The Cubs have had more talks about acquiring starting pitching than they have position players, though they would also like to add a left-handed hitting outfielder if the price is right, FOX Sports’ Jon Paul Morosi reports.
Jake Arrieta, Jason Hammel, Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks have all posted good to excellent results as Chicago’s top four starters, though the fifth spot has been a problem area. Tsuyoshi Wada has been effective when healthy but the southpaw is currently on the DL for the second time this season, while Travis Wood struggled in seven starts. Clayton Richard was acquired from the Pirates on Friday and threw a quality start on Saturday, though it’s hard to see Chicago counting on Richard as a stable option.
It’s possible the Cubs could target a big name on the pitching market, as Morosi writes that the team hopes to have an ace in the fold by the start of next season. To this end, the Cubs would prefer to acquire a pitcher under contract beyond this season (i.e. Cole Hamels) rather than a rental like Johnny Cueto, as if they get their top-of-the-rotation arm now, that would save them having to spend more time and money pursuing the likes of David Price in free agency this winter.
Morosi cites the Brewers’ Gerardo Parra and the Padres’ Will Venable as “two names to watch” as possible Cubs targets for their outfield need. Either would spell the switch-hitting Dexter Fowler against right-handed pitching. Fowler carried a tough .232/.308/.379 line into today’s action thanks in large part to a .660 OPS in 281 plate appearances against righties (but a healthy .833 OPS in 55 PA against lefties). Given the abundance of right-handed starters in the NL Central, a righty-mashing bat is a clear need for the Cubs.
Shortstop has become another problem area, as Starlin Castro’s below-replacement level season (-0.3 fWAR entering today) makes Morosi wonder if Chicago would consider getting a veteran middle infielder to pair with Addison Russell. The problem is that Castro has minimal trade value right now given his poor performance and the roughly $41MM owed to him through the 2019 season.
Josh Reddick
Cubs should aim him.
Jay Bruce and Aroldis Chapman for Starlin Castro, Kyle Schwarber, Pierce Johnson, Rob Zastryzny
Cubs acquire Ben Zobrist for Dan Vogelbach and Justin Steele
Looking for a starter, not a closer. Plus big no on Strike out Jay. Then I wouldn’t mind Zobrist but that’s too much for a rental player.
Cubs bullpen has pitched remarkably well for a while. They don’t need help there. The problem with Bruce is he’s a right fielder and that’s the only position Soler has ever played.
I agree, plus just not a fan of Bruce. He should be doing a lot better in that ballpark he plays in. I think there’s 2 good options for the Cubs. Either get Tyson Ross and Venable in a deal together or get Kazmir and Zobrist in a deal together.
Nice.. I like the Ross/Venable idea..
Both Kazmir and Zorbist will cost the cubs good prospects not their A ball players. Many teams has contacted the A’s on both of them. Beane has said he will make a offer to Kazmir so that means his price is a top prospect. Cubs fans need to know if you want players to win it cost real prospects and is a gamble.
How about getting rid of all of the other names and try something like this, Castro for Zobrist? Castro is worth more than that but the Cubs owe the A’s a big one after the Russell trade..
Bruce strikes out way too much for the Cubs who have a few players that strike out way too much already.. Schwarber will only being included for the under contract ace that was mentioned in the article and that still is only a maybe.. Chapman would benefit the Cubs greatly but try to remember he is only a one inning pitcher.. Besides the Padres teams usually don’t like to give up elite prospects for one inning guys..
If they’re acquiring Zobrist, they should sweeten the deal and get Reddick, too. They’re looking for a lefty outfielder, right? Can’t do much better than Reddick there.
Castro is a negative WAR player this year and just an average player over any multi-year time measurement. He also is owed over $40 million in contract obligations. No one wants that, especially teams that are selling.
That Cubs fans try to throw him into every trade scenario should, itself, give an idea of his value.
Castro is not worth more than Zobrist. He’s been awful for two of the last three seasons and shows no signs of getting back to his peak from three years ago. His once ‘team friendly’ long term deal is now a big gamble. Only way the As would do that trade straight up is if the Cubs covered a bunch of the salary, which won’t happen. He’s owed something like $43MM. Unless he goes on an absolute tear this month, his value is probably at its lowest right now.
The Cubs don’t “owe” the A’s anything. This isn’t a cooperative effort where each team is trying to help each other out. Beane got fleeced, he’s SOL.
