The Cubs have acquired Ian Stewart and Casey Weathers from the Rockies in exchange for Tyler Colvin and DJ LeMahieu, tweets Troy Renck of the Denver Post.
Each team acquires a 26-year-old former first round pick coming off a disappointing season. Stewart, a non-tender candidate, has long been the subject of trade rumors and hit .156/.243/.221 in limited action in 2011. Colvin, who isn't yet arbitration eligible, hit .150/.204/.306 in 222 plate appearances.
LeMahieu, 23, has a career .753 OPS in the minors and saw his first big league action for the Cubs in 2011. He'll compete for time at second and third base, according to Renck (on Twitter). Weathers, 26, was also a first-round pick, but has yet to pitch above Double-A, where he posted a 5.32 ERA in 45 2/3 innings this year. The right-hander has excellent stuff (career 11.3 K/9), but hasn't been able to control it (7.1 BB/9).
Bruce Levine of ESPN Chicago and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported yesterday that the two teams were discussing a deal involving Stewart and Colvin.
Love this trade for both squads
It needs more practiced.
D.J. LeMahieu seems to have a higher Upside then Colvin IMO. Pretty excited by this trade.
If DJ ever develops power he will be a really solid MLB player. Really bummed he is part of the deal. Wish him and Colvin the best of luck. Hope Stewart can find his power stroke at Wrigley!
Then it’s a good thing that DJ is playing with the Rockies now and it’s a bad thing that Stewart isn’t.
Le Mahieu now batting .327 in Triple A. Colvin doing well with the Rockies. It is very hard to remain a Cubs Fan!
Really disappointed to see LeMahieu go, was hoping he would start at 2nd this year
i thought he’d be over at third this year.
Ya I just figured they’d make a trade for a 3b and i’m not a fan of barney
Time for the trades to begin. I can feel a 4 team 10 player swap coming up. Will be a crazy winter.
AA will be involved
Ugh why
LeMahieu isn’t anything too special. 3B was a far more pressing need and Stewarts skill set and position are of far greater value than Tyler Colvin’s. I’ll call it a win-win overall, though.
Glad to see some more action. Feels like everything hit a major lull after the Angels moves
Orioles trade not good enough? lol
WTF!!!! I WANTED STEWART BUT NOT LIKE THIS 🙁
What are you sad about?
colvin being gone. and i wanted to see LeMahiue play more. uggh but i was expecting one for Stewart bot not both.
Why are you upset about Colvin being involved? He was even more below replacement level than Stewart.
Hes one of my favorite players. same with Stewart. Both have upside dont get me wrong. but i wanted both of them on the same team. idk im mixed on this trade.
colvin being gone. and i wanted to see LeMahiue play more. uggh but i was expecting one for Stewart bot not both.
You mad about Colvin or LeMahieu? Colvin was pretty much the worst player in the league last year
What about the Jays’ new backup catcher? Mathis? Heard he was pretty bad
What about the Jays’ new backup catcher? Mathis? Heard he was pretty bad
I’m no Colvin apologist, but the Cubs set him up to fail. They platooned him with Kosuke and played him against lefties to start the year. That didn’t work, so they benched him, then sent him down, while ripping him publicly; it was sort of ironic to hear Hendry launch into a diatribe about how the majors are all about production. I’d like to think Ricketts quoted that back to him when he fired him a few months later.
But anyway. My point isn’t that Colvin is going to be an All-Star, but he has the talent to be way better than he performed last season, in the right situation. It seems like the Rockies will use him like they used Seth Smith, right? Assuming Smith gets dealt?
I don’t follow Colorado much, but that always seemed like a decent comp for Colvin.
You mad about Colvin or LeMahieu? Colvin was pretty much the worst player in the league last year
D.J. LeMahieu a decent Cub farm hand, that has Hall of fame Status with some Cub fans. Nice deal for both sides, Junk for Junk.
yea both squads did well here. Brothers will hold off weathers and Stewart is disliked by the entire state. If stewart can get his stuff together though he’s a 40 hr 270 100 rbi guy….BIG IF
Whoa! Hold it buddy. 40 bombs? Let the guy get to 26 before we start talking 40.
