Edward Cabrera could TRANSFORM Chicago Cubs rotation

0:00The Cubs made two big splashes this off-season with telling you about the first one in Edward Cabrera. You are Lockdown Cubs. Your daily Chicago Cubs podcasts. Part of the Lockdown podcast network. Your team every day. You are Lockdown Cubs. Part of the Lockdown podcast network. Now the number one sports podcast network. We are your team every day. I'm Matt Kozy. I'm a lifelong fan taking my passion into a discussion with you on all things Cubs. This episode is brought to you by MLB The Show 26. Visit MLBThe.show slash Lockdown and use code Lockdown to unlock a pack for use in diamond, dynasty pre-order the game. Now available March 17th on PlayStation 5 Xbox and Nintendo Switch rated E for everyone. And joining me today is Lockdown Bronco's host,

1:02Sayer Bedinger, who is also a diehard Cubs fan. Sayer, thank you so much for being with me. I'm so excited to be here. I love listening to you guys every day. You and I were just talking off off the air about, you know, I'm an every dayer of Lockdown Cubs. I love it. And it's part of my morning routine. So I absolutely love it. And you guys do great stuff. Getting all of us Cubs fans hyped for the season, you know, and it's going to be a great year. I feel like I'm here to inject as much positivity into the listening base as I possibly can, because I cannot wait for the season to start. Well, I love your energy. And yeah, I'm getting a kick out of you being with me and listening. It's really cool. And I'm excited for the episode we have the Cubs and the WBC as the World Baseball Classic Shoot. Some teams are done with their set of four games. We're going to recap that a little bit over the eight Cubs

2:04that are that are regulars in it right now. Spring training observations the last few days. And we start with Edward Cabrera. The reason why the Cubs had a great off season, I believe, is because they didn't make just one big move. They actually made two. And it's cool look back on now over two months ago, January 7th. The Cubs traded Owen Casey. And two prospects for starting pitcher Edward Cabrera, who was under team control through 2028. And three days later, they signed Alex Breggman. And they're two step preference that I always believed was their preference of trading for a controllable starting pitcher and signing an impact batten free agency was complete. And say or following those moves along with others, plus what they accomplished last year, you do start to dream about this season.

3:07Absolutely. The Edward Cabrera trade was sort of that first signal fire to me that this front office was like ready to go for it again. Like they bought what they were selling at the end of last season, right? And man, I can't it's it was so difficult to watch starting pitching B one of the reasons why last season ended. And you have to feel like that was part of the catalyst for why they decided to trade such valuable pieces to to make this happen. I mean, how many times have we watched this Cubs team? And at the end of a season, you're kind of like, man, they're just missing this one thing. They're missing this one thing. And for it to be starting pitching after losing Kate Horton at the worst possible time, I think you just you you almost want to kill that need with fire. And to go after Edward Cabrera, who brings that sort of the velocity that the pitching staff had been missing at the top end of the staff and the rotation. And somebody who I think hitters will fear consistently. I feel like that's this is a all-in type of move for the Cubs

4:10and the top end of that rotation. Yeah, I remember when Kate Horton's injury news was was released. Sam and I were actually at a show meetup. We do about two a year at almost home in Wrigleyville, only a couple blocks from from the park and being like, this timing isn't isn't great because it was, you know, it was only at that point, it was only the second it was the second to last regular season game, showed up, wasn't even in the mix in the playoffs. And I I agree it was very clear that they didn't want to be backed into a corner this time. And if it feels like the Cabrera move is built for October, which it has many other ramifications than that. But if there was a claim like that out there, which I think is very plausible, I could see a path to that. I he he increases the upside tremendously.

5:14You know, 353 ERA last year and 26 starts, 150 strikeouts to 48 walks. His sinker last year was a thing of beauty. Obviously his fastball is what a lot of people know about and and bringing the V low, bringing the heat. But to to include this guy with a healthy hoarding and with boy, Tyrone, hopefully a refurbished showed up. You got Ray Asad and Brown as depth. You know, you wonder about Wix and Wiggins on the depth chart and that of course Justin Steele when he comes back. It goes from a area of of curiosity, sayer and as you were talking about to not maybe a clear position of strength because I think there's question marks and the computers don't don't love the Cubs rotation but you can see why it could be a solid group.