Its called humor man.. Get the stick out of your butt..
I like the Zobrist deal but not the other!
No thanks on that trade. If Cubs trade Schwarber it will be in a package for hamels. I don’t see them moving him though.
If the Cubs go after Hamels it needs to include Castro. Russell is the future SS for the Cubs. Castro will never be as good as Rollins but they need a replacement for him.
and cue the ridiculously impractical trade ideas…
my money says the Cubs look internally for offensive help, since they’re not in a position yet to be moving top prospects for rentals and frankly don’t need any big bats on long term deals with all the offensive prospects they have.
They’re also 4th in the entire league in team ERA, so i don’t see them desperate to overpay for any rental pitchers either.
Theo’s gonna stick to the 5 year plan and not act of desperation this year. Nobody’s catching the Cardinals and the Cubs are good enough right now to win a wild card berth.
This is the first actual comment anywhere on the Internet, ever since Algore invented it, that makes sense. Nice job pitter-patter-petrie000
Hamels and Revere for Schwarber, Baez, Mckinney and Travis Wood
On a side note: Papelbon for EJax and Albert Almora
why would the Cubs give up anything for Revere, who’s a downgrade from Coghlan statistically, and why would they give up 3 MLB.com top 100s for a player no better than one they can buy in the off-season for another 3-5 million more AAV? (and the Cubs have money to spend)
$3-$5M more AAV? That’s what did David price for example and the current trend. Hamels is at $23.5M/yr which means you are saying Price would get $26-$28M/yr highly doubtful. I would be absolutely shocked to the point that I would follow my seat if he signs for anything less than Max $$. That is the current trend…one-up the last comparable contract. The last five years Price had better numbers than Max, the last three years Max had the edge. Unless the Cubs want to go the deferred money route you are looking at seven years approximately $31M per. Someone will pay it I just don’t know if it will be the Cubs
Although he is very good Hamels is not close to David Price..
Nowhere did I compare the 2 but since you brought it up here are the #’s for both covering the last 5 years…2010-2014 per BR…..
ERA WHIP BA WAR IP
Cole 3.00, 1.119, .234, 27.8, 1064
Price 3.08, 1.120, .234, 21.9, 1079
Fowler has a WAR of 0.4 and Revere’s WAR is 1.8. You may be looking at the wrong statistics.
considering i said Coghlan and not Fowler… and Ben Revere is frankly pretty bad in CF (-23 Rdrs… or defensive runs saved… for his career) … Well, you may be responding to the wrong post or just cherry picking your stats…
Since you want to discuss defense..
Coghlan: -0.5 dWAR this year (-7.8 career)
Revere: +0.2 dWAR this year (-1.8 career)
Yeah Revere has a noodle arm, but he’s been playing mainly LF this year which suits him much better.
and the Cubs problem is offense at the moment and not defense, so i’m not entirely sure why a left fielder’s dwar matters in this conversation.
The Cubs aren’t trading anything of value to improve their defense and hurt their offense.
Thanks but no thanks on Revere.
maybe because you just accused someone else of cherry picking stats and started quoting Ben Revere’s defensive runs saved stats…
And trust me, I’m no Revere fan and hope the Phillies trade him. But you can’t accuse someone of cherry picking stats when you turn around, do the same thing (using defensive stats I might add), and then change subject to say the Cubs need offense and not defense.
how is pointing out Revere’s a bad CF cherry picking when responding to a post implying he’d be a good replacement for Dexter Fowler… who’s a CF?
I’m most decidedly not the one trying to redirect the argument here. everything i said in my initial post is factually correct. the Cubs are looking for an offensive upgrade in the OF, Coghlan’s hitting better than Revere, and and Revere is not a viable replacement for Fowler since whatever offense he’d provide is then lost by his bad defense.
Your initial post simply said Revere is not an upgrade statistically. Someone used WAR to say he was (compared to Fowler accidentally then someone corrected it to Coghlan) then you said he was awful in CF (which is correct but irrelevant to what was being said). So yeah, you’re not redirecting the conversation at all. Not worth the time anymore, have a nice day
And for the record, I actually agree with most of what you said. Just disagree with the way you went about arguing your stance.