I think he meant 40 hours (hr) and misspelled the word ribs (rbi). Stewart will eat 100 ribs in 40 hours not breaking any record. However, he will be filled.
well done.
Good luck to Ian!!! I wish the Red Sox had him, I think he is a future all star!
Sure, another left handed bat.
Ian Stewart away from Coors? LOL good luck.
agreed – Ian Stewart’s window has closed
Yeah, that .150 average screams park effects.
When the wind is blowing out of tiny Wrigley, so do the fly balls.
Tiny Wrigley? Obviously you have never been there. 355 down the line is tiny now huh? Stick to Tebowing bro
Don’t actually Tebow and I’m gonna have to thank my mom that I’m not your “bro.” And Yes, I’ve had the odd Old Style while sitting in Wrigley.
How many home runs go right down the line? Few. Most go gap to gap. The gaps are listed as 368 at Wrigley and the tips of those curves in the wall are 350 or less. Center is listed at 400 but most say it’s more like 395.
When the wind is blowing out of tiny Wrigley, so do the fly balls.
Stewart barely has a home/road split for his career and has actually performed better on the road in recent seasons.
In 2010, the first 8 HR that Stewart launched were all on the road.
In 2010, the first 8 HR that Stewart launched were all on the road.
I’m a little disappointed to see Colvin and LeMahieu go, but I’m excited to see what Stewart can do. Stewart has the most upside, but he’s far from a sure bet. Colvin could be solid for the Rockies. I don’t think he ever felt comfortable in Chicago.
Stewart is built like the best hitter on the planet. head case…tons of natural talent though. Change of scenery for sure. Good fielder as well. I like LeMahieu due to the fact that he’s now gonna be in Coors and he seems to be a good all around hitter with no power. All we need is hits in Coors. Power will come via the altitude.
I’d call it a good gamble for both teams
I just do not see what Epstein sees in Stewart. I like the young pitcher, but I’m really not crazy about Stewart. He just seem like a high strikeout guy with an average glove at 3rd.
Actually a very good glove. Head’s not always in the game.
Actually a very good glove. Head’s not always in the game.
What would you expect in return for Colvin? As of today, he is a terrible hitter. This is a fair trade.
What would you expect in return for Colvin? As of today, he is a terrible hitter. This is a fair trade.
“I like the young pitcher”… He is 26 and in AA. That is not very young. His numbers in AA probably dictate a demotion. Totally hate this trade from the Cubs point of view.
Now this is what we call a blockbuster trade
This is a classic example of a “Sanford & Son” trade, swapping junk for other junk.
A Sanford & Son trade would be Gene Lamont for Grady Little.
Got a problem?
Good change of scenary trade for both sides. The upside is there for both those guys (Colvin and Stewart). Not too familiar with the other pieces.
(Sigh) If we were going to trade DJ for somebody, I would have preferred for someone better than a pitcher that is 26 and still in AA. I’m fine with Colvin for Stewart.
I think Rockies won here big time. I like Colvin and DJ and I want to see good things for the Cubs, surprising move.
How do you see the Rockies winning big time?
I think most Rockies fans really hate Stewart and are happy to get rid of their garbage for our garbage. Sadly of all the players Stewart has the most upside.
It’s not hate, it’s just disappointment. Would could have been.
I actually really liked Stewart, always have, just wondered when he’d eventually put it together.
I think Colvin and DJ have HUGE upside. I always thought Colvin just needed more playing time.
What about his lifetime .275 BA or .315 OBP in the minors scream huge upside? Other than a few hrs he’s been below average in the minors.
If by huge upside you mean 4th OF and utility IF, we’re on the exact same page.
Have you ever watched Colvin hit? That .150 average pretty much tells you all you need to know.
Do you really think Theo would deal a young guy with a huge upside?
