know you subtracted Tucker, but it's still a way deeper team this year, I think, because of where

they made the big addition. Right. And that was the thing is I was I was asking Rizzo, I was like

the 2016 infield that turned into the 2017 infield that all started the all-star game.

Yep. He was a part of something really special. And I was asking him now that Braggman's in the

fold, you know, and you look around, you see Braggman, Danzby, Nico, and Michael Bush there.

It's not about comparison, but it's also about saying the Cubs could be on to something pretty

special defensively and also offensively when it comes to their infield. And let's talk a little

bit more Braggman because we got an opportunity to talk to PCA. And we got some sound of PCA just

talking about a conversation that he's already had with Braggman over this weekend. And you can

already tell the impact that Braggman is having on this team. So let's hear PCA talk about his

first conversation ever with Alex Braggman. Our personalities might mix really well.

But we talked for 20-30 minutes. The first day he came to the facility and I had finished my work

and we sat in my locker just talking about our plan for me this year. I thought that I was the

coolest in the world. He's already instilled some confidence in me that I need to hear some of them.

So I'm just glad I got another person in my corner because it's only ever been that year.

No, he's just, I think he's in when it comes to like the hitting side of baseball and I love that. So

it's gonna be great. You can't deny that we don't know what's going to happen on the field,

but the impact Alex Braggman is already having on the 20-26 Cubs. It's pretty measurable, Luke.

Yeah, and it's all behind the scenes right now. But and this is not I'm not knocking the other guy.

Fans were excited about Kyle Tucker, but you didn't hear these sound bites about Kyle Tucker a

year ago. You just didn't. The Cubs believe in sort of the makeup and that again, I'm not knocking

Tucker. He's just a different guy than Braggman. There's just a different reputation and I mean that

on the positive side of Braggman, like he's known around baseball as PCA put it a nut. I mean, would

he show up and he calls the front office or was it counsel or did he ask the GM and was like,

I need to report on every guy on the team what they're working on off this offseason and how I can

help them. So I know when I talk to them like, this is what we're going to work on together because

we're teammates. Give me more of that. Like, yes, that that is a leader before they've even played

a game. We talk about what's a leader and you can say in baseball, well, that's, you know,

football it's easy. It's got to be the quarterback. That's a leader showing you before games.

This guy hasn't even worked out with these guys yet. And he's already showing leadership in a quiet

way, but a respected way because he's been there and done that. And if he's approaching these

players in a receptive way PCA, then the Cubs are only getting better this off season. And I don't

know what that's worth, but I'll tell you one thing. It's not a negative. It's not a negative.

It's definitely positive. I will find out what it means. But PCA is in a huge season. And he

doesn't play the same position as Alex Braggman, but he's pumped. He's pumped about learning from

this guy. He's pumped about a 30 minute conversation when they just met. They haven't even been on

the same field yet together. So I think maybe there's more to the Braggman signing

than what I even originally thought. And I hope that's true.

Yeah. And it's going to be hard to, and again, middle of January, so we can kind of do this now.

It's going to be hard to sort of figure out how that exactly extrapolates itself into the one

win loss record. But we're going to find out and we're going to go through that. And that's what's

going to be fun. The part that a lot of players talked already that like a lot of Justin Turner vibes,

Alex Braggman, which is, which is great, just from the leadership quality. But a Justin Turner

was the player of old on the Cubs last year. They would have been a lot better off for, and my other

one just before we go to the break really quick was I was thinking about it too. He's like, yeah,

maybe Alex Braggman isn't going to hit 30 home runs. Like maybe the guy who was on the team last

year, who we'll talk about on the other side of the break or drive in 90 or 100 runs. Maybe he

only hits 25 and drives in 80. But I'm starting to believe like maybe there's a timing to it a little

bit. And sometimes that leadership is driving in those two runs when the game is tied, right? Those

two runs maybe count a little bit more than some of the other runs that you might drive in at other

times. Or if you're down by a couple of runs, you get a base hit to get things rolling. So there can

be a timing aspect to how your production fits into that leadership that can also be something that

maybe Braggman brings to the table that could be a little bit different and something that's going to

be a boon to the Chicago Cubs. We got one more break on the other side of the break, finish up this

Braggman conversation. And also, yeah, that's right. Kyle Tucker to the Dodgers. We'll get into it.

Stick around as the CHO Cubs podcast presented by Toyota. Let's go places. But let's hear from some of

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Rounding third and heading home here on the CHO Cubs podcast on a Monday presented by Toyota.

Let's go places, Joker Stopolis, Luke Stuckbar. He'll be back in studio tomorrow with Justin Roman,

Sean Anderson on the ones and twos. Let's, you want to bring it home saying goodbye to an old friend?

