Former Cubs Prominent in the ALCS, Leiter and Relievers, Cubs Prospects in the AFL, and Other Cubs Bullets….see more…

I am told there was a bit of a bathroom flooding situation back home while The Little Boy and I are in Chicago. Sorry you had to handle that solo, dear …

• The Yankees ultimately won it in the 9th anyway (with help from an Anthony Rizzo hit), but this was quite a yikes moment for folks rooting for former Cubs in the playoffs. Mark Leiter Jr. to Anthony Rizzo to oops:

• Rizzo has mostly offset any defensive miscues with a strong bat this ALCS, but it’s an open question what next year holds for him after an overall down offensive year (which followed the concussion-affected down 2023 season).

• As for Leiter, the righty struggled badly with the Yankees after the midseason trade, and I think he’s going to be a borderline non-tender. He’d make something in the $2 to $2.5 million range, which is not all that much, but he is without minor league options and would be taking up a 40-man spot. I then wonder, if he were non-tendered … would the Cubs try to bring him back on the cheap? It’d be kinda funny. That said, I would still have the same concerns that preceded his trade in the first place: when he has the splitter, he’s a monster. When he doesn’t – which happens for stretches – he’s average, at best.

• Speaking of postseason relievers:

• I want to be careful with what points are actually fair to make from that interesting factoid. Greg is not saying, and you should not presume, that it’s actually bad to sign any high-priced free agent relievers (some of them are very good!). Nor should you take away that every good bullpen is constructed by internal promotion, savvy trade, and cheap reclamation. Instead, the takeaway is something I hope we’ve all already known for a long time: it *is* possible to have a very good bullpen, transient though it may be from season to season, by way of internal promotion, savvy trade, and cheap reclamation.