I’m surprised Theo hasn’t started buying every free-agent in sight. That’s what he did best in Boston these last few years.
would of liked to see DJ stay with the team, he has good potential and he would of had the opportunity next season with the cubs. good change of scenery for both colvin and stewart, hopefully the can both get back on track
This has equal chances of being an incredibly eventful trade and an incredibly uneventful trade.
To Cubs fans. If Stewart can make contact he’ll hit a lot of balls out of Wrigley. I thought you guys hated Colvin…
That depends. Wrigley rarely plays like a small ballpark anymore. The wind direction has shifted a lot over the last few years. It blows in much more than it blows out. And when it blows in, the ballpark plays big.
I have personally always like Colvin and I was disappointed that the Cubs didn’t play him more last year. He got into a funk and lost his job within a couple weeks, was put on the bench, and then sent down. I’d like to have seen him perform over a full season.
The wind blowing in will not matter if Stewart gets into one. He has as much raw power as almost anyone in MLB.
No, I’m not kidding.
The wind direction has shifted a lot over the last few years.
Global waqrming.
i don’t hate colvin. i hate his little league-esque plate approach
Some fans are still in love with what they saw at the end of 2010. He certainly has potential, but he has a lot of holes in his swing and some pretty poor PD.
DJLM is the opposite player… he’s got great contact skills (low BB% though) but his power just hasn’t developed. Okay defender across the infield.
Some fans are still in love with what they saw at the end of 2010. He certainly has potential, but he has a lot of holes in his swing and some pretty poor PD.
DJLM is the opposite player… he’s got great contact skills (low BB% though) but his power just hasn’t developed. Okay defender across the infield.
Colvin is a great player. He just had a down year. I can’t believe the Rockies got both DJ and him. As a Cub fan I am shocked by everything today. I only hated him when he played for Clemson LOL
Something has to give with all of the OFs, especially LH, that the Rockies are piling up.
Dan O’ Dowd, trading for real players????? Players that are named NOW????? NOOO, that has to be some kind of mistake
You can’t actually be upset about the PTBNL in the Jimenez trade.
Everybody knew who he was. The reason why he was a PTBNL was because he couldn’t be traded until August 15th. We are definitely not getting anyone remotely similar in the Wigginton and Street deals, especially when we could have gotten someone like Edinson Volquez
Everybody knew who he was. The reason why he was a PTBNL was because he couldn’t be traded until August 15th. We are definitely not getting anyone remotely similar in the Wigginton and Street deals, especially when we could have gotten someone like Edinson Volquez
You can’t actually be upset about the PTBNL in the Jimenez trade.
Dan O’ Dowd, trading for real players????? Players that are named NOW????? NOOO, that has to be some kind of mistake
Maybe Colvin/Smith/EY head over to the Braves for Prado. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Colvin sent off in a package. Braves want a CF and well Colvin ….was…supposed to be one?
He’s actually not terrible in center… he can at least cover there, I wouldn’t want him as my everyday CF though.
Whether the Braves and Rox make a deal involving Prado, you have to think Spilborghs will be non-tendered. As a 4th OF, he’s pretty solid and a great clubhouse guy. I’d be happy signing him and dumping Diaz.
Whether the Braves and Rox make a deal involving Prado, you have to think Spilborghs will be non-tendered. As a 4th OF, he’s pretty solid and a great clubhouse guy. I’d be happy signing him and dumping Diaz.
How is stewarts defense at 2nd? Do you think the Cubs can get chase from SD still?
You want him at 3rd. He is an underrated fielder, much better than the stats show. For whatever reason though he is better going to the right than his left. Maybe he always relied on Tulo to field that side. IDK. But he protects the baseline as well as anyone I’ve seen.
If you judge by talent I think the Cubs won…but as others have implied, the Rockies and their fans just want to move on.
You want him at 3rd. He is an underrated fielder, much better than the stats show. For whatever reason though he is better going to the right than his left. Maybe he always relied on Tulo to field that side. IDK. But he protects the baseline as well as anyone I’ve seen.
