With the teams in the midst of an interesting series at Wrigley Field, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer discussed the oft-speculated match between his club and the Mets, with the former blessed with numerous young middle infielders and the latter possessing a number of appealing young arms. Hoyer acknowledged that there have been discussions between the clubs. “We haven’t made a deal yet, but there’s been matches that made sense, and I’m sure we’ll talk to them in the future,” said Hoyer. Though the Chicago executive noted that it remains likely that the clubs will match up on a deal of some kind “at some point,” it remains unclear whether there is any realistic possibility of traction on a significant deal involving their best respective talent.
- While plenty of water has passed under the bridge in the meantime, the Mets did ask the Cubs about the availability of top shortstop prospect Addison Russell at more than one point over the winter, John Harper of the New York Daily News writes. But talks never moved on that front, as Chicago made clear it was not interested in dealing its newly-acquired blue chip piece. The report, along with the team’s aggressive promotion of Russell to man second base at the big league level, obviously suggests that the Cubs’ internal assessment of Russell meets or exceeds that of the industry as a whole. Indeed, Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com opines that a trade of Starlin Castro — possibly, to the Mets — and commitment to Russell makes good sense for the Cubs, at least in the long term.
- Both clubs are, of course, set to get a good look at the Mets’ own best prospect, Noah Syndergaard, as he squares off against Russell and company tonight in the first start off his big league career. MLB.com’s Phil Rogers writes that the ascension of Syndergaard is a clear sign that New York is ready to compete — and to do so on its own terms. “It’s been tough,” skipper Terry Collins said yesterday. “There have been times there are big names out there [available in trades or free agency] and we said, ’We have to hold tight, we have to be patient. Our guys are coming, and when they get here, we’re going to be good for a long period of time.’ And I think that time is right around the corner. I hope it starts tomorrow.” As is the case with Russell, these comments seem to indicate that New York is hopeful that a rising Syndergaard will help drive the club in the immediate term — even in spite of an already quite productive rotation — which certainly reduces the already-low chance that he will be considered as a trade chip. They also provide further reminder that Mets GM Sandy Alderson has been quite selective in striking trades, preferring for the time being to monitor the development of internal talent while adding additional young pieces (quite successfully, of late) when the timing proved beneficial.
- For my money, while attention is focused on the matter now, Chicago would be wise to wait until the last possible moment to decide whether to move a middle infield piece this summer. Much depends upon the information gathered in the meantime on the team’s ultimate postseason likelihood and specific needs, the readiness of Russell, and the development of Javier Baez and Arismendy Alcantara. As a large market club with rising payroll capacity, Chicago can afford to wait to make its moves. Similarly, the Mets are right to take more time in assessing Wilmer Flores at short — to say nothing of watching Dilson Herrera at second and seeing how David Wright responds to his rehab — and getting a better read on their own playoff prospects this year. It remains possible to imagine a scenario where these clubs match up over the summer, or perhaps more plausibly next winter, but the connection remains highly conditional as things stand.
Brien Alley
Cubs would be silly to give up a stud for one of their pitchers considering the load of free agent pitchers they’ll have to choose from in the offseason.
VAR
Right, because having Syndergaard for 6 years at the league minimum and arbitration certainly wouldn’t be better than paying 200 million for the waning years of a guy’s career.
Ryan D
That’s 6 years of an unproven Syndergaard.
VAR
There are questions everywhere. But there is one certainty. Not a single pitcher over 30 has ever earned one of those huge long term deals they’ve signed.
Bob Bunker
Mike Mussina?
VAR
I’m sure it looked big at the time, but that contract was 6 years 88.5 million. Most guys would be looking at twice the AAV now. It’s tough to compare the different times and values. His contract was clearly worth it, but I was thinking more of the 125 million dollar plus contracts given out today. Verlander, Sabathia, Lester, Santana, Zito Jury is still out on Lester clearly, but the rest have been busts.
Brien Alley
Greinke hasn’t been horrible.
Solomon Crowe
The same can be said about your young players 😉
Ryan D
Yes, but considering the epidemic of young pitching injuries that have plagued the MLB lately, I’d be a lot more confident in young position players panning out over young pitchers.
Brien Alley
Exactly!
VAR
Still need both to win.
