Rosenthal's Latest: DeWitt, Murton, Vargas, Hatteberg, Pena, Baek, Piazza

As of now, Vargas won't even be on a team to start the season. The Brewers released him.

I think the Braves are VERY interested in trading Brayan Pena. The offers we've gotten probably just haven't been acceptable.

A "top" pitching prospect for Murton? I like Murton and I've been vocal about him getting a shot to prove himself. But let's not get carried away here. If we can get some help in the bullpen or maybe some potential depth to stash at AAA, the Cubs should do it.

nothing much to say except trade murton to the padres so he can play everyday and i can stop hearing about him. i really like when rosenthals latest are put on the site. he is the best in the business and i always trust what he says. i dont usually go to foxsports.com( i prefer sportingnews) so having his comments posted here is great. thanks tim.

How can you send down/trade one of your top OBP (on-base) guys (Murton?) I know, the 4th outfieldere has to play CF. Well I'd rather have Matt Murton to back up Soriano in right when he inevitably hurts his leg again. Fukudome, Cedeno or De Rosa can play CF in a pinch. Need Murton's bat on the team.

I'd like the Mets to sign Vargas to a minor league deal. If he won't accept it, than whatever.

Chris Mason and Josh Butler from the Rays. Then Hendry can say he won a trade, and enjoy another 85-88 win NL Central Championship season.

I'd take Mason and Butler for Murton. I'd also take an 88 win NL Central championship. Once you're in the dance anything can happen. It's been done many times before.

If and when the Cubs trade Murton. I can only hope Hendry trades him to a team in the AL. I would not trade him to the Padres or any team the Cubs might have to play IF they get to the playoffs.

i noticed that the o's released jay gibbons. maybe the o's want murton and maybe the roberts deal will after all get done. jay payton is getting old so murton would look awfully good for them.

I agree that the Braves are wanting to move Pena. Wren said several things were in the works and to expect a move in the next week in an interview during yesterdays game. David O'Brien, who tipped off the Tyler Yates trade, said he has a very strong hunch that Pena will be moved. Even Bobby Cox said when asked about carrying 3 catchers that they would only be doing that for "a little while". Pena will be moved!

Reds fan here...I'm sure that if Piazza would agree to a small contract the Reds would have him platoon at 1st and play a little catcher.

He would look good in that lineup as a catcher:

Patterson - CF
Keppinger - SS
Griffey - RF
Phillips - 2B
Dunn - LF
Piazza - C
Votto - 1B
Encarnacion 3B
Pitcher

Thoughts?

The Cubs just sent Murton and Marshall to AAA. There is some quality depth on that team...but it's pretty sad to see Murton in AAA. He's unquestionably a major league hitter. Hopefully the Cubs can find some middle ground with another team to give him a shot somewhere.

Great Job Jim You
Can't Even Trade MATT MURTON

Like i said the other day, the Cubs wanted too much for Murton, if their prices comes down a little bit i am sure the Padres would take a shot at him. But he is not worth a top arm. I could see the padres making a trade with a reliever, but not a top pitching prospect.

I would rather have two B prospects for Murton. Then they can have more in the arsenal for the deadline to try and add a top of the rotation pitcher.

Airman, I have to agree here. To be fair though, Rosenthal said the Cubs are asking for a "quality" prospect, not a "top" one. That makes more sense. Murton is a quality player, you'd expect some quality in return...you don't want to give him away. But at the same time, the Cubs have to be realistic about their expectations. There's a lot of corner OF'ers there to choose from in the market, teams will rather take a shot at another player, even a lesser one, rather than give away too much. In Hendry's defense, he's got major league ready depth for Soriano and Fukudome in AAA now. Both of those guys were hurt last year. That has to have some value for the Cubs too. The big loser in this scenario, of course, is Murton himself.

If I were the Cubs I'd keep asking for the sky for Murton. If someone let him play everyday I'm predicting he'd hit .296/.365 with about 20 HR and over 70 RBI's.

Let's not give him away, like we did Scott Moore and Rocky Cherry (among numerous others for bad veterans) and keep him in AAA for when Soriano rips his quad this summer or Pie gets sent down.

He'll also be good trade material for a deal at the deadline this summer. WE'LL BE GLAD THAT WE HAVE HIM. DON'T GIVE HIM AWAY.

i could see the cubs letting murton rake in AAA and try packaging him with a reliever (ascanio or petrick for example) at the trade deadline. they might find the prospects more to their liking. just a thought.