If you judge by talent I think the Cubs won…but as others have implied, the Rockies and their fans just want to move on.
Not very good and no.
Not very good and no.
I’d much rather have seen the Cubs give LeMahieu a little more time to develop, he was only 23 and showed some promise. I’m really not sold on Stewart, seems a lot like Colven, potential but not able to reach it.
LeMathieu had terrible On base% and no power. What exactly do we hope he develops into exactly?
Best case I can see is a ramon Martinez or Nefi Perez bat without the good gloves that accompanied those guys.
No more Camp Colvin : (
One thing for all of those people dissing Colvin. YES he lost his swing, but you could be expect that to happen. I mean id bet anyone on here if they had a bat in their chest they would loose there swing to…. GOOD LUCK COLVIN!!! Hope you and DJ get a better shot in Colorado!!!
That had nothing to do with it. It had everything to do with his inability to adjust to big league pitchers adjusting to him. His swing has a hole in it the size of the moon.
Colvin never recovered from his injury. just because he was off the DL
doesn’t mean every time hes up to the plate that hes scared or thinking
about that bat that got in his chest.
Give me a break. You cannot be serious. He was sucking for three weeks prior to that injury because teams figured him out.
/injuryexcuse
Give me a break. You cannot be serious. He was sucking for three weeks prior to that injury because teams figured him out.
Colvin had a 267 on base in AAA this year. He will never be a factor at the plate so long as pitchers never have to throw him strikes.
He made Jose Hernandez look like a disciplined and cerebral hitter.
If he’s got a hole in his swing the size of the moon then the guy your getting in return, Stewart, his is the size of the galaxy.
funny! and you know colvin is still young and what a year and a half under his belt, he has room to grow.
That had nothing to do with it. It had everything to do with his inability to adjust to big league pitchers adjusting to him. His swing has a hole in it the size of the moon.
You do know in the offensive PLC league where hitting is like playing on the moon he was struggling really bad. I didn’t even want to see him come back up to the big league because he wasn’t showing even in AAA that he can handle the bat anymore.
i agree he shouldnt have came back up last year. but hey like i said, take a bat to the chest and see how fast you start hitting again.
colvin’s fall of the face of the earth was going to happen regardless of whether or not he got hit by a bat. you can’t succeed in the majors if you have zero plate discipline and little contact skills
colvin’s fall of the face of the earth was going to happen regardless of whether or not he got hit by a bat. you can’t succeed in the majors if you have zero plate discipline and little contact skills
i agree he shouldnt have came back up last year. but hey like i said, take a bat to the chest and see how fast you start hitting again.
He lost his swing because Quade hated to play him over Soriano for some reason, if he was to play 150+ games he could have hit over 30 hrs in his rookie year with very limited playing time he hit 20 hr and Sweet Lou hated him too, but all the blame can be put on Hendry they had no choice but to play money over talent.
This looks like a terrible trade for the cubs…
I also think its a bad trade just look at the last trade they did with colorado baker sucks he has done nothing for the cubs…
ive always liked baker, can play all infield positions and crushes left handed pitching. cant ask much more from a bench player.
Agreed. Baker has been better than I thought.
Agreed. Baker has been better than I thought.
He was a negative WAR player for the Cubs last year. He’s over 30, and is slated to make $2+ million next season.
And the Cubs traded Al Alburqurque (sp?) for him, and he’s developed into a quality reliever.
I like this trade a lot more than I liked that one.
I’ve always thought Stewart made decent sense for the Cubs, at least as a stop-gap, so I’m happy to give him a chance. Sad to see DJ go, even sadder to see that the Cubs are basically just handing second base to Barney next year.
I don’t love Barney, but giving him another year at 2nd wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. My guess would be that the new front office didn’t like Lemahieu that much more than they liked Barney, and since DJ probably had higher trade value, that’s who they moved of the two. You don’t need both of them.