Kyle Tucker. Kyle Tucker. Four years, $240 million, deferrals up the wazoo, a $57 million a year deal

with opt-outs after year two and year three. I want to get your first take reaction and then I

want to ask you, would you rather question on this? I know a lot of people are saying they lost

respect. He's a, he's a money chaser. How could you? You don't, you don't care about being great.

You just want to jump on a bandwagon. I'm saying that year, Luke. And you know what, Joey,

I can't say any of those things. I know. I know. Because I would do the same thing. Like, who wouldn't

take that contract? Who wouldn't be like, yeah, I'm going to, I'm going to go to the team that plays

in 80 degrees in sunny. And I'm going to go to the team with the most money and this ridiculous

amount, it's an all-star team. And I'm going to go win the World Series and I'll take 57 million

a year. Do I hate the guy for it? No. I hope it doesn't work out for him. Yeah. You know, actually,

I hope it doesn't work out for the Dodgers, but I can't blame the guy for taking 57 million

and joining the best team. Like, whatever. Let's, I mean, let's be fair here. If I had my choice

between the New York Mets and the Los Angeles Dodgers, guess what I'm doing? I'm signing with the

Dodgers, right? So like, if those are the two teams on the table, I understand that I, in hindsight,

now you can kind of feel or at least see or rationalize a little bit like maybe why the Cubs

were reticent to make a $304 million commitment to this guy because whether we like it or not,

like that, that amount of money isn't just you hitting the baseball hard every day. There's other

stuff that you have to do as a steward and representation of an organization and a franchise.

And frankly, because it is an entertainment business, there are things that are asked of you

that maybe they were just a little hesitant about whether Kyle Tucker would be open and wanting to

do that, right? He gets to go to LA, he gets to hit sixth. You know what I mean? He gets to kind of

just sort of hide and hunt fastballs. They got a great little, they got a great little opening

there in the right field where he can kind of like pull some balls and pick up a couple extra

home runs. It's great news for him. And yeah, Luke, we were doing shows where we were like,

how Kyle Tucker going to handle getting booed at Wrigley? August one Dodgers at Wrigley Field

me thinks Kyle Tucker is going to get booed. But my question for you is Sean, go ahead.

Just real quick, Brendan Miller is apparently off or at least free enough to make a comment saying

PCA always mentioning Nico, Dan's B and now Breggman as mentors didn't hear one thing about Tuck.

Did not. Oh, the pitch doctor firing shots. Fire and gas.

The little shit music for the pitch doctor. Get off my plate like the burn doctor.

Good to see you, Brendan. Man, great. Cubs related shows. Actually, my first time I got a chance

to verbally talk to him before when I produced their show last week. I am a huge fan of Cubs

related on Thursdays. Please, everyone go check it out. Yeah, look, I mean, I'm not going to do it

here. But people were talking about it at Cubs convention. Kyle Tucker is not a bad person.

But not to get into specifics, maybe he isn't exactly the type of leader or fit as you've

used the word fit, Luke. And I think it's very apt that Alex Breggman is for this team in this

moment right now. And oh, yeah, Alex Breggman is still an all star, a two time world series champion.

Gold glove in 2024. So he can bring it on the field and off the field. And I think that's what

the Cubs were looking for. My pet question for you was, would you rather, right? Because the numbers

are lining up perfectly. Would you rather have in 2026? Would you rather spend 57 million dollars

on Kyle Tucker? Or would you rather spend 57 million dollars on Shota and Managa and Alex

Breggman? Because 35 plus 22 the last time I checked is also 57. The Cubs chose their path.

Obviously with Shota and Breggman, Kyle Tucker gets 57 million a year. Which one would you

rather have? I would rather have Breggman and Shota. I would. Now, I that would not have been

the same answer had he not been hurt last year. And it would had he repeated in the second half,

what he did in the first half. And there was no injury. Then I would I would flip that answer.

And my early season answer would have been Kyle Tucker. But the way it played out and now seen

the way they can build the depth of the infield and yet still have the outfield intact.

And maybe they're still willing to spend money. I don't know. Like you said, maybe they're

willing to add another guy. Maybe it's just not necessarily outcontra is the fourth outfielder.

But is Belinger still a free agent? Yes, he is. Well, if you really want to go over the tax,

would you rather have Belinger? Would you rather have Copac and... Right. And that's another piece

of news coming out of Cubs Convention that it may not happen before opening day.

Yeah. But I feel confident in saying on the show that I think the Cubs are planning on going over

the luxury tax at some point this season. I don't think it's going to be as inhibitive as it's been

in previous years. I think that they believe that obviously the structures and some of the rules

are going to change when this eventual contract or excuse me, labor negotiation begins between

the players and the owners next year. And when you look at it again and we've done it on the show,

if you get to... If you fly six to 10 million over the luxury tax, it's less than a million in penalty.