Ryan D
You don’t NEED young anything to win. Sure the Cubs could trade one of their potentially elite middle infielders for a potentially elite starting pitcher. Which one will be easier to replace on the free agent market next year?
Vandals Took The Handles
If the Cubs want to be real contenders, then they’ll have to get a deep pitching staff from somewhere. It’s a lot easier to build a farm system with position players than pitchers. Always has been. Epstein has never been very good with pitchers. He pretty much throws money at them and is happy if 1/3 give back any value.
Brien Alley
Never been good with pitchers? Pretty sure he drafted and developed Lester.
Vandals Took The Handles
One (2 of 3) in how many years?
AJ Speck
If he gets the same results in Chicago that he did in Boston you better believe the religion of Theanity or Epsteinism will be founded…probably in my living room.
Patrick Drexler
He wont be “unproven” for 6 years, lol
jammin502
Syndergaard did look pretty good last night. Not good enough against Arrieta, but real nice for his first outing. We have been hearing his name for a long time, first in Toronto. That said, I still am not very interested in trading either Castro or Russell. I like the thought of them playing up the middle for us for a very long time. I would guess that maybe next year they flip positions, but it would be great to create a continuity with them for many years.
Brien Alley
Yes because Syndergaard is guaranteed to be as good as all of the all-star free agent pitchers that will hit the market.
VAR
No guarantees anywhere. The all star pitcher could get an arm injury or turn into Justin Verlander. If the Cubs could make a Russell for Syndergaard trade they should do it in a second. Both sides win there.
Brien Alley
No disrespect to Syndergaard, he’s a good player. But being a pitcher alone makes him much less likely to reach his ceiling than Russell. Especially when Syndergaard has had a history of up and down years.
VAR
Russell may never reach his ceiling either. You never know. One thing is certain. No free agent pitcher who has ever signed one of those huge long term deals has ever been worth it.
Brien Alley
I know that he may not reach his ceiling that’s true of every player. However, position players are much less of a risk than pitchers. Also, Russell’s ceiling is “Barry Larkin with more power” according to Billy Bean so even falling short of his ceiling can still be a pretty great player.
Ryan D
Syndergaard peaked at #10 prospect rankings, Russell peaked at #3. Syndergaard is a pitcher who plays 1-2 times a week, Russell plays an elite everyday position. Plus Russell is younger. I certainly wouldn’t do a 1 for 1 swap.
VAR
Because of 7 spots on an arbitrary list? How often does an elite pitching prospect change hands? If they hypothetical trade was possible there would be no reason not to pull the trigger.
frankiet91175
Yea there is a 6 month age difference. That’s a lot younger?? I can see your a real winner!
Ryan D
Try more than a year age difference.
I never said “a lot younger”, I just said younger.
Voice of Reason
So, you’re saying starting pitching is unpredictable?
Think maybe that’s why the cubs ain’t trading Russell?
frankiet91175
He’s 22 years old what ups and downs are you talking about. Have you heard anything about pitching in Vegas. It’s the worst place to pitch. Check his stats this season, they are excellent. I don’t think when the Mets called the Cubs for a SS Syndergaard and Matz were not available. Both of these guys aren’t available in a Tulowitzki trade. You think they are available for Russell?? No way.
Brien Alley
Yes ups and downs. He didn’t have great numbers in Vegas last year.
frankiet91175
Ok he was 21 last year. I guess you don’t get the point.
Vandals Took The Handles
Minor League numbers can be skewed.
We don’t know what a player is working on at the direction of the coaches, manager, organization or even himself. A pitcher can be working on one of two pitchers, even though they aren’t his best; a hitter may be working to spread the ball around the field instead of puling everything. The average fans doesn’t know any of this – we’re not privy.
Marc Seligman
According to who? You? Las Vegas the ball flys out of the park. He had a winning record and showed excellent poise and control, Scouts and coaches rank him higher this year than last. I’ll take their informed opinion first
Patrick Drexler
He has had awesome numbers this year in Vegas,,,,and if you know anything about Vegas….thin air and small park takes an adjustment when a pitcher gets promoted there
paqza
This is simply untrue. He was 2nd in FIP, 2nd in K-BB%, and led the league in strikeouts. He was arguably the best pitcher in the league despite a couple of hiccups.