6:16Yeah, I think so too. And what I see from this move is somebody who's the tide to raise all boats in the harbor, right? I mean, when you bring in a free agent like this or not a free agent, excuse me, a trade acquisition like this, what you're doing is you're setting the bar higher for everybody else in that rotation. I mean, there's something to be said for running it back and continuity and hey, we feel like we really did a great job of getting Matthew Boyd back on track last season. And you know, you feel like Tyrone really pitched well in the second half of the season and Justin Steele coming back. There's value in running it back, but you mentioned I'm a lockdown Broncos guy. I've seen continuity. I've seen what it could do. Sometimes the devil you don't know is more favorable than the devil you do know. And when you're going up against a team like the brewers that went on that run last season, you have to do whatever it takes to get above that team. And to put yourself above means raising the floor

7:17of every area of your roster, every area of your pitching staff, your lineup, your death, bringing in Edward Cabrera raises the floor for everybody else. It says, hey, we're now kind of, he may not be the day one, you know, ace or whatever. Obviously, there's question marks for everybody, but he's going to be the one that they're looking to as, this is the guy they traded a bunch of prospects for this. Owen Casey, like they traded for this guy. He's going to be the one to set that new bar for everybody else. Not that they're going to be playing catch up with him or anything like that, but he's just that tied to raise all boats in the harbor for this pitching staff. Yeah, I'm genuinely curious. It's a fun aspect of this too. Like what is Tommy Hadovi and Tyler Zombro and the Cubs pitching infrastructure going to do with Cabrera? And what could they even unlock that we haven't seen him do before with the Marlins and him coming up and becoming a major league pitcher? And I'm glad you brought up the Brewers.

8:18I think this move also neutralizes the division. It's a move to finally win the division. It would be the first time in a long time. And, you know, the Brewers have a well-balanced offense. The Reds have a lot of young talents at the plate. The Pirates made some moves to supplement their young pitching. And so I'm glad that the Cubs signaled this. And it really made for a stretch of four days that was a lot of fun. And the Cabrera trade and then Breggman signing. Later, we're going to talk about Breggman in the Red, White, and Blue, along with PCA, Boyd, others in the WBC. Before that, we're going to catch up on the last few days of spring training, including some pitching performance and some updates on the roster battles. Stay tuned.

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11:20in this episode description. All right, news, notes, observations, perhaps an overreaction or two as well. From spring training the last few days, one of the only off days of spring training happened on Monday. Cubs returned to action in AZ on Tuesday. Sayer Ben Brown is something of a lightning rod right now in Cubs circles. He has shown glimpses of dominance at times. He's also completely crashed out to use a term that is one of my students use. Over the weekend, he went two and two thirds, three hits, three runs, three walks, three strikeouts, threes are wild there. I just don't see him really being in the mix for anything. He's depth right now in the rotation.

12:20It's clear to me that they're not committing to him full time as a short reliever. And Colin Ray is the guy who's going to be the bulk guy or up a lot, down a lot. So I think Brown's destined for AAA. What say you? I think that'll be the best thing for him because like you said, when you see glimpses from somebody like Ben Brown and there are the glimpses, right? That's what an entire organization is going to buy into is, hey, how can we get those glimpses consistently and at what point do we throw in the towel on trying to get those glimpses to become that bar that he sets for himself, right? I think that's the big question. And I think the key is going to be, we know injuries always happen. It sucks. It's the reality of all sports. We have to deal with it. Teams have to deal with it. But the Cubs will probably need to get another look at him at some point this season. So I think AAA is the best option for him to get those reps, to get those, okay, go out there and you can fail