Maybe they flip Stewart, too. Who knows.
Barney was their best defender last yr, which i say again he needs to be moved over to SS and Castro plays 2nd. Your best defensive player should alway be SS then C then CF the Cubs have a aging CFer and a horrible C they think is a god.
That’s false, though. When he was Castro’s age, he was playing at Oregon State; if Castro was playing shortstop for OSU, I’m sure his defense would be graded fine. But he’s playing in the majors. Defense at that level takes experience, and the reward for developing a plus offensive shortstop who is even average defensively (and there’s still a chance Castro could be above average) is so, so much greater.
Disagree with this assessment. First of all, they have Brett Jackson, and Byrd has one year left on his deal, so CF isn’t a hole as of yet. If Jackson flounders, maybe it will be, but there aren’t too many people who think that’s a possibility. Second, you have to give Castro a chance to develop defensively; he’s so precocious offensively that it’s easy to forget he’s not a complete product yet. If you can get average to above average defense out of him, with his bat at short, that’s such a huge advantage, because it’s easier to find bats that can play above average defense at second.
Also, even with a down year last year for Soto, he was still one of the top 12 catchers in baseball. There isn’t a whole lot of talent around the majors better than him at the position, and he’s relatively inexpensive. And he’s also one of the few Cubs that fits into Theo/Jed’s offensive philosophy.
Every catcher and backup catcher is better then Soto.
Lou Piniella? Is that you? Are you still writing Koyie Hill’s name in a lineup card every day, just for old-time’s sake?
Come on. On Fangraphs, which I used only because it was way easier to sort a list, Soto was a 2.1 WAR player last year. And that was in an admittedly down year. Know where that ranked him? 15th in the majors.
In 2010, in a good year for him, he was 7th in the majors in WAR, with 3.1.
So let’s stop being ridiculous. The Cubs have above average, young, team/cost controlled plus players at catcher, shortstop, and assuming Jackson pans out, CF. (Soto will be 29 next year, so not necessarily young, but still in his prime.)
Sotgo never had a prime. If he’s lucky he will hit .220 13hrs drive 50 and score 45 run. And .220 is pushing it for him, OBP will be like .260, he Ks too much as well. They might as well use Michael Brenly right bow.
Barney was their best defender last yr, which i say again he needs to be moved over to SS and Castro plays 2nd. Your best defensive player should alway be SS then C then CF the Cubs have a aging CFer and a horrible C they think is a god.
I don’t MIND Barney at second base, but I am not as enamored with him as so many people are. He has basically no offensive value; the average wasn’t bad, but he really doesn’t walk and doesn’t hit for any kind of power, so he needs to maintain that kind of average to not be a drain offensively. Defensively I just don’t agree with FanGraphs that he is that good; B-Ref has what I consider a much more realistic evaluation of his defense. He won’t hurt you, but he’s not a stud.
To me, unless something changes he is a borderline starter at best. I don’t mind borderline guys starting (particularly for a team not likely to be contending) but I’m not a fan of essentially just giving them the job.
I’m not torn up about the trade in general though. I would have liked to see DJ get more of a shot, but I’m not crying that he’s gone and I think Stewart is a nice gamble for the Cubs.
As an outsider I can officially say: whatever. I’ve long since given up on both the man players.
if this is what theo and jed think is best, i gotta stick with em. they’re picking up a few top 10 picks who i’m sure they had scouted heavily previously, maybe they see something they can fix? switching scratchoffs i guess.
you’re failing, theo/jed.
What do you expect in return for Colvin and LeMahieu, Tulo?
You get what you pay for.
this whole trade in general had no business happening. there was no need to trade for stewart.
Good call – what a waste since the Cubs have so many 3B waiting to show what they’re made of…. oh wait. Or maybe you were banking on that deadly platoon of Baker/Dewitt? Yeah, this trade needed to happen.
.464 OPS. not OBP, not even SLG. OPS. think about that.