I mean, for a big time organization like that... What do you mean 167 million just in taxes?

You're right. Yeah, that's what the dodges are looking at.

What are we talking about? I would rather... And I'm not saying the Cubs are talking to Belinger anymore,

but like... We keep talking about the two-for-one deal. The Cubs say,

I like the idea of still adding gallon and Copac. Can you do that for me? Like, can you do that? And then

we'll play the bad thing by ear because I think that's easier to acquire at the trade deadline,

especially if you have a surplus of pitching that might allow you to flip that and go do that,

right? So I like what the Cubs have done this season, but now I want to say I'm giddy and I'm...

I almost feel guilty about what they're doing this off season. So go ahead and get me two more

pieces. Go ahead and go over that push through that luxury tax and swim on into the next one.

What's that? This is the best conversation in the world. Do we... Are we getting too much, right?

Like, and I'm not saying that we are the most talented team in the National League,

but we are asking questions of all, what are we going to do with this guy and that guy,

and it's like we're pushing food away to keep bringing out cheeseburgers, right? And we keep saying,

no, no, no, we're full, we're full. I'm telling you, I'm with you, Luke, that we're...

that we're not full. And if the Cubs are still intent on adding some depth,

depth or adding to this team and they are intent on perhaps possibly going over the luxury tax,

not flying over it, but going over it to spend the necessary dollars that they need to,

it gets back to your point, Luke, that you made right after the season ended, that they can get

creative on a bigger deal early on in the year or at the deadline, whether that's a starting

picture or whether that is a corner outfielder or whatever it is. And then that's when you can get

really, really serious. You could be dealing major league talent in a trade to bring back major

league talent, which means you don't have to gut your farm system. There's a lot of different ways

to get creative with this. And I think the Cubs are interested in getting that creative.

Yeah, you can't stop here. You don't want to stop here because while the first order of business

will be to kick down the door on Milwaukee and put them underneath the door, like, like,

you know, somebody trapped underneath a bear in the great outdoors. Dan Acroid, if you've ever

seen that movie, great movie. I blew his face. Once you knock down the brewers, and I believe it's

happening this season, then you have to approach the next thing. And that's the Dodgers.

The Dodgers are talking and swirling and hovering like vultures over Freddie Peralta.

If the Dodgers add Freddie Peralta, Zach Gallen won't seem like that big of a deal, but at least

you'll have that depth that you can at least say, we're not keeping pace, but we are showing that

we can be right there with them. You got to do something like that. And that's why I'm for two more

big pieces to this puzzle, even before the season starts. Go for it. I know they're not going to get

Freddie Peralta, but if the Dodgers don't get Freddie Peralta, you don't think they're going to see

if they can get Zach Gallen at him. Right. And the other side of that coin is again,

it's hard to project out what it's all going to look like. But if you are the Chicago Cubs and

you're saying, well, maybe in terms of this high end talent and the dollars and the money,

we're never really going to be able to compete with the Dodgers, which I think is a very fair

statement. You know what they can do, though? The Dodgers have the luxury to sit some of these guys

wake up and fall out of bed and win 92 games, right? If the Chicago Cubs, though, can create this

lean, mean, regular season machine at the very least, all they can say to themselves is that they

know that they're playing games at rigley, which they know for a fact was an advantage in this last

postseason. They were a different team when they had to go to games in Milwaukee, right? And look,

different team, different situation, all that stuff. But if the very least you can say to yourself,

we can be a really, really, really good regular season team and keep playing games at rigley

field. Maybe that gives us a little bit more of a chance or a leg up against some teams that

frankly are spending more money and teams like the Dodgers that are frankly going to be on paper

more talented than they are. Yeah. And by the way, if the Dodgers do somehow acquire Freddie

Peralta, you watch former Cubs prospect Jackson Ferris be part of that deal. And end up in the

Brewer's organization. That'll be fun. That'll be fun. Yeah. Then he'll be pitching pitching

against us. And the Barcon rule, your mind, as I was going to say, she won't be able to take it.

Luke, man, we got to get out of here on another great episode of the CHO Cubs podcast.

Make sure you follow us on Twitter at CHO underscore cubs. Like this video. Subscribe to our

channel. CHO sports about to fly over 103,000 subscribers. So please join us in already at 104

baby already 104. He says 104 bears, baby. See, I fall asleep. I fall asleep sad. We fall out of

bed and we pick up subscribers, but but join us. Well, yeah, join us in the community. We will be

back tomorrow. Luke will be back in studio with Justin Roman. Thank you so much for everybody

tuning in. This episode is always presented by Toyota. Let's go places. Luke, bring us home. Tell

us what to fly. What are we flying today? Fly the W. Thank you. And good night.