13:24with a little bit of a cushion to fall back on, but the pressure is on, right? I mean, because we've been talking about glimpses with Ben Brown for a couple of years now. And it's not that you just immediately want to throw in the towel on a guy, but for somebody who has been in that organization where they have been able to get the best out of other pitchers, you kind of wonder like, at what point does that tension cause them to break and just say, you know what, we're going to be done with this experiment because he's not contributing as a short reliever. He's not able to be trusted in high leverage situations. That's my thing right there is like in the middle of the season, when inevitably discussions are coming up about bullpened additions, things like that, can you come up to the MLB level and show a little something because you've got the stuff, right? You've got the, you've got the goods, but can you make those glimpses your norm? Yeah, he debuted in early 2024. So this is going on two full calendar years and him being up and down, you know,

14:25and then making a lot of transactions with him for now, basically two seasons. And yeah, I think we are and like push comes to shove territory with him. I don't see anything drastic on the radar of them, you know, just removing him from the 40 man or anything. But I don't think I would be shocked if the deadline rolled around and he got to change his scenery or something like that. But let's see what happens. And I hope he can contribute in a positive fashion, even if it is just a handful of times or something like that this year. Another picture that we're going to go over from the weekend, Shota in Menaga. We are in a territory where he could easily lead an episode this week because of how poorly he's done in spring training. So after Saturday's start,

15:28he is now spring training line overall, eight and a third innings pitched, 12 hits, six runs, four home runs, no walks, five strikeouts. He is getting hit around and the frequency to me is worrisome. Yeah, it really is because it wasn't the big question with Shota from last season was, hey, the velocity is going down. This is a concern because that obviously that's a huge part of his game and giving up homers is nothing new for Shota. I mean, and that's the tough part. It's like if that's continuing, and I know with spring training, I was reading an article earlier this off season and maybe you guys have even talked about this too. I can spring training, you know, guys are trying stuff. They're trying to see like, you know, it's just going to work. So I get that aspect of it, but you kind of almost need that tune up from Shota in the entire spring training,

16:29you know, the overarching storyline for him because of what we saw last year, like those habits and those things can continue into this coming season. Otherwise, at what level can he be trusted? Because 22 million or is that right? 22 million that he's getting this season from the Cubs is a lot of cash. And certainly you expect to return on that investment. So what is going to be that return on investment from Shota? Like is he going to be somebody that you can count on? Obviously last last post season, like you mentioned earlier, that wasn't the case because of the home run ball. I just feel like that's the big issue right? And the velocity is back up, which you kind of think, okay, hey, he's getting it back together here, but then you're still seeing the home runs, the hits, getting hit around the yard, things like so. I don't know, from my vantage point, from my seat, it's kind of like, okay, this might be your pre-season, Shota, but like you're not out there kind of workshopping. We need to see improvement on the things that were bad last season. Yeah, I like that word choice workshopping.

17:32I don't know if he could afford that. You know, 2024 was outstanding. 25 wasn't. I feel like for 26, I would take something in the middle, or middle-ish of those two years. And they asked him the other day after his start on Saturday, basically, hey, what's with the home runs? And he admitted that his pitch mix, and the way he goes about things, he was resigned to that fate. Oh, I'm going to give up homers. I wasn't thrilled necessarily with that quote, but yeah, if he could limit the damage, that's at least the floor expectation for him. Couple relievers, I did want to know Gavin Hollowell for the last spot, say, in the bullpen competition. For my angle, I think there's only one spot open. Gavin Hollowell and Ethan Roberts

18:34have both pitched four innings just wanted to do some reporting here. Ethan Roberts has only given up one hit in the four innings, one walk for a strikeout. Hollowell, a couple of hits, no walks, eight strikeouts. His last appearance, he went scoreless and didn't strike anyone out, but before that, he had recorded his nine outs in three innings. Eight of those were strikeouts, which is pretty crazy. And Javier Assad, who we're going to hear about next segment as well, I do wonder if he could sneak into this last spot. I don't really know what he would do, but he's pitched well in spring training and now in the WBC, your thoughts on him maybe making the opening day roster after all? I have a soft spot for Javier Assad. I do because I feel like so many different times. He's kind of come in and he just has like, he has ice in his veins.