Coughlan: 1.0 WAR
Revere: 1.8 WAR
and WAR is one of the mostly useless stats out there for evaluating whether or not a player is a good fit for a particular team, because it’s an aggregate stat.
The more relevant stat here is that the Cubs need offense, and Coghlan’s OPS+ is 118 compared to Revere’s 97. Which means Coghlan fills the Cubs needs better.
Make it Castro Almora La Stella and Wood. You might be the only Cubs fan that wants Papelbon and 2 players for him is too much. He’s got maybe 2 good years left. and he’s a FA after this year if I am not mistaken. Baez and Schwarber should be untouchable. You seen what Schwarber did in his 5 game stint.
Throw in Sonny Gray and you got a deal with the Castro idea lol
Cubs fans are still pushing castro? did you not read the entire post?
I’d trade Cueto for Baez and maybe another smaller piece or two right now.
You could get way more than that. . .
I still think Theo sticks to his guns and doesn’t move any of the big-name prospects this year. The same arguments for the Yankees apply to the Cubs- why trade two elite prospects for Hamels when all Price is going to take is money?
I hate this argument. Because the Cubs want to win this year, do they not? Price can’t help you do that if hes pitching for a different team. Hamels, however, can help you this year.
The Cubs want to win this year, yes. What they want even more is to win next year and the year after that and the year after that and the year…
The reality is, though I have no idea how the Cardinals are playing as well as they are with the injuries they’ve had to deal with, they’re absolutely running away with it. Believing we’re going to catch them in the division is wishful thinking. The question is how much of our future to mortgage to bolster a chance to possibly be part of a one-game playoff that may or may not see us into the big-boy playoffs.
Hamels is controllable at a fair price so he isn’t without any possible intrigue to the Cubs, but I’d still rather shell out some extra cash and keep the long-term pieces that we would need to give up to acquire him. Getting to the playoffs in 2015 couldn’t possibly mean less to me if it comes at the expense of our chances of getting there in 2016 and beyond.
That’s reasonable. Just be happy that even if your team did shell out the prospects to get Hamels (or any other big name at the deadline), that your farm system is well equipped to do so and will still be good after the trade. Cubs management has put the team and it’s farm system in a great position for now and the future.
For sure. It has been a painful handful of years but I’m very happy with where Theo and Jed seem to have the franchise.
That’s actually why I’m so reluctant to start selling prospects off. He came into Chicago and made a promise that he was going to turn the Cubs into long-term contenders. His opinion was the best way to win a World Series is to be in the playoffs every year, and I totally agree. I don’t want to end up where a combination of trading away and prospects who don’t pan out lead to pushing in for a window of contention instead of an expectation of continuous contention.
No doubt about it, they’ve built the Cubs for the long haul. But take it from someone who’s seen his team be awful, then have a great 5 year run and then fall straight off of a cliff. When you have a chance to go for it (and have the resources to that won’t destroy your future), do it. You might only get that one chance. And I’m not saying the Cubs should go all-in this year. I’m just saying if they’re in the thick of it come the trade deadline and can make a trade that gives them someone that can help this year and beyond, go for it. Don’t overpay, but if the right deal is there, pull the trigger Theo.
I think that’s why if I was him, I’d be interested in someone like Hamels and not Cueto or Kazmir. The rental is going to cost a lot to begin with and if you just add in probably one more good prospect, you get the SP who’s under contract for another 4-5 years. If RAJ is being RAJ and asking for Schwarber, Russell, and Baez then obviously pass. But if the offer is there that gives up some players who will be blocked down the road if they pan out and doesn’t cripple the farm, go for it.
I like rooting for the underdog and love the way the Cubs are doing things. I’m hoping the Phillies follow that model. It will take a while to get there, but I’m on board for that plan.
I’m not sure if I quite understand this argument. The Cubs will still be in a position to win in future years if they trade away prospects for the likes of a Hamels this year. Especially considering that Hamels has multiple years of control at a below market salary. Also, if the Cubs get into the playoffs, a starting rotation of Hamels, Arrieta, Lester and Hammel is very formidable. Match that rotation up with the big bats of Rizzo and Bryant and they have as good a shot as anybody.
While the Cubs have as bright a future as any team, I wouldn’t count on getting back in the future since anything can happen. The 2012 Nationals might play the whole Strasburg situation differently and I’m sure the young 2008 Rays thought they would be back to the WS again by now. You never know what might happen, so there is nothing wrong with striking when the iron is hot. Even if it wasn’t the original plan entering the season.