Brien Alley
A trade like this could flop for both teams with Russell being unproven and Syndergaard being an unproven power arm with control issues that likely ends up in the bullpen. Discuss…
Marc Seligman
When were Noah’s control issues? 508Ks/132BB in minors. What’s the issue?
Chris 60
Haha, who cares if he’s available? I wouldn’t want Syndergaard for Russell. Most Cubs fans wouldn’t do it if they had a say in it. You don’t think when the Mets called the Cubs for a SS SYndergaard and Matz were NOT available? So, you are saying they were available but not available for Tulo but not available for Russell?
Patrick Drexler
Cubs asked for Syndergaard and Matz….thats not happening..not for anybody in the whole Cubs organization…not getting both those guys for 1 player
Chris 60
For Bryant it would happen yesterday. Either way, we don’t make the decisions so.. it doesn’t matter what we want.
paqza
As a Mets fan, I’d do Syndergaard for Russell in a heartbeat.
Marc Seligman
When was his down year?
Chris 60
2014
paqza
Who are you talking about?
Marc Seligman
Scouts and management obviously do not agree with you but, what do they know?
Chris 60
They don’t agree with me on what? That Syndergaard had a down year in 2014? Cause if they are disagreeing that a 4.60 ERA in AAA is a down year, they are terrible at their jobs.
Marc Seligman
ERA is not a great stat to go by, especially for pitchers in Las Vegas. He was ranked as a higher prospect nationally than he was the year before. That doesn’t happen after a down year
Chris 60
ERA is a fine stat to go by, unless of course it disproves your opinion. There are plenty of pitchers that have pitched in LV including himself to compare the year to. It was a down year for him and he’s been less than impressive so far in MLB.
Marc Seligman
So explain why coaches, scouts, GMs think he improved? WHy was he a higher prospect than the year before? Then when you’re done figuring that out, maybe if you’re lucky I’ll give you the list of Hall of Famers who were not so impressive in their first major league starts.
Chris 60
So you think a 4+ ERA is improved? Syndergaard is good, but he had a down year. Regardless of what you are trying to use to defend it. Pitching at AAA and having an ERA of nearly 5, is just bad. Does that mean he is a bad pitcher? Of course not, but to say that he doesn’t have ups and downs is just flat out not telling the truth.
Marc Seligman
I would say 22Ks in approx 24 innings, 2.55ERA, 1.09 WHIP not to mention a .444 batting avg with a dinger is pretty darn impressive for 4 starts. Glad you’re not the GM for the Mets
Chris 60
This year at the MLB level.. He is doing very well. Does that mean that he didn’t have a down year last year? I think you are confused as to what a down year is. Being ranked highly as a prospect can happen even with down years, I don’t think anyone (including myself) thinks that Syndergaard isn’t a fine prospect and possibly a very good pitcher. That wasn’t and isn’t the argument. He had a down year last year, that’s literally the truth and if you feel the need to argue with that, I don’t know what to tell you.
Marc Seligman
but, those paid to be knowledgeable disagree with you. They ranked him higher not because of what he should have done but because of what he did. You’re only looking at one stat. I’ll look at one too – He led the PCL in Ks. To most, Ks means talent.
Chris 60
You can get ranked higher and still have a down year. You are really coming off poorly here. No, Ks mean hit and miss stuff. That doesn’t equate to talent and AGAIN no one is arguing whether Syndergaard is talented, the argument is whether or not he had a down year and he clearly did. If a pitcher had a 2.14 ERA most years and 4.60 ERA the next, would anyone say he had a normal year? If a guy hit 320 most years and then hit .250 would people say he had a down year or not? You sound ridiculous.
Marc Seligman
Chris, sorry. You are 100% incorrect. Ks = talent to scouts, coaches, gms ,managers. If a guy goes from the NL to the AL it’s assumed his ERA will be higher because of the DH and the way the AL constructs lineups. If a player goes from Binghamton to Las Vegas, it’s assumed his ERA will be higher because that park in known to be a heavy hitters park. Noah Syndergaard was considered one of the top pitchers in the PCL last year, despite his ERA. Maybe they judged him on the command of his pitches? Maybe just his demeanor on the mound?I dunno but, again the people who get paid to know such things disagree with you. This is why he was rated higher than the year before.
Chris 60
It’s assumed his ERA would be at near 5? You are drinking some seriously STRONG cool aid my friend. ks= talent? Hmm, I don’t think so. Are you saying Greg Maddux wasn’t talented? He wasn’t a strikeout pitcher. Too many holes in your argument.
