The Cubs, who rank 14th out of 16 NL teams in runs scored, announced that they replaced hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo with minor league hitting coordinator James Rowson. Here are some more Cubs-related notes and rumors…
- President of baseball operations Theo Epstein confirmed that the Cubs are ready to start trading players to improve the organization's future, Paul Sullivan of the Chicago Tribune reports (on