Agreed. The Cubs are the ideal team to make a move for a guy like Hamels because even if things don’t work out this year, they’re still in a great position for the future with a young lineup, good rotation, and still deep farm system.
Will Price be able to pitch one day for the Cubs, the next for the Yankees, then the Tigers, then the Red Sox, and then the Dodgers? There are a lot of teams that want him and there’ll be far less TOR starters.
Cueto, Price, Zimmermann, and Grienke are all likely available at the top of the market. Somewhat farther down there is Kazmir, Fister, Gallardo, Latos, Samardzija, and Ian Kennedy.
Lots and lots of options available this offseason that would all likely be huge improvements. Cubs can play at the top of the market if they want, or they can go a bit further down. Heck, they might be able to get two of those lesser guys for less total dollars than one of the first group would cost them if they thought that was a better approach.
I have nothing in particular against Hamels, and I’m not dead-set against acquiring him, but there’s no reason to add him in a panic over the fear that David Price might not be a Cub next year. (Personally, he’s not even my first choice.)
Doug Fister has been replacement level this year. Ian Kennedy and Mat Latos below that. I don’t think any of those guys are a big upgrade for the Cubs.
There’ll be a lot of teams competing for these starters. There’ll probably be 10 teams going for Cueto, Price, Zimmermann, and Grienke and you can throw in another 10-15 teams for the others on your list. In the off-season the Twins signed Ervin Santana. and the Royals signed Edinson Vólquez. So even small market teams will be able to compete for $12-15 million a year guys.
I’d take the odds on a rebound for all of those guys, especially Fister.
That said, it doesn’t change anything for me. Even pulling them out of the list, I’m not going to panic over the possibility that the Cubs fail to acquire anybody from a list of eight possibilities. This is one of the best offseasons in terms of free agent pitching in recent memory. I’ll take my chance and if we somehow fail to acquire any upgrade we can re-evaluate who is available for trade at that point.
The braves match up really well. I believe the cubs can have there pick of the litter not named miller. Minor could be thrown in for cheap for next year. Kelly Johnson might be worth taking a flyer on. Offering to take chris johnson off our hands would bring the FO to the table.
CJ has no place in Chicago. 3B/LF/1B are filled with long term options in Bryant, Schwarber and Rizzo.
What lefty OF bat would the Braves offer?
The Braves aren’t selling low on Teheran, and Alex Wood is a potential ace. Miller and Wisler is off limits and Minor hasn’t pitched this year.
Cj is salary dump… would probably be released after. Kelly johnson Aj Pierzynski are the only bats they have to offer. Neither have alot of value. Teheran and wood are both expendable for the right price. Hart isnt gonna put on lipstick for theo. Young controllable pitching aint free. But one mlb player and a few great prospects and cjs salary should get the cubs a 2-4 man… Or “ace”
You don’t seem to understand the whole ‘rebuilding’ thing. You don’t trade away Teheran and Wood while rebuilding. Both are TOR arms, despite this years results. Kelly Johnson or AJ Pierzynski have no place on the Cubs.
Trading a great pitcher for 3 or 4 great prospects and a decent mlb player seems like a rebuild move to me? Ne Constructive criticism bro. Im looking at ST 2016
1. Miller
2. Wood
3. Teheran
4. Wisler
5. Banuelos
6. Folty
7. Minor
8. Perez
9. Arroyo
10. Jenkins
If im rebuilding im gambling 11 million on minor and arroyo(bull pen) which leaves wisler banuelos folty perez and jenkins fighting for one spot. Braves can afford to part with a great pitcher at this time.
One mlb player and a few great prospects plus taking on salary for one pitcher? Is that you Amaro??
Braves may trade Shelby Miller for Kris Bryant. I also think Markakis could be had for Schwarber or Almora and Olt or Caratini.
there’s no chance in this reality the Cubs move one of the top power bats in all the minor leagues (Schwarber) for a player who’s power has completely evaporated this year (Markakis). Especially not with Markakis signed for another 3 years after this.
Bryant for Miller? Schwarber for Markakis? Wow..
I wonder if the Astros trade Colby Rasmus to the Cubs.
Astros are in the race and probably aren’t going away. They just lost Springer. They wouldn’t trade Rasmus now.