Marc Seligman
Dude, again…people who make their living disagree with you. Yes strikeouts = talent. That has nothing to with Greg Maddux. Maybe they felt he improved and had a great year because he developed new pitches and had success later, after early issues. They’re not playing for wins in the minors (of course they prefer to win over lose but…it’s instruction first). Did you actually see him pitch? Well the people who ranked him higher Baseball America. MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus did. For now, I’ll take their more informed opinion over yours based on a stat.
Chris 60
I’m sure you will. It fits your argument.
paqza
Syndergaard doesn’t have a history of “up and down” years. He dominated in AA, was the arguably the best pitcher in the PCL last year, and then dominated again this year.
LayerCake
Exactly. In the wide world of baseball nothing is certain. Other than Cahill blowing up seemingly every start
Chris 60
No chance the Cubs would trade Russell for Syndergaard.
Solomon Crowe
and Russell and rest of the cub young players like Bryant are guaranteed to be good like the all star free agents…oh wait.
Brien Alley
yep.
Vandals Took The Handles
The only guarantee in baseball is with the great ones….and they have to stay healthy. For the record, I don’t think there are a dozen great ones in MLB today – Miggy, Trout, Kershaw, Tulo when he’s healthy, some others.
The fascination with 21-22 year-old players stumps me. So many people that think Billy Beane walks on water haven’t grasped that he gave up Russell for 1.5 years of a pitcher that he knew he didn’t have the money to retain. Might it possibly be that Mr. Beane is hot as high on said SS as the Cubs and fans are?
Brien Alley
Billy Bean said Russell is “Barry Larkin with more power” that’s a pretty high opinion of a player. He even said that after the trade so he had no reason to boost his value.
Vandals Took The Handles
Would you give up 6 years of “Barry Larkin with more power” for 1.5 years of a pitcher with a high salary for a pennant race that you’e comfortably in the lead in?
Words are words. Actions are what count.
Voice of Reason
Right, cubs are just going to give up their proven, 25 year old, all star shortstop, whom is locked up on a very team friendly contract AND on pace for 3,000 hits for a starting pitcher who could be good.
You build teams around players like Castro. You don’t trade them away.
Take Baez for him. Our unproven middle infielder for your unproven started.
Draven Moss
She didn’t refer to a Syndergaard-for-Castro swap. She was talking about a Syndergaard-for-Russell swap. Both potentially great players, who would serve the other team better due to need. Cubs needs pitching, Mets need a shortstop. It makes sense.
rct 2
haha, got to love Cubs fans downplaying Mets pitching prospects as unproven while projecting 3000 hits for a guy who’s lifetime OPS+ is below 100.
Voice of Reason
Hilarious…. Synd hasn’t thrown a big league pitch. That makes him unproven.
Castro will have 1,000 hits sometime in June. He’s 25. That makes him on pace for 3,000 hits.
The cubs ain’t trading proven for unproven.
rct 2
I don’t know if you actually look at stats, but the only thing Castro has ‘proven’ to be is inconsistent. After a few very good seasons, he was dreadful in 2013. He bounced back in 2014 to be worth about as much as Daniel Murphy. Do you want Daniel Murphy for years?
This year, he’s back to being dreadful. Sorry, if I’m the Mets, I wouldn’t trade anything of value for Castro, much less someone as highly-touted as Syndergaard. ‘You build teams around’ guys who are worth between zero (actually negative) and 3 WAR per season (his peak, which he hasn’t hit in three years)? Have fun with that. Castro at this point is barely an upgrade over Flores.
Patrick Drexler
Not a chance…Baez is a strikeout machine with no power. I wouldnt take him back for either Matz or Syndergaard…
paqza
Baez isn’t even as good as the Mets’ current starting SS, and that’s saying something.
Voice of Reason
But, Russell is just as cheap as your starter.
tesseract
Because the Addison Russell trade for 2 months of Samardzija made a lot of sense….. I believe a Synd for Russell trade is fair enough
Brien Alley
That happened because Theo took advantage of a vulnerable Billy Beane. Billy has regretted that trade since the day it was done. Russell is valued waaaaay more than 2 months of Samardzija.
