Cubs BCB After Dark: Who made the best deal?

Welcome back to BCB After Dark: the coolest club for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. We so glad you braved the weather to visit us. Please come in out of the cold. It’s plenty warm in here. We can check your coat. There’s no cover charge. Bring your own beverage.

BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.

Last week I asked you if the Cubs should sign free agent right-handed starter Chris Bassett. You were pretty cool on the idea as 49 percent of you said the Cubs should not sign Bassett. Another 26 percent of you think the Cubs should sign him if he came with a significant discount.

Here’s the part where we listen to music and talk movies. The BCB Winter Science Fiction Classic only has a couple more weeks to run, but you can always stop in at anytime. But as always, you can skip it if you want.

Tonight I’m featuring one of those NPR Tiny Desk Concerts (support public radio!) from 2016, with the now-late pianist Chick Corea and the still-living vibraphonist Gary Burton.

You voted in the second round of the BCB Winter Science Fiction Classic and Terminator 2: Judgment Day said “hasta la vista, baby” to Brazil. I love Brazil and would have voted for it, but it’s hard to argue with something that sold as many tickets at Terminator 2. Plus, those special effects. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton do indeed look cool.

Tonight we the final matchup of the second round. Our number-one seed, The Matrix, goes up against the six seed, [sigh] Back to the Future. Time to break out those old Huey Lewis and the News LPs!

I suppose the advantage of tonight’s matchup is that I don’t think that I need to explain either film to any of you. Both films have become memes—cultural touchstones that people can make reference to and everyone is supposed immediately understand the point. Even if you haven’t seen one of these two movies, you know what they’re about. You know the big beats in the film like the red pill/blue pill choice or a time machine made out of a DeLorean. Or Marty McFly’s mother wanting to make out with him.

The Matrix. (1999) Directed by The Wachowskis. Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie-Anne Moss.

Here’s what I wrote about The Matrix last time.

Here’s the Kung Fu scene between Neo (Reeves) and Morpheus. Obviously this scene borrows a lot of the Hong Kong action films of the eighties and nineties, but the vast majority of US viewers would not have picked up on that.

Back to the Future (1985). Directed by Robert Zemeckis. Starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd and Lea Thompson.

Here’s what I wrote about Back to the Future last time.

Here’s our first look at the DeLorean time machine.

Now it’s time to vote.

You have until Wednesday to vote. Then, we’re moving on the third round as The Day the Earth Stood Still takes on Godzilla. I must warn you, the won-loss record of creatures going up against Godzilla is not good. Maybe Gort will do better.

Welcome back to everyone who skips the movies and music.

Whenever there is a trade these days, most baseball sites will post an evaluation/grade of the deal within a day or two. And in handing out those grades, there’s always a reference to “Compared to what [team x] gave up for [player y], this deal . . .” Trades are not made in a vacuum. Each one sets the market for every other one.

So tonight, I’m going to ask you which deal do you wish the Cubs had made? Of course, the Cubs did make one deal with the Marlins for Edward Cabrera. That’s one option for you to vote for. But there were three other starting pitchers traded this winter. Which deal do you wish the Cubs had made?

Of course, not all of these trades were actually available to team president Jed Hoyer. The team on the other end of the deal has to want players that the Cubs currently have. If the Marlins had wanted a major-league ready strong defensive catcher for Cabrera, for example, the Cubs wouldn’t have been able to make that trade.

On top of that, we all know that the Brewers were highly unlikely to deal Freddy Peralta to the Cubs for rivalry reasons. I’m not saying that it couldn’t have happened, but the Brewers were likely to ask for a major premium in order to deal their best trade asset to a division rival.

Basically, this is just me asking “Which team made the best trade?” Or at least, which of these four traded pitchers fits in with the Cubs needs the best?

Here’s a quick reminder of the trades that we’re looking at tonight. My apologies go out to Ryan Weathers, whom I didn’t include among the choices. Maybe he shouldn’t have had so many injuries over the past two seasons. I suspect Weathers would agree with that.