Hamels & Revere for Baez, McKinney, Johnson, & Lockhart. Theo saves 100M not chasing Price, and makes a run this year
I wouldn’t do that if I were the Phillies. Make it Schwarber instead of Baez and I could see them considering it. Baez is just too much of a risk as a centrepiece in any deal involving Hamels.
I think the Cubs will wait until next year to get a top end starter, they like Price and Carpenter more than Hamels. I see them going after one of them. They have the best propects if Theo decides to go the other way and get Hamels, or someone like Kazmir. I think Maddon really wants Zobrist down the strectch
Castro is a 25-year-old SS who has had success over the years. His contract value is also low by current standards . He has value, just not as much as if they had traded him after last season. They’re better off banking on the rebound themselves.
Forget trading Castro, his value wasn’t that high to begin with given his defense. I’d cut my losses with Castro and just swap him with Russell. If they’re both going to be in the lineup I’d rather have Russell’s defense at SS over Castro, plus Castro’s defense might benefit from the shorter throws. Granted I think the fear isn’t that Russell can’t play SS, it’s that Castro would have trouble moving to 2B. But right now Russell is the Cub’s best short stop and Castro is probably their best second baseman.
On the other hand if a team is desperate for a SS than his value increases, but there aren’t that many teams in playoff races where Castro would be an upgrade.
If Alcantara was swinging the bat better I’d say have him plantoon with Castro and Fowler with Russell still moving to SS. His usual power has been there at AAA, but he’s not getting on base the way you’d want given he’d replace Castro or Fowler in the lineup.
The Cubs are fighting for the right to play in a one game playoff. The game has changed now and grabbing that wildcard spot doesn’t hold the same value that it used to. I see no reason to trade away your potential future pieces (Baez, Schwarber, Edwards) for a slightly higher chance to reach that one game playoff spot.
He would be an upgrade on the Yankees.. Especially, if he moved to 2nd..
What do you think it would take for the Mariners to get Castro? Seth Smith or Dustin Ackley or Brad Miller could be a left handed hitting option, and Elias or Montgomery could be offered up.
Maybe Montgomery/S. Smith/AA arm for Castro?
I think the Brewers will ask a lot more than the going rate for a rental of a platoon bat to their rivals. Parra’s in the top 10 in batting in the NL playing full time for more than a month.
Yes he’s FA after this year, but Brewers could opt to give him a QO after the season, which is not all that absurd for a 28 year old with a line of .308/.345/.477 in this day of offense being at a premium.
I thought Castro was this “3 time All-Star” stud that teams would have to give up the farm for????
Don’t forget that he has a ‘team-friendly’ deal, is only in the midst of a ‘small slump’, and is a lock for 3,000 hits!
As an O’s fan, I’d be willing to trade the Cubs some of our excess (Travis Snider and Bud Norris) for Vogelbach and a solid pitching prospect at AA or high A. It helps the O’s clear a roster logjam in the outfield and the rotation while getting a good 1B prospect into the system, and it helps the Cubs get the LH OF bat and back end starter they are looking for. Yes, Norris has been awful this year, but he’s a head case and whatever you guys did with Arrieta and Strop seems to have worked wonders on their heads so maybe you can fix Norris as well.
I would love to see a trade with Oakland to land Reddick and Zobrist. Move Russell to short and Zobrist to second. Reddick in left. I would like to think an initial offer of Castro, Baez, Vogelbach, and an additional player would at the very least bring Oakland to the table to negotiate, no? Then I’d call up the Sox and make an aggresive play for Sale. Start with Schwarber Torres McKinney and Almora. If they can somehow land Chris Sale, they would undoubetly become the favorites to win the National League next year as well because they have the money in the offseason to add a Zimmerman, Price, etc., to the rotation. That would be scary. They simply cannot continue to have Schwarber rake in triple a until Montero is a free agent and not take advantage of the situation in some capacity now. Move Montero in a trade and call Schwarber up, move him to left, or trade him. Something needs to happen. Frustrating to see the offense struggle knowing you got a dude that instantly improves your team in Iowa. Pretty sure if you plug him in left and there’s a fly ball hit to him, he’ll catch it. Aside from Fowler leading off, I like this team even if it means moving several prospects to get it.