What do you expect in return for Colvin and LeMahieu, Tulo?
You get what you pay for.
Never been impressed with Ian Sewart’s bat, especially against lefties. Very good defender though.
Never been impressed with Ian Sewart’s bat, especially against lefties. Very good defender though.
Tyler Colvin will bounce back from the dreaded sophomore slump, and us cubs are gonna be stuck with… *sigh* ian stewart. jeez.
Would’ve been nice if Colvin got more regular playing time last year; try to play his way out of the slump. I feel like maybe the front office gave up on him after a terrible ’11.
He couldn’t play his way out of the slump playing full time in an offensive PCL league.
He was platooning before that, though. Probably thought his ’10 warranted him more time, and by June, July, whenever he was down, he was probably mentally fried.
You do realize that Ian Stewart was a top 50 prospect 4 years in a row in the minors rising as high as #3? He’s got all the talent in the world, much more than *sigh* Tyler Colvin.
well then hopefully I’m wrong in my assessment of this trade. I think it was stupid to give away both LeMahieu and Colvin, where Colvin for Stewart straight up woulda been okay. However Stewart has put up back to back awful seasons, whereas Colvin has only put up one. I’m more apt to give Colvin the benefit of the doubt than Stewart who has failed multiple times already.
Tyler Colvin will bounce back from the dreaded sophomore slump, and us cubs are gonna be stuck with… *sigh* ian stewart. jeez.
The Cubs forgot that DJ is a valuable prospect. He still batter .318 throughout the minors and was a second round pick. Ian Stewert is washed up at the age of 26
Agreed. Most people are focusing on Colvin in this trade, but DJ is the real piece of value the Cubs are losing. I think there’s a much better chance that DJ develops into a solid MLB player than there is of Stewart coming close to his potential. This is a bad bet for the Cubs.
DJ doesn’t fit in with our lineup very well, unless he plays 2nd. We have our good average guys with limited power in Castro and Barney. We don’t need our 3rd baseman to not have much power either. At least Stewart will give us some power, but I’m still gonna miss Colvin.
Castro is still growing, I think he will be a 15-20 HR guy in the future.
Yea I agree with you, I could see him averaging 20+ for a few years, but I don’t see LeMahieu fitting with us very well for where we’re going.
The Cubs forgot that DJ is a valuable prospect. He still batter .318 throughout the minors and was a second round pick. Ian Stewert is washed up at the age of 26
Someone post a look at the 2012 Cubs lineup please!
Currently something like:
1B – LaHair
2B – Barney
3B – Stewart
SS – Castro
C – Soto
LF – Soriano
CF – Byrd
RF – DeJesus
Brett Jackson will come up at some point next year and take over center, either moving Byrd to 4th OF or if Soriano is injured, pushing Byrd to LF.
Someone post a look at the 2012 Cubs lineup please!
It amuses me that Rox fans are ready to see Stewart go and most Cubs fans think he could be somewhat valuable. While on the flip side all the Cubs fans are ready to see Colvin go and most Rox fans see him with some upside and potential.
That clearly shows that both do have potential regardless of what either fanbase says and a change of scenery is EXACTLY what both these guys need.
Wish Stew nothing but the best, if there was any player I want to see meet their full potential it’s this guy.
Why do you think that last sentence? Its not like Ian Stewart is a hard worker who had bad breaks. IMO he’s squandered a lot of potential, so I have a hard time pulling for him.
I understand he could really use a kick in the behind to get working hard towards earning what he could potentially be. Just always been a Rockie I’ve enjoyed watching, followed him closely for a long time.
I didn’t realize you could only pull for a guy who has a fantastic work ethic. Guess that’s the only reason the city of Denver loves Tebow.
I’m kind of with prog, bleed…Stewart always seemed uninterested to be at the ballpark for whatever reason…not sure if he was lazy or what…I love the kid (even have his jersey) but I think that ship has sailed…
I’m not arguing whether the guy has a good work ethic or not. I was just saying i wish him the best because i have followed him closely for so long.