19:36Like the moment doesn't ever really seem to be too big for him. And I like that about a pitcher. I like the fact that he's super calm when he walks off the mound, but he takes care of business while he's out there. I just feel like he's got that sort of mentality that you have to have in a pitcher that's on your, he's in your bullpen somehow. He's on your team somehow. Like that is a type of guy with that mentality and the ability to go out there in any situation. I mean, even as a young pitcher, he was coming out there, shutting people down. I mean, he gave the Cubs some really good innings over the past couple of seasons. So I kind of ambuying into the guy as opposed to like, hey, this guy really matches up well against left. Yeah, exactly. So I love, I love what he brings to the table. Just you can use him so many different ways. And I feel like he's going to just, he's going to get you out. He does that. That's what he does. And so I'd be banking on the person that you're putting out there.

20:36And the fact that he can come out in any situation over the course of the season. Let's get to a few more news and notes and then review the Cubs and the WBC. Next. Today's episode is brought to you by Fandall College basketball is nonstop big games tight spreads momentum swings every single night from early tip offs to late night west coast shootouts. There's always action on the board. And now Fandall is giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins with a college basketball, parlay, profit, boost. You can build any sort of hoops parlay that you want as we get into march madness. Or if you're like me and NFL guy, I'm already looking at what's going to happen. This coming season and for your Chicago Bears plus 390 to win the NFC North, maybe some good action on that, but whether it's college basketball, the upcoming MLB season, the future NFL season, you can go safe, go bold or ride with the team that you've been following all year long.

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22:39Head to TurboTax.com slash local to find a store near you and book your appointment. TurboTax.com slash local to book your appointment today with TurboTax. Welcome back to Lockdown Cubs. The number one podcast on the Chicago Cubs. We give you everything a Cubs fan can want all in a 30-minute daily podcast. Few more spring training notes, Michael Conforto, still trending as a lock. Dylan Carlson, Chas McCormick, and Owen Miller. I would say right now based on cuts over the weekend. Pedro Ramirez was sent to minor league camp. Ben Cals was as well. So it's looking like we thought Dylan Carlson and Chas McCormick for the last spot. Maybe Owen Miller is in the mix. The former brewer played for counsel with them. Carlson still doing really well. Eight for 20 with six walks. Also this weekend, a really good update for Jonathan Long.

23:41Well, if he gets healthy, could have a really outside shot at that spot if he's able to get the reps in time. But we'll likely be the starting first baseman at AAA. He's Craig Counsel said he's starting to turn a corner after hurting his elbow and should return the game action this weekend. Also two Cubs pitchers who have contributed over the last couple of years here and there. Porter Hodge and Jordan Wicks, Craig Counsel announced are going to begin the season on the IEL. All right, Cubs in the WBC so far. First of all, Panama already got eliminated. That's Miguel Amaya's team. Japan's going to advance. The US will advance pending a upset for Mexico Monday nights. Canada won and won entering Monday. Venezuela, 2 and 0 entering Monday. Those are all the squads that the Cubs are on. Say a hit, two home runs the other day for Japan.

24:44I don't know if you've seen this clip yet. I just saw it last night doing a little bit of prep for the show. On the early side, almost 24 hours ahead of time. Basically, the Japanese fans are chanting his name. And he just bombs one in the seats and they go even crazier. It's just a WBC is this cool cultural moment. And I feel like it's further proof that Sayah enjoys the big moment. He was outstanding in the playoffs and now in the WBCs, he's kept it rolling. Can you talk about ice in the veins? I mean, we were talking about that with Javier Asad. It's like to an exponential level with Sayah Suzuki. I mean, I bought the guys Jersey last year because I'm in the dude. Absolutely. 100%. I don't like buying jerseys. Although if you're watching the show, you can see behind me. I'm fully buy into certain players.