Fowler-CF-S
Rizzo- 1B-L
Bryant-3B-R
Zobrist-2B-S
Reddick-LF-L
Soler- RF-R
Montero-CA-L
Pitcher
Russell-SS-R
Sale
Arrieta
Lester
Hammel
Hendricks
I think there is an outside shot that the Tigers try to move Price, if so the Cubs would go after him first!
Hah! I hope you are joking with that package to try and land Sale. With his contract and pitching, he is the most valuable player in ALL of baseball.
It would take Bryant and more to land Sale..
Cubs get: Shelby Miller and Kelly Johnson
Braves get: Javier Baez, Gleyber Torres, and Kevonte Mitchell
miller would cost you kris Bryant. Hart would sweeten the deal but both are basically untouchable in their respective FO’s view. BAEZ and Bryant for Miller,Wood, and markakis intrigues the crap out of me. Crazy but I think I might pull the trigger If I was the GM… I’d be fired before cobb opened after miller or wood gets the CY young in 2016.
You said it correctly that both are basically untouchable. There are very few players in all of baseball I would trade Bryant for. And Shelby Miller + whatever you want to throw in isn’t one of them. Bryant is about as close to untouchable as you can get for the Cubs as Miller should be for the Braves.
I like the original package better. Bryant is untouchable, and it would be crazy, but Baez+Torres+Mitchell should be fine for Cubs fans
I don’t get why Miller is thought of so highly.. His FIP last year was 4.54 and this year is 3.07.. He has been very good this year but his track record hasn’t been solid so far.. Is he valuable? Yes.. Should he be untouchable? No Is he worth anything close to Bryant? No
Dear Cubs fans,
1. Your prospects are not as godly as you think they are. Almora isn’t hitting, Vogelback can’t field and hasn’t hit for much power, and others don’t have the ceilings you think they do.
2. Theo won’t stand pat. They’ve even discussed with media that they’ll likely buy some pieces.
3. The Cubs can afford to buy. For other teams, it would mortgage their future. Not the Cubs. Their farm is deep enough and their MLB team is young enough that they can use prospects to buy pieces. There really isn’t a spot for Baez, Alcantara, Vogelbach, and others in the Cubs’ future, except as bench bats, where they would be wasted. So you trade them, upgrade the current team, and try to win a freaking ring already.
I don’t think any Cub fan has a problem with the team trading any of the names you mentioned.
Yes, but those are rent pieces. I haven’t heard much enthusiasm in trading them for rents.
I think Cubs fans expect to add something. Just not at the splash worthy level it would take to land someone like Cole Hamels. It is simply easier to pay only cash for one of the multitude of pitchers available this off season.
Jose Quintana and David Robertson from the White Sox
for
Schwarber, Baez, Gleyber Torres, McKinney and Justin Steele
Would save the cubs tons of money in next yr’s FA since they wont have to go after Price. Quintana is under team control till 2010 on a team friendly contract and the last 3 yr’s has been better then even their $26 million dollar man Lester.
They don’t need Jose and Robertson.
Schwarber is untouchable.
I agree, Baez, Schwarber, Almora, and Edwards are untouchable unless they could land a young ace like Snydergaard, or Gray.
or Matz
Matz….I’m pretty sure he is untouchable. Syn…it’d take a lot, but for a guy like Russell…that is a conversation.
I don’t see Matz going anywhere. Of all the Mets pitchers, I honestly see him being the one they HAVE to keep the most. They only have one other LHP (Niese) and they are looking to trade him. After Matz, they have almost nothing cooking on the farm in the way of LHP. You can make the argument that they don’t need a LHP in the rotation at all, or can just use Niese and trade Matz, but the FO does not seem to agree with that line of thinking.
Syndergaard could easily be dealt in the right deal, but I really don’t see Matz going anywhere.
If only Quintana was actually even close to the same ‘ace’ level talent as Price, this argument might have some merit.
But considering he’s a 2/3… well, if the Cubs were in the ‘bargain rate ace’ market, we’d still be screaming in frustration over Samardzija instead of the Sox.
And Robertson’s on a horrible, horrible contract. any GM that gives 10+ million guaranteed to a reliever should be fired just on principle.
How about a trade for David Price only if he agrees to sign an extension.
Why would the Tigers trade their only top pitcher when they are in the race?
HOW BOUT EJAX FOR MARAKIS?