I’m not arguing who you should be rooting for. Just surprised you would say, “if there was any player I want to see meet their full potential it’s this guy”. I don’t wish bad on him, but I don’t rank him above some one who actually is willing to put the work in and enjoys what he’s doing. I look at Fowler for example and pull for him to reach his potential.
Stewart was puzzling for sure…ton of potential but, IMO, lacked the drive…hard to say because I don’t know the situation, but it appears that something was missing…I’m intrigued by the players the Rockies got in return, but I am expecting absolutely nothing to happen with them…O’Dowd is stockpiling OFs…I can’t explain that at all…
Why do you think that last sentence? Its not like Ian Stewart is a hard worker who had bad breaks. IMO he’s squandered a lot of potential, so I have a hard time pulling for him.
Colvin kinda come out of nowhere. After being picked first, he quickly descended into being a non-factor. Then he came up to the MLB, suddenly found power, and was relevant again.
Stewart, however, was at least a top prospect.
So as of right now, the Cubs line-up looks something like:
DeJesus RF
Castro SS
Byrd CF
Stewart 3B
LaHair?? 1B
Soriano LF
Soto C
Barney 2B
Ouch.
ty. And yes ouch.
It will eventually be Soriano off the bench and hopefully the Cubs sign a catcher as well LaHair would be nice for them at 1st. Soriano has to go, take him and his 54mil and release him, I highly doubt he would bring back more then what they got for Derek Lee.
You don’t understand the economics of baseball, do you?
Whats the difference soriano is owned 54mil they need to compromise a buyout and let him go his. Not hard to do. No one wants him and they wouldn’t get anything good back.
LeHair will not be playing 1B this year. He doesn’t fit the Cubs’ short-term or long-term plans at all. Even if the we don’t get Fielder, we will still pick up someone else that has major league experience, or someone that is younger.
DeJesus RF
Barney 2B
Castro SS
Fielder 1B
Byrd CF
Stewart 3B
Soriano LF
Soto C
Garza P
No it goes
Castro ss
Barney 2B
Dejuses RF
Byrd CF
Soto C
Soriano LF
Veters 3B
Stewert 1B
So as of right now, the Cubs line-up looks something like:
DeJesus RF
Castro SS
Byrd CF
Stewart 3B
LaHair?? 1B
Soriano LF
Soto C
Barney 2B
Ouch.
To me, in the handful of moves that O’Dowd has made this winter I see Stewart as the guy that we might look back on in a handful of years and wonder “How did we let THAT guy go?”
To me, in the handful of moves that O’Dowd has made this winter I see Stewart as the guy that we might look back on in a handful of years and wonder “How did we let THAT guy go?”
Dume cubs Brew crew rox
Dume cubs Brew crew rox
Finally a good defensive 3rd baseman. Sad to see Colvin go but Quade hated him and Svuem probably would have been told to play money over talent as well, they traded DJ LeMehieu as well i thought it said someone else. That’s a big loss too. And whoever Casey Weathers is probably will never make the ML at all. The Cubs needed a good third baseman and they got him I wish they would’ve traded DeWitt though. He can bring back them a bulpen arm at the best and probably a AA ball player at best.
“The Cubs needed a good third baseman and they got him”
Lol if you think Stewart is anything even approaching the realm of “good”
He’s better defensively then anything they had last year. Offense might be as good but Ramirez is on a decline.
Who cares?
You better hope that Stewart has a better start than hitting .068. Yes, he was 3 for 49 at one point.
We do also get White Sox games here. We saw Adam Dunn. We are prepared.
Good trade for the Rockies as is. GREAT trade for the Rockies if they take Colvin, package him with Seth Smith and get Prado for them.
I think the addition of Colvin might incline O’Dowd to include Blackmon (finally) in a deal to get Prado. If that’s true then it will essentially be Smith, Blackmon, and Stewart for Prado and Colvin. I would be just fine with that.