37santobanks
*a year and 2 months of Samardzija
Basically they swapped Russell for Semien +2 months of Samardzija.
tesseract
You are right, I forgot about the extra year of control
tesseract
I agree that it was a bad trade, but that’s just to show that a Synd for Russel trade is not unrealistic IMO. But both of these front offices are stubborn with their prospects so I don’t see it happening
Patrick Drexler
You made about the most sense…Both front offices want the world for their prospects…I dont see it happening either
Voice of Reason
That is the most ridiculous justification for a trade, ever.
stl_cards16
Let Wilmer Flores play!
ceraunograph
Yeah, gotta get that lifetime .280 OBP in the line-up, defense be damned!
stl_cards16
He has less than a full season worth of AB’s. This season, his first with consistent at-bats, he has a 101 WRC+. Better than Castro’s career of 97.
Chris 60
Keep looking until you find a stat that backs up your point… brother.
rct 2
Castro’s isn’t much better. . .
rich 3
Flores has hit and hit well in the minors, not sure why you are using a small sample size for such a young player. Either way, Flores has legit, 15-20 HR power.
paqza
He’s got twice as many dingers as Tulo right now.
JordanSwingman
Flores needs to play, but if he goes into a deep slump or gets hurt, trades should not be the first action. They have Matt Reynolds who is more or less ready for a shot. If they didn’t have Murphy or Herrera for whatever reason, you could theoretically slide Flores to 2B and Reynolds into SS. Flores would probably be way better off at 2B, much like Duda getting to play 1B rather than LF.
boraswannabe
Cubs are overvaluing their prospects. Mets are overvaluing their prospects. Both Theo and Alderson want to destroy the other team in a trade.
Sure sounds like a match to me.
tesseract
I have never understood this prospect affair. I mean the A’s let Russel go for 2 months of Samardzija
Ryan D
And they got royally screwed because Samardzija helped them accomplish nothing.
Just because another team did it doesn’t mean they should have.
Brien Alley
Beane would have taken that trade back the next day if he could. Dumb on his part.
rct 2
Yep. Same story as it’s always been between these two. Still can’t imagine anything happening.
willi
Cubs are only going to give talent for “Proven” talent i.e.. Cole “Playoff “Hamels !
Chris Lattier
Lets face it – Cubs hitting prospects and Mets pitching prospects are all very good players. The fans of each of these teams both need to realize that all these players are good and Syndergaard isn’t way better then Russell and vice versa. It’s all about making these players fit as well as which front office is the most aggressive in conjuring up a trade here. If the Mets are more desperate you could see them giving up a Syndergaard or DeGrom plus prospects for Castro. If it’s the other way around, maybe the Cubs give more. Nobody really knows until something happens…and it may be that nothing happens. Maybe what Hoyer is getting at here isn’t a blockbuster…maybe it’s Alcantara for Conforto or Montero or something…might not be the biggest names. Might not be any names.
murph180
No shot the Cubs would get syndergarrd plus prospects for Castro… No shot
Chris Lattier
Same thing was probably said last year about the Samardzija-Russell trade…we just don’t know. If Mets are contending and Syndergaard gets lit up in the bigs and starts pitching like he did last year. That could happen. — not saying it’s likely — it’s just within the realm of possibility.
stl_cards16
Castro is just not that big of an upgrade over Flores to even think about trading that kind of potential for.
jammin502
“Castro is just not that big of an upgrade over Flores” That right there is the funniest thing I have heard all day 🙂 Castro is only 2 years older than Flores and will have his 1,000th hit before his 26th birthday. That will put him a couple of hundred hits above Derek Jeter at the same age. Castro also has at least one more All Star appearance at his age then Jeter had at that age. Will he end up with a Jeter like career? Only the future can tell, but the path is set.
rct 2
You’re citing a bunch of things that would be of no concern to the Mets. His number of hits accrued is partially a result of him playing in the bigs at age 20. The same number of AS appearances as Jeter? Who cares? The fact is that this season, Castro is once again playing very poorly, like he did in 2013. If he keeps this up, it’ll be two of the last three seasons as a sub-replacement player.