25:44Sayah is one of those guys that when I watch him play, I'm like, that is a dude that I want on my team. He's just, he's the best teammate, man. He's always, when you're celebrating with PCA, after every big moment PCA had last year, like, did anybody on the Cubs deserve the run that they went on last year more than Sayah Suzuki did? I mean, for him to go from being doubted as it's even an everyday player in the MLB to becoming this dust. I mean, the power that he has. And like you said, the clutch moments that he came through in the postseason, the power that he's showing in the WBC, to me, I'm sitting there thinking like, all right, Sayah is ready for Riggly. He's going to be hitting the ground running. And I think that's what's the most encouraging thing about this is great for him that he's able to represent his country and do great for the Japan team. But man, from the Cubs side of things too, like, I love that these guys are getting a chance to play in these big moments now because you know

26:45that it's going to happen during this 2026 season. That's a great point. Yeah, yeah, not certainly not a prisoner of the moment, getting a preview of what could be. And Alex Bregman, we're all excited to see where a Cubs uniform for real on Thursday, March 26th, when they line up, whether permitted against the nationals for some reason at Riggly Field. Bregman is one for four, but he's been an on-base machine, four walks and a hit-by-pitch PCA one for six with a double in two walks. It's been nice to see them. You know, it's just, it's wild. Like the Cubs have, so three of their position, guys. Sayah, Pete and Bregman are three of the better players on the planet, which the locked on top 100.

27:46Sayah comes out on Tuesday, spoiler alert, those guys are going to be in it, but not the only Cubs, so I'll leave that to be unveiled. But it's cool that they have players of this ilk. It's so cool. It's, that's why, like you said, that four day period with the Edward Cabrera trade and the signing Bregman, like that was what this team desperately needed. And I've thought of it this way. I'm interested for your take on this. And maybe you've guys have already mentioned this. Maybe this is nothing new that you're going to be hearing, specifically with Bregman, I'm getting major John Lester signing vibes from back in the day. Like he is that type of guy to me that is okay. Like what I what I said about Edward Cabrera, being somebody's tied to raise all boats in the harbor. Like Bregman is the guy that I think is is the one that, hey, you need a clutch walk in the in the playoffs.

28:49Yes, you need to you need to work a deep count against a pitcher. Like whatever it's going to be like that guy, he'll do it. And he doesn't care about, oh, well, I took four walks in a hit by a pitch in the skate. Like you got on base five times. You know what, that's that is the type of guy that I think can be sort of like the captain of a team that already has established veteran players like Dan's B. Swanson, Nico Horner, Michael Bush at this point now. And all these other guys like when you have these guys who are established vets and they are, they've already been Cubs. This guy is one of the like John Lester who can come in and take the entire team to the next level because that moves shows from the front office on down. It's like we can win it all. That's why we're signing this guy. And he's bringing that to the to the WBC. I love, I love that move so much. Bregman, that was that was over a year in the making too. I mean, it's huge for the Cubs. Yeah, it's very rare. You get a second chance at signing a player you wanted and they did.

29:52They did it. I like the Lester comparison. What's what gets me jacked up even more is like they were not that established entering 2015 like this team. And they weren't coming off in 92 win season in a playoff appearance. And then the following year is when when that happened. And so you really get I do allow myself to dream because I feel like they are in a place where they can make the final four. And then we would see what what would happen from there. Daniel Polensia is thrown only one inning so far. We mentioned a side with Mexico at a nice outing last week. James and Ty on Sunday a nice outing after spring training struggles so far for Canada on Sunday. And Matthew Boyd is not pitched yet for the US. And it's getting his work in presumably off to the side. We'll see if he gets in if it all say or thank you so much for being with me today.

30:53Yeah, thank you. Thanks for having me. Thanks to all the listeners for bearing with me NFL free agency. We got a lot going on right now. But like I was saying, I mean, the Cubs this season, this is one of those years that you just kind of feel it in your bones. And I feel it in the bones. I'm ready. I'm excited. Podcast Network YouTube channel and on audio, make sure your second listen is locked on MLB. Where Sully has a fresh locked on MLB episode for you daily and a daily back to the bullpen episode a show that was just added to the locked on network recently. For Sayer Bettinger, I'm Matt Kozy. This is locked on Cubs.