If you want to know what the Cubs will do, listen to Theo. Every year he says what they’ll do and every year they go out and do it. But still fans dream up these ridiculous scenarios. Cincinnati isn’t trading an ace to a division rival and the Cubs aren’t sending a bag full o’ top prospects to a division rival. Sale isn’t going anywhere. Neither is Schwarber. So you can stop trying to package him. I also don’t understand everyone trying to trade Jackson, Wood and Almora for a team’s best players. Other teams see what they are. There are no secrets. Look for them to go after a LH OF bat and a 2nd/3rd tier SP. They’re not going to deplete the farm for a one game playoff. Roster plugs coming this month. The bigger moves will be this winter.
If Cincy desides to become sellers then they are pretty much declaring a lost season.. I doubt they would mind trading Cueto to a division rival since they won’t be challenging for the playoffs.. But, as you stated the Cubs are not going to send good prospects to a division rival.. You are right that Sale isn’t going anywhere unless the White Sox get lots of premium young controllable major league talent in a deal.. Prospects tend to bomb more often than not.. Out of the top 100 every year how many do you think become solid major leaguers, 25? That is a lot to gamble for a pitcher like Sale with a very friendly team deal.. I agree with you on Schwarber staying put.. I think most of that speculation comes from rival club’s fans.. I also agree that those 3 players seem to get a ton of speculation as centerpieces of a deal for a superstar.. Its laughable, especially Jackson.. If they could get a team to pay one weeks worth of salary I am sure they would wave goodbye to him.. He has been decent in the pen up until today but has no business still being with the team..
The Braves could deal Andrelton Simmons, Julio Teheran and Chris Johnson for Starlin Castro, Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora and $20mil toward Castro salary or Carl Edwards.
You scare me with your horrible trades
Trading a shortstop for a shortstop doesn’t make sense.. No Braves pitcher is worth Schwarber.. I am not discounting the talent in Atlanta.. More, just reinforcing how high Schwarbers stock is right now.. The Cubs could trade Schwarber for just about anybody.. Chris Johnson is about worthless.. If that deal was to happen the Braves would have to kick in money to offset Johnson not the other way around..
Starlin Castro for Jon Niese
Mets get a batter they need and Cubs get the pitcher they need
If I were Sandy, I’d consider that deal if the Cubs included $. I’d still rather Baez as a trade low candidate (and Niese at top valuation…and it’d still be a stretch), but Castro could bounce back or he could be Wilmer Flores v2.0.
The Mets would get a batter who is hitting markedly worse than either Tejada or Flores, said hitter being also worse defensively *and* being owed $43MM more over the next 4.5 years. Huge pass on this. Castro is not a good player.
The Braves could deal Andrelton Simmons, Nick Markakis and Chris Johnson for Starlin Castro, Kyle Schwarber, Albert Almora and $20mil toward Castro salary or Carl Edwards.
The Cubs take back significant salary, 2 bad contracts and still have to part with 3 good young players?
Starting Pitching: Julio Teheran; Lefty Outfield: Nick Markakis; Shortstop Upgrade: Andrelton Simmons.
Braves can satisfy Cub needs with the trio above plus Chris Johnson and Jonny Gomes for Starlin Castro and three top prospects plus cash for half of Castro’s contract.
Nick Markakis isn’t hitting any better than Chris Coghlan is. Teheran isn’t pitching well and the Cubs don’t want a long term SS solution because they already have Baez, Castro, Bryant, Russell and Alcan who can play 2B/3B/SS.
You apparently disagree that the Cubs want a starting pitcher, left handed outfielder and shortstop upgrade. Fine. I see why you think .254 is the same as .295 and oh why bother.
when the .254 hitter has an OPS 50 points higher than the .295 hitter… yeah, they kinda’ are the same. Markakis is hitting for no power this year.
i’d also highly disagree that Simmons is a huge upgrade at SS… he’s a great defender but doesn’t hit any better than Castro at the moment… and Castro’s demonstrated better hitting ability in the past.
The Cubs are looking to upgrade the offense… your proposed deal leaves them no better off in that department.
You obviously can’t count or analyze. Teheran 6-4 for losing team, Lester 4-6 for winning team. Which pitcher is not doing as well as historically would be expected?
If you’re honestly using pitcher wins and losses for your analysis then you’re not qualified to argue baseball at all.