Flores has hit better than Castro and has been worth more this season. It’s only 30+ games, but Castro is well into his sixth season right now. How much better is he going to get, especially when he’s inconsistent from year to year? Flores is only 23 with less than a full season’s worth of games and is, right now, outperforming Castro.
jammin502
I am not quite sure how you can say that Flores is outperforming Castro this year … Are we looking at the same numbers? Flores has more errors and a lower fielding pct than Castro, less hits, RBIs, stolen bases. Yes, his OPS is higher and he has 1 more homerun, but I am not sure how he is “worth” more. But … If you are a Met fan you would value him more, and as a Cub fan I do not want the Cubs to trade Castro.
rct 2
His OPS+ and WAR are higher than Castro’s. RBIs are situationally dependent, error/fielding percentage are dependent on range, hits are a factor of ABs. You’re going by counting stats. Advanced stats have Flores as so far outperforming Castro. The season’s young, but Flores has been marginally better.
MattHollidaysForearms
Well said. I would humbly suggest Fangraphs as the place to investigate a player, rather than MLB.com bubble gum stats.
jammin502
Just find the stats that make your case, that is okay. Like I said, I do not want the Cubs to trade Castro.
rct 2
No. I am discounting stats that have been roundly discounted within the statistical community for the last 20 years. I guess me citing somewhat advanced stats is somehow worse than you citing irrelevant things like All-Star Game Appearances Related To A Completely Different Player (In This Case, Derek Jeter) and Number of Hits Before 26th Birthday.
I’ll iterate: Flores is playing better than Castro right now, no matter how low his ASGARTACDP(ITCDJ) and NHB2B are.
paqza
You misread. Nobody is saying Flores is better than Castro. He basiclaly said that Flores+Syndergaard is more valuable than Castro. And that makes sense – a mediocre shortstop and an above average pitcher are worth more to the Mets right now than a well above average SS.
MattHollidaysForearms
Well above average? What’s a well above average shortstop to you? ~3.5 WAR/600 PA? Higher, lower?
paqza
It’s all relative, right? But the point is that I think Castro’s definitely better than Flores but I definitely do not think that Castro’s a Syndergaard+Plawecki better than Flores.
MattHollidaysForearms
It’s not really relative at all. It’s why we have objective measures, so that we know what an average player is, and we know what an above-average player is.
paqza
Again, those “objective” measurements are for comparisons, which is to say, “how good this player is relative to”
Most of the common saber stats are relative – anything with a + on it, as well as anything based on any of those stats. wRC+ and WAR are two great examples.
And my definition for “above average” may just be anything above a 100 wRC+ when talking about offense and well-above average is completely subjective based on my perceptions of “well above”. But it’s all relative, or in other words, “it depends”.
Chris Lattier
I love Cardinal fans who are blinded by hatred for anything Cubs. Just admit that Cubs have some good pieces. haha
Chris 60
If Syndergaard is getting lit up, the Cubs aren’t trading Castro for him.
Brien Alley
for it to be a fair deal they would.
Tommets
Alcantara for Montero would be reasonable. No way Conforto gets dealt.
frankiet91175
Just like Baez, Russell strikes out every third at bat. No thanks.
Ryan 25
Yeah, because sample sizes and career statistics don’t mean anything!
paqza
Russell’s the real deal.
frankiet91175
Wow thank God you aren’t a GM. No way the Mets give up either for Castro. More like Montero and one of Niese or Gee and a lower prospect.
Ryan 25
Just your casual reminder that Syndergaard hasn’t thrown a pitch in the majors and Castro is a 3-time All Star.
Sigurd
Seriously needed to be said.
MattHollidaysForearms
All-Star selections are unimportant to this conversation.
No team is trading for past production. Castro has been a good player before, but it’s less about his past and more about what teams project his value to be in the next half-decade or so.
Ryan 25
Okay, allow me to revise. Starlin Castro is a 3-time All Star and is still only just 25 years old and is primed for many similar seasons ahead.
MattHollidaysForearms
3-time all star?! Has he won gold gloves too, or has he just not hit enough to win them?
These are meaningless to me. I don’t care about his accolades, I want to know how good of a player he is going to be in the future, and the number of his all-star appearances doesn’t help me with that.
Clark's Pants
I wouldn’t trade for anyone on the Mets other than Harvey. Doesn’t matter anyway because the Cubs will have David Price next year.
The Ring Empire
So DeGrom, Syndergaard, and someone like Niese you wouldn’t trade for? If so, then I can’t imagine a whole lot of Cubs fans with that perspective
Clark's Pants
I wouldn’t mind having Syndergaard or DeGrom but they aren’t worth their current value. Niese is worthless.