The one fear I have is that Murton's value can only go down in AAA. If he hits .350 people will say "big deal". If he struggles, then teams aren't going to want to pay a lot for him come deadline time. I'm with Adun, here. Let's trade him for a couple of B prospects and see if we can't build depth on the farm for a possible deadline deal.

It's the Cubs...HONESTLY...who cares?

They don't win...EVER.

Is there ANYONE still alive since the last time the Cubs WON a World Series?

Crunchy I agree with you that you the cubs should expect something in return that has value, but the Padres do not have the farm system to simply give away the few prizes they do have. It reminds me of the move for Coco (i would personally rather have Murton) in which the Red Sox would have wanted Kyle Blanks, the only power hitter the Padres have in their system.
The used to do the same thing as the cubs, try prospects for vets, but that has changed, and now they want to keep their prospects to build the club like the D-backs and Rox. I understand the cubs position but the padres already made their move in the outfield with Edmonds (hell of a move...not) so they are going to see how the season goes on, without giving up too much of the future. Remember people, we are a look budget team, and cubs are not we live and die with our farm system, not by selling it away for a player that is not truly a game changer.

Who Cares ha ha

How About The 5 billion cubs fans world wide idiot

look = low... i have no idea how i screwed that up

Airman, the two teams have worked well in the past so maybe there's a deal to be made somewhere. I heard the Cubs asked for Heileman from the Mets...which is a lot, I think. I'd be happy with a good prospect, not necessarily a top one for Murton. Do you think someone like Cory Luebke would be fair?

Re: Baek/Gillick

Rosenthal thinks that because of the fact Gillick used to work for Seattle that is the reason he didn't land Baek in a trade??

I don't think thats the case since the Mariners recently dealt Jamie Moyer to Gillick and the Phillies for a bag of peanuts. I think the reason Gillick didn't get Baek is because he was offering the same, stale bag of peanuts yet again.

That won't swing it this time since Baek could easily crack the Phillies starting five.

Good for Bavasi for not throwing Baek away. The guy still has value.

It would be one possibility, but remember, the cubs wanted Ramos and more, so I dont think they would be happy with only low level pitcher, they would want more, maybe including something like Colt Hynes to the deal and maybe the cubs would do it.
But thats getting hard to push, since the cubs are looking at possible major league talent for Murton, and both of those guys are in A ball, not exactly a sure thing.

I would love to get Murton in LF for the Padres but it kills me that the Cubs are asking for so much. If the Cubs really want something out of trading Murton, and they need RP (correct?) who better than the Padres as a trading partner?

San Diego currently has three left handed RP: Joe Thatcher, Glendon Rusch, and Wil Ledezma. How about a Thatcher for Murton swap, as I think Thatcher could also be a spot starter?

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=4620&position=P

gig...the cubs do not need rp. they already have, billy petrick, sean marshall and jose ascanio at AAA jose ceda at AA, and allesandro maestri at A+. They already have a full pen at the bigs with wood, howry, marmol, pignatiello, eyre, hart, wuertz, lieber.

The Rays should just give the Cubs one of their ridiculous gluts of pitching prospects. Chris Mason, Jeff Neimann, or Jeremy Hellickson and someone like Josh Butler should certainly get the job done. Then they don't have to worry about right field for awhile.

My mistake, I thought I read somewhere the Cubs were looking for bullpen help.

Anyway, I think TWO B prospects for Murton is too much. Wade LeBlanc or Will Inman for Murton?

The Cubs could use a lefty out of the bullpen, but it would have to be someone with experience. I don't think San Diego has such a player. They've got some good young lefty relievers like Thatcher, but the Cubs may as well stick with Pignatello and wait fo Eyre to come back.

I think if San Diego offered LeBlanc, the Cubs would take the deal. I would take it if Inman was offered as well. It's even possible the Cubs have already asked for that, but I don't think San Diego would give up either of those two guys for Murton.

Gig, you might not want to be so careless about the names you throw around, LeBlanc for on has no chance of going anywhere, he has too much upside for this kind of a deal. And Inman would not be enough for the Cubs, they want possible starter for Murton, and Inman doesn't even project into our rotation as a 5th starter. LeBlanc on the other hand has got #2/#3 projections (according to baseball america).
That would be like the same thing as going to the rays and saying asking for Wade or Jackson. (and for the record i am not intending to put LeBlanc in the same class as Wade, just an example) Which one do you think is going to require more form the Rays?