January 8: Cubs acquire RHP Edward Cabrera from the Marlins for outfielder Owen Caissie, infielder Cristian Hernandez and infielder Edgardo DeLeon.

Edward Cabrera. Age 28. 8-7 3.53 ERA. 9.8 K9, 3.1 BB9 in 2025. Three years of team control left.

You’re probably already familiar with this deal.

December 19. Orioles acquire RHP Shane Baz from Rays for OF Slater DeBrun, C Caden Bodine, RHP Michael Forret, OF Austin Overn and a competitive balance pick (33 overall in 2026)

Shane Baz. Age 27. 10-12 4.87 ERA. 9.5 K9, 3.5 BB/9 in 2025. Three years of team control left.

Obviously the Cubs could not have made this trade because they don’t have any draft picks that can be dealt. But beyond that pick at the end of the first round, the Orioles got back four prospects, all of which were ranked in the top 30 of the Orioles system by MLB Pipeline but none of them in the Orioles top five. However, DeBrun (6), Bodine (10) and Forret (11) were three of the top 11 prospects in a deep Baltimore system. Baseball America ranks those three prospects a little lower, but they also rank Overn a lot higher than Pipeline does. (17th as opposed to 30).

Unlike Caissie, none of these prospects are considered top 100 prospects. So this was a quantity over a quality deal. But it’s a heck of a lot of quantity and there’s that draft pick to consider, who would almost certainly be another top ten prospect.

January 22: Rangers acquire LHP MacKenzie Gore from the Nationals for SS Gavin Fein, RHP Alejandro Rosario, INF Devin Fitz-Gerald, OF Yeremy Cabrera, 1B/OF Abimelec Ortiz.

MacKenzie Gore. Age 27. 5-15, 4.15 ERA. 10.4 K9. 3.6 BB9. Two years of team control left.

Once again, this is a quantity over quality trade, but it’s a lot of quantity. Five prospects in the Rangers Top 30 according to both MLB Pipeline, between fifth (Fein) and 24th (Ortiz). Baseball America didn’t put Fitz-Gerald or Ortiz in their Top 30, although they did like both of them and they thought Fein was the Rangers’ third-best prospect. This is a similar package to what the Orioles gave up for Baz, except that they didn’t get draft pick like the Rays did. The Orioles also get one more year of control on Baz than the Rangers got with Gore.

January 21: Mets acquire RHP Freddy Peralta and RHP Tobias Myers from the Brewers for SS Jett Williams and RHP Brandon Sproat.

Freddy Peralta. Age 30. 17-6, 2.70 ERA. 10.4 K9, 3.4 BB9. One year of team control.

Tobias Myers. Age 27. 1-2, 3.55 ERA. 6.8 K9, 2.8 BB9. Four years of team control.

This trade is a bit different because the Mets got Myers as a pretty decent throw-in, but Peralta is the clear headliner here. Peralta certainly has the biggest track record of success among these traded starters, but the Mets also only get one year of control on him. Yes, they can slap a qualifying offer on him so the Mets could be looking at an extra draft pick if they fail to re-sign him, but the way the Mets spend, that draft pick is going to be pretty low.

Going back to the Mets are two top prospects, one of whom, Sproat, has already made his major league debut. But Williams is the big deal here as he was the Mets’ third-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline and fourth according to Baseball America. Both publications think Williams is a Top 100 prospect, although Pipeline (30th) thinks more of him that BA (71st). Williams is also close enough to the majors to make his debut sometime this year.

Sproat was the Mets’ sixth-best prospect according to Pipeline and fifth per BA. He made his major league debut in 2025. In four starts he had a high ERA (4.79) but a very low FIP (2.80), which indicates that he was either the victim of bad luck or bad defense.

This is a real quality over quantity deal for a one-year rental.

So which one of these trades do you wish the Cubs had made? Which team came out the best?

Thank you for stopping by this evening. We’re always glad to see a friendly face. Please get home safely. Call a ride if you need to. Stay warm. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again tomorrow for more BCB After Dark.

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