Earlier today, the Cubs notified Carlos Silva that they will look to trade him after anointing Andrew Cashner as the fifth starter. The club also asked the right-hander to consider a stint in the minors if GM Jim Hendry is unable to move him. Silva was less-than-thrilled with that decision, telling the press that there is "no chance" that he would report to the team's Iowa affiliate. The soon-to-be 32-year-old also had some harsh words for pitching coach Mark Riggins.
Silva has struggled this spring (for what it's worth) and is owed $11.5MM in 2011. Count SI's Jon Heyman (Twitter links) among those who think that the Cubs won't be able to unload Silva for anything of value. In fact, Heyman jokes that if Hendry can get a decent prospect and save 10% of the money owed to Silva in a deal, he should be given a five-year contract extension.
Even though Silva ultimately fizzled out in 2010, the hurler showed glimpses of his former self in the first half of the season. Neither the clubs nor his next club will have to pick up the entirety of his $11.5MM deal as the M's are on the hook for $5.5MM of that.
Are the Cubs completely handcuffed here or will they be able to find a worthwhile deal for the veteran?
The Yankees are on the phone…. i’m sorry, but I would presume they can afford him. The Rockies or Cardinals (not really) are my second pick.
Yeah but why would they trade for him when they know he’ll be released outright if they can’t find a suitor?
Why pay for the cow when you can get it for free?
what are you getting from this cow and what does it have to do with Carlos Silva?
You’re right, why give up a player when you can just wait a few days and sign him?
The Reds could be another possible suitor.
If he gets traded Jim deserves GM of the Year.
Why should he get GM of the year or even an extension, as mentioned in the article? Didn’t he trade for this unmovable hunk of a pitcher in the first place? It’s not like Silva was good before the trade then tanked, he has lost “it” long ago. Don’t think he ever had it to begin with. Silva sucked, they knew it but it was the only trade they could make to get rid of Bradley…and the fans blame all the Cubs woes on a goat…the
10-6, 4.22 era, 1.27 whip last year. Silva was still an avg/above avg big league starter last season. Somehow he has a bad spring training and must be released. Ridiculous. Spring training stats mean nothing, especially for pitchers and for power hitters in Arizona. If Dempster had a bad spring would Hendry be thinking about releasing him?
No.
Szjamardza is not a big league pitcher. Silva is.
They traded Milton Bradley for Silva. MB was a total head case and worse jag than Silva is. It was still a good trade to get Silva.
What if it was for Ollie Perez?
You mean Worst GM of the year.. right?
What team in their right mind would trade for him? They can just wait for the Cubs to release him and not be on the hook for the 11 million. Any GMthat even picks up the phone when receiving a call the Cubs in the next few days should be fired on the spot.
Call me crazy but I see a Carlos Silva/Nyjer Morgan trade coming.
The Nationals do not need another average veteran, they already have enough of them blocking the younger guys.
Crazy
Morgan was traded today for some guy that will never be a ML player Cutter Dystra was his name, from the Brewers
Remember that Seatle got 5.5 of that 11.5 MM so Chicago only got 6 MM
Yes. And the Cubs do have to pay the $2 million buyout on the 2012 option as well, so they’re on the hook for $8 million.
For a couple million a guy who put up a 3.90 xfip should definitely be tradeable.
But nobody wants Carlos Silva even if the stats say its a good enough gamble worth taking if the Cubs were willing to eat some salary. Way more to do with his reputation than his actual performance on the field.
If he had any trade value it was destroyed after the Cubs announced he would be traded or released.
GMs today lack the canniness of those a decade and more back. Once you announce you want to get rid of someone, you’re not going to get ANY kind of decent deal for the player. Why should other clubs give up players to trade for Silva? Why should other clubs be willing to pay more than a tenth of his salary? Just sit back and wait for him to be released. And if you miss out on him, frankly, so what??? It is not as if he is a prize at this point.
I voted “yes” because the poll question was, “is Carlos Silva tradable?” and I think he is, given some time. Now, WILL he get traded? I’m not so sure. The Cubs waited an awfully long time to make this decision and giving themselves only four days to get something done before they have to commit and DFA him is a pretty small window.
But reading the text leading up to the poll, it seems more like the question is about whether or not the Cubs will get anything of value for him, and to that I think the answer is no. If anything happens I think they’ll pass along a big chunk of money–at least the $5.5MM the Mariners are giving them–and settle for some low-A guy with no particular value in return.
Carlos silva for a box of popsicles… mmm popsicles
really? are you out of your mind? GM of the year?
the ONLY reason the cubs are stuck with Silva, is ’cause your genius GM signed Milton Bradley…
I dont think there is a worse GM than him
haha Sorry Cub fans! I was in this boat last year. Good luck on getting something for this guy
I can see Hendry finding a trade partner by either packaging Silva with another player, trading for another bad contract, or just eating all but the minor league minimum to a team willing to take a flyer without having to compete with other teams in free agency. 400k is very little to pay for a guy who was descent the first half of last year. Doesn’t Pittsburg have an awful rotation, why wouldn’t they be interested? No one thought Bradley was tradeable and Seattle sent money. No one likes Silva, I get that, but he was good enough last year to draw som interest and anything Hendry gets back is better then a flat out release.
If they play their cards right maybe they could trade him for Milton Bradly.
Every person is tradeable it just matters what you are willing to accept. I mean the cubs can trade him for a single a prospect and eat 5 million of his contract and thats better than having him around
He’s not trade-able. He’s a mediocre pitcher with a large contract, who comes with a lot of makeup.
Next Poll: Is Milton Bradley Tradeable?
Answer will be the same as Carlos Silva.
No one wants him either.. i am shocked the M’s kept him all year last year.. he’ll be on his way to his 10 team in 11 yrs or something like that.. that will happen more or less by July/August when his .230 avg with 3 hrs and 10 rbi is realize by the M’s GM that he’s not producing
I really don’t like players who are so into themselves they forget its a privilege to be where they are. Yes I know some are naturally gifted, and all work hard. I’m not questioning their work effort, but there are millions of people who would love the chance to play pro ball even if they never made it past A Ball. Just go to Iowa wait till there is a spot open than shine(or wait till there is an explosion of emotions from a certain pitcher).
Dear MLBTR,
Please link to actual player pages and not to SEARCH pages.
What is the purpose of linking to search pages? You’re talking about ONE particular player.
Thank you.
it DOES link to player pages.
Go to the article at the top. Click on Carlos Silva’s name. It links to the search page (where there are three Carlos Silva options).
Trade him for Milton Bradley.
No there are 11.5 million reasons why.
Young and Borbon for Silva and Byrd? Who says no?
If I were the Rangers I would say no…as a Cubs fan I would say absolutely!
yes: it all comes down to how much they eat and/or what they want back
Ask Vernon Wells.
Cubs do not have to pay the 2 mil buyout for 2012
Who cares if he’s tradable or not.. they need to release others that have horrible contract too.. start with Ramirez, Soriano, Zambrano. Pena was a waste, Even though Derrek Lee is washed up i would take him over . 196 hitter.. i know they won’t release the player i listed but the good thing is Ramirez will be gone by July not that anyone would want him Soto should actually be a throw in when Ramirez is traded.. Cubs will be the bottom Dwellers in the NL Central and Finally, finally Hendry is gone..