As far as i know the only thing in the Padres farm system with any real chance of depth to handle a trade is from the catchers position. I don't believe the Cubs are in need of a catcher if Soto is as good as they believe.
I know that Towers and Hendry have made a host of deals in the past, so we will have to see if something can be worked out. I dont see the Padres giving up any of the following arms for Murton; LeBlanc, Latos, Carrillo, Ramos or Miller. These 5 are highly valued by the organization.
I could see them moving a lower level arm or someone like Wells or Geer, I just dont see that either of those would entice the Cubs.

Airman link to LeBlanc as a 2 or 3? That's the first I've heard he projects that high. He and Inman are both B prospects, IMO, and could turn out as high as a 3 but much more likely a 4 or 5. Do you even know who Inman is? Have you seen his MiL numbers?

Airman, SD may value those prospects a lot and they are the best the Padres have at that position, but relative to every other team's MiL system they don't look as good. The only one out of Latos, LeBlanc, Carrillo, Ramos, or Miller who has a shot at being a #1 is Latos, and he has a LONG ways to go.

i think you will see hendry talk to gm's about a deal but it will probably turn out like the barrett deal last year. a player with a ton of upside (kyler burke) but is at such low level it wont affect the team dealing. give hendry time because he will most definitely want wilken to do some scouting and find a diamond in the rough, because the cubs wont get a top prospect so you have to find someone that could become a top prospect. they did the same thing 2 years ago when they traded todd walker to the padres and received jose ceda in return.

I would give you the link, but you would have to have an account at Baseball America to read it. Let me know if you have one.
As for the points about the 5 I listed it was at FriarFest when Grady mentioned them (VP of the Padres) thus made me believe that they are not touchable. I could be woefully wrong, but I think if he likes them than i am thinking the team likes them.

I would hope he likes them because he had a hand in drafting them! The point is, it's great to finally have some legitimate prospects, but our system is still only average overall, and outside of Latos I don't think we have anyone with a chance of being more than a 3.

Murton for LeBlanc would be a nice deal for the Cubs but I don't see it happening. LeBlanc does have #3 starter type potential according to BA. The star seems to have faded on Inman a bit and I think the Cubs may want a second player in that case. I wouldn't be surprised, though, if Hendry asked for LeBlanc and the Padres said no.

People are pretty torn on Inman because of the discrepancy between his numbers and what the scouts say.

As for LeBlanc, I think you will find BA is in the minority saying LeBlanc is a #3 with any shot of being a #2. IMO, and that of most others, he's a 4 or 5. LeBlanc for Murton sounds good to me.

Gig i know what you mean by us having a weak farm system, and i wouldn't mind seeing Murton patrolling the outfield in PETCO for us. But there are a lot of other options out there, hell the Bucs wanted just a little more for Jason Bay. I think that as fans of SD we all worried about the talent in the outfield, or the lack of youth... but is a league average hitter and alright defense outfield worth a number 3-4 starter? I my opinion no, there are others out there that could give us the same production or close to it. And Murton would not hit 20 homers in SD, so its not like we would be getting a power hitting outfielder, thou i wouldn't mind his OBPs.
Inman is a good arm, dont get me wrong, but i think the others have more upside than he does, and the Cubs i would believe think that too. His numbers at AA were good.
But that brings back the point that it looks like the cubs want someone who is going to major league ready in short order, which none of the players that SD has to offer that might intrigue the cubs are not.

As far as Piazza goes, I think the Dodgers should have picked him up as opposed to Bennett. No Mitchell Report headaches, significantly more pop off the bench as a pinch hitter, reconcile the terrible way in which he was shipped off and Russell Martin is going to catch 145 games anyway. Given that his dad is still close to the organization, I am sure he would have come on for the vets minimum.

As for DeWitt, this is a hell of a story. One doesn't expect him to hit .320 right now, but he is an excellent defensive player and has a developing bat. Further, it is much better than giving up a serious prospect like Hu.

Piazza would be another Valintine in my estimation. This Pena guy intrigues me a bit. With Freel and Belesile available we have pieces to trade and I wouldnt mind trading for a young catcher with mlb credentials. If we do that would have to get rid of Ross or Valintine and eventualy when Ross is healthy again. I dont see the reds eating any more salary after Stanton so they would have to find a taker for one of them. We could even trade Baily with the way his stock has fallen a bit. I would want mroe out of him than just a catcher though.