The Ring Empire
What? Niese would slot in as the Cubs 3rd best pitcher. The Cubs could absolutely use him.
Clark's Pants
He’s a #5 in the Cubs rotation and pretty much every rotation in baseball.
The Ring Empire
Nope, he’d slot behind Arrieta and Lester and ahead of Hammel and Kendricks. Just look up his stats, he’s a middle of the rotation guy.
Clark's Pants
He’s mediocre. Walks everybody and strikes out nobody. Hammel is much better and about the same as Hendricks.
The Ring Empire
Alright, now I know you are letting your bias drive your thought. That or you simply haven’t looked at his stats. Niese has a career 2.7 BB/9 which is better than Hammel’s.
Clark's Pants
You’ve convinced me. The Cubs should get Jon Niese.
paqza
I think you’re looking up somebody else. Niese has had above average control for his career. Miles beyond Hendricks. I’m guessing your just messing with people now?
paqza
I dunno about the Cubs’ rotation but I’m pretty sure the guy who’s been a career #3 and has a ~1.95 ERA right now is a bit better than a #5. It’s pretty clear you don’t have the info on Niese.
RippinNTearinAB
Fast forward 5 years and Met fans regret drooling over all their pitching “prospects.”
slider32
Or they all get arm problems.
Jason Pa.
for everyone saying russell for syndergaard, theo wouldn’t give up russell for hamels so thinking he’ll do it for an unproven rookie (while russell is equally unproven) isn’t his style. Baez or castro could happen but dreams of russell should be put to bed now.
paqza
Castro’s worth a lot more than Russell. One’s a proven top SS in baseball and the other’s completely unproven.
slider32
Cubs are in the drivers seat, pitching is outlier. Castro is proven, all the others aren’t right now, the Cubs can wait until mid summer and then rent a pitcher like Kazmir.
AJ Speck
THIS
slider32
Neither team will be at the caliber of the Nats, Dodgers, or Cards even with a trade. But wait, just make the playoffs and you become the Giants.
Nick Hyde
Syndergaard for Russell straight up is not fair. Russell is a better prospect, and a shortstop. But I don’t know why people are even talking about Russell. Cubs will trade Castro or Baez or nothing. I’m not overrating or underrating anyone. Syndergaard is nasty and I would love to have him. But I highly doubt the Mets will trade him for any of them. Syndergaard for Castro makes the most sense to me but I would not make that deal straight up…
Nick Hyde
Then again, none of us are GMs of a Major League Baseball team. Whatever Theo and Jed say, I approve!
Patrick Drexler
I wouldnt give up Syndergaard for Castro.
Chris 60
I wouldn’t give up Castro for Syndergaard.. Guess we are at an impasse and neither of us make decisions, so it still could happen.
canikickit
This thing is beaten like a dead horse, and quite frankly, it’s too late. Now that Tulo wants out, the Mets may have their sights once again on landing him.
ChicagoSportsFan
though i like Syndergarner’s stuff hard thrower or maybe the cubs try to get Blake Wheeler
KLBXL
I think the Cubs would be wise to trade Javier Baez for Steven Matz. Baez had a taste last year. It was….. a learning experience, to put it nicely. He’s played about 2.5-3 weeks in triple A and has seen success. The adjustments he has made has seen his K-rate drop by 5% this year in triple A compared to his K-Rate last year when in triple A. Going from 30% to 25% is still a lot of K’s but it is a great improvement. If he can carry that over to the ML level he could be a faster version of Adam Dunn (in his prime) and hit about .250-.260 with 30+ HRs and 25+ SBs. Steven Matz had TJ surgery right after he got drafted and as a result missed 2 years. However, since he has come back and played in the Mets system the last 3 or 4 years he’s been lights out in their system. Better than Syndergaard dare I say. To top it off he’s a lefty as well. UNPROVEN though. Which is why I think a Baez-Matz trade is fair. Why/how Matz isn’t on the ML roster in NY is baffling. Both Syndergaard and he should have been called up last year already. I sincerely doubt they trade Russell. If they trade Castro the arm they get in return better be Syndergaard or deGrom. ML talent for ML talent. All-Star (Castro) for potential All-Star.