Teheran’s a good pitcher, but his FIP this year (a more advanced form of ERA, adjusted for parks pitched in and his defense, so basically everything the pitcher has no control over discounter) is 4.5 this year… Kyle Hendricks’ is 3.4 and Hendricks is the no. 4 starter for the Cubs. Jon Lester’s is actually 3.4 as well. So actual analysis… meaning applying some critical thinking and using actual information… would imply Teheran would actually be the worst starter on the Cubs this year.
But sure, that’s worth 2 or 3 top prospects just because some Braves fan wants them.
Simmons can’t hit according to any stat you wanna use and is guaranteed more money that Castro for the same number of years, and Nick Markakis is owed a lot of money and can only seem to really hit singles anymore… if you actually look at his number.
So, when we actually do some counting and analysis, Your deal would be frankly wretchedly awful and a big step back for the Cubs…
Now, if you’d like to actually counter any of that with numbers that mean anything (i.e. anything more advanced than wins for a pitcher (which are frankly team stats and have little to do with a pitchers actual talent) and Batting average… be my guest. But you might wanna actually open baseball-reference and do some reading first.
clown comment bro. Simmons is beyond untouchable. His glove is generational. His arm should warrant CY young votes. Markakis is controllable, actually earning his pay check, and has no obvious replacement. Both would require over an over pay. Freeman needs a 5 hole bat to protect him. I personally feel hart is kicking himself for the Gattis trade. Does Castro have the Arm to learn to play 3rd in the off season ? I like the Castro Johnson swap but the cubs would have to eat the kinda money that gets people fired. I think the braves are gonna eat the rest of their $17 million mistake or have a high paid bench bat. Julio Teheran warrants 3 top prospects and an mlb player(not a salary dump). Baez plus would get hart to the table.
I like the fact that Maddon said from day one that his goal was to get to the playoffs, his team seems to have that mentality.
I find it funny reading all of the lowball offers Cubs fans think they can throw out there to receive some of the players they want/need.
I think maddon is pushing theo for zobrist. I can see zobrist and Chavez paired together and it shouldn’t cost cubs one of their top tier prospects like Baez or Schwarber
there is so much idiocy on this comment section. I’m glad that none of you are involved in front office transactions with mlb teams, let alone little league teams. For the fans of other teams, you clearly are overvaluing your team’s players, as is the cubs fans on here. If trades were so simple, then they would be completed all of the time. Months, if not years, go into scouting/developing/offering/counter-offers that GM’s cannot just start from scratch and accept trades. Realistically, the cubs will likely look for pitcher in the offseason or a buy low type for their 5th starter. hendricks is young and has earned the right to be a Back-end-rotation player. As for the matter of a lefty to spell fowler, they will likely target a guy like reddick from oakland or someone else who will only take a couple C or one B level prospect. There is no point in getting into an arm’s race when the wildcard teams must participate in a play-in game. The Pirates would pitch gerrit cole, who would wreck us. Winning the division should be the top priority, but it isn’t happening this year. The Cubs are playing their games exactly how they should by competing and growing together. They will have some september call ups who can probably help and stash on bench for a wild card game. For the cubs to truly emulate the cardinals, they need to think long-term and not just 2015. That is all 🙂
It looks to me like the A’s have some of the best players to grab as rentals, Zobrist, Kazmir, and Clippard all would fit the Cubs well.
Cubs offense littered with mediocre hitters minus Rizzo and Bryant. Russell will be ok. Schwarber is third best offensive option on this team. Bring him up and quit giving away wins. Ross as Lester’s personal catcher is a joke.
How about a deal with the NYM for Jon Niese and Granderson?
Best fit for the Cubs as usual is the Braves. Atlanta has Cameron Maybin, Nick Markakis, Julio Teheran, and Williams Perez available but Chris Johnson and Jonny Gomes have to be included to make a deal. Braves will take an “A” level prospect for any of the guys that can help the Cubs.
Castro, Almora and cash 80% of castros contract for Reddick and Gray.
Castro Almora and Vogelbach and cash for Hamels and Papelbon. Papelbon is flip for more pitching. Baez, Schwarber and Russell are untouchable. honestly calling up Teagarden over Schwarber was dumb. It would give him a chance to see what he has behind the plate. Teagarden nearly cost the Cubs the game last night