What good is a 318 average if it’s accompanied by a 330 on base and a 380 slg%?
I wish any of these commenters would try studying math. The Cubs will likely not pretend to contend unless they can add at least 5.2 WAR to their lineup/pitching. That is most likely economically unfeasible. The Tyler Colvin and DJ apologists need to get off the scrappy-white-guy bandwagon and realize that the new powers that be are plugging holes. Any mlb regular bat at third gets us through a season in which we will not win no matter what who we sign. Someone has to play third. Welcome Ian Stewart. Finally we have a front office that is smarter than people who comment on web sites.
They already added 3 WAR with the DeJesus signing. Not hard to increase from the -1.1 WAR we saw there last year. Plus, you can probably assume an improvement from Castro and Soto this year as well. Not saying we’re going to be contenders for the central, but maybe for .500.
I agree. Theo is not claiming this guy is the next Mike Schmidt or Brooks Robinson. He is a young guy with some upside.
Stewart is a much better option than some journeyman, over the hill veteran who has no chance of being around in a few years.
good deal i think more so for cubs they lost aramis but gain a guy who plays much better de and still has 25 hr potential and it saves them about 10 mill over what they would have payed aramis this year and ian is 26 meaning they are set at third for the next 5 years which allows them to move vitters while he still has high trade value…hopefully if they do which i think they will it will be for a a young starting pitcher…they need some arms…. im not as high on d.j as most and colvin is just another 250ish hitter with some pop….these guys are nice to have but u don’t rebuild a franchise on them….and the rockies have a full house of outfielders so they now have pieces to trade also to up grade good deal for both really.
I would hardly say that the Cubs are “set” at 3rd for the next 5 years. Stewart had a horrendous year last year, has never hit even .260 in a season, and even his defense was bad last year (.929 fld % in 31 starts and 42 games). This is a make or break year for him.
However he does have some value and upside just from being a young ML 3B who hits from the left side with some power. If he does figure things out i could see him replacing some to most of the production that is leaving with Carlos Pena.
Giving up Colvin is no biggie. He is easily replaceable. LeMahieu seems to be the “bigger” loss of the 2. I just dont think he fit anywhere going forward. His best position is probably 2B and Barney has that covered. 3B defense is there but offensively i think he would have been below avg for 3B.
Overall i think the Cubs win the deal because the 2 guys they brought in have a higher upside to them if they figure out some things. Colorado ends up with a nice bench piece in LeMahieu but Colvin doesnt make much sense to me. It seems like they already have a couple of him on the roster already.
There are always two ways to look at every trade. One from a GM’s seat with a budget and other players in the system. The other from a fantasy approach where you can deal from an emotional side. On paper we traded two minor league players for 2 minor league players. The only reason Cub fans would be upset over DJL being in the deal is because we called him up and saw him last year. That gives us the impression he is better than he is. Solid players that give organizational depth are needed… For deals like this. Colvin on the other hand blew his chance. In a business where time is short you have to continue to improve. As I see it Colvin’s biggest flaw was that he proved he couldn’t hit off the bench and without regular playing time, and he couldn’t learn 1B. So where on the cubs is that playing time going to come. Not only this year without a spot but in the next few with Jackson and Szczur coming up. Organizationaly we are light at 3B. I would rather invest the time in Stewart and A Jackson or M Szczur than Colvin and LDJ…
Not a fan of this for the Cubs at all
Not a fan of this for the Cubs at all
Prado 3b for Rockies and yes Vetters is future 3B for Cubs,
there’s some upside there
Will someone spell Vitters correct!
Will someone spell Vitters correct….please!!
Josh “Fricken” Vitters!! Hopefull we will all know it real soon!
Colvin was really playing well 2 years ago before the injury that almost killed him. Last year was more of a rehabbing year for him, I believe Colvin will begin to show his true ability again this year.
Colvin batted .254 in 2010 before the injury. He had 18 doubles, 5 triples, and 20HR.. Sounds like he adjusted to Major league pitching just fine to me.