I know MLBTR can be a little Cub-centric at times, but hey, whatcha gonna do.
Nate Silver at Baseball Prospectus has an interesting Unfiltered post up today, outlining all sorts reasonable of trade scenarios the Cubs could pursue to clear up their outfield logjam.
Possible bounties for Jacque Jones, in Silver’s opinion: Mike MacDougal, Jon Lieber, or Erick Aybar. I think any of those trades would improve the Cubs this year. In particular, Lieber makes a fine fit. He once won 20 games for the Cubs, but would only need a 4.50ish ERA to be one of the game’s best fifth starters. I like the idea of giving Angel Guzman a shot at the job, but you can never have too much starting pitching depth.
Jones is owed $9MM for 2007-08, and could play center field in a pinch. I wonder if the Marlins would add him to their top-ranked offense? They could send Jorge Julio to balance salaries and a good prospect to make it worth the Cubs’ while. For some reason, Julio in a Cubs uniform seems all too fitting.