Episode Details

Episode Summary:

This week, I'm joined once again by Bleed Cubbie Blue's Sara Sanchez to run back one of their favorite offseason exercises: rebuilding Jed Hoyer’s winter—within real-world limits.

No extra spending. No fantasy trade machines. Just the actual signings, the real budgets, and some sharper roster decisions. If Jed had done things a little differently… could this team have been even better heading into 2025?

Let’s find out.

🔍 What You’ll Hear This Episode:

🧩 The Ground Rules

• Every player must be signed at their actual 2024-25 deal
• Total budget capped under the CBT
• Cubs moves can be kept or replaced—but not rewritten
• No hypothetical trades allowed (sorry, no Soto deals)

🔄 The Kyle Tucker Trade: Keep It or Rewind?

• Both hosts start with a shared assumption: Tucker stays
• But what about the price—Cam Smith vs. Matt Shaw?
• Is an extension now in the works… and what would it mean?

❌ Bellinger’s Future: On the Roster or Cashed Out?

• One host keeps Bellinger—and uses him to deepen the bench
• The other trades him—and spends the cash immediately
• Two paths, two very different Cubs rosters

🔥 Pitching Picks: Safe Bets or Big Swings?

• One side goes bold with a top-of-market starter
• The other builds depth with three arms for less money
• Which bullpen duo did both agree on skipping?

🎯 The Bullpen Fix

• Forget Presley and Teelbar—there were better options out there
• See who got signed, for how much, and who has closer experience
• Did Jed aim too low when the Cubs needed late-inning reliability?

🧢 Catcher Carousel: One Popular Signing Gets Swapped

• One veteran got replaced by a proven glove-first backstop
• Another move brings in more offense and framing
• Who got cut? Who got trusted? And what about Amaya?

📋 Bench Battles & Utility Choices

• Gage Workman stays—but does he play?
• One roster added a $1M corner bat
• The other opted for a more versatile veteran with playoff chops

🧮 Roster Recaps & Budget Check-Ins:

💼 Rotation Headlines

• Who brought in Walker Buehler on a 1-year prove-it deal?
• Who bet on Cal Quantrill and a young core instead?

🛠️ Bullpen Anchors

• AJ Minter, Carlos Estévez, Chris Martin, Ryan Stanek…
• Only a few were chosen—but which duo got the nod?

🧠 Bench Construction

• Why Ty France might be a better play than Justin Turner
• Where Jonathan India slots into one version of the roster
• Why keeping Alexander Canario could’ve changed the outfield picture

🧾 Final Thoughts

• What happens at the trade deadline if money’s still on the table?
• Which reworked roster looks better on paper—and on the field?
• And what would it take to make Kyle Tucker a Cub for life?

🎧 Listen & Subscribe

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Let us know which version of Jed’s offseason you would’ve chosen—and who nailed it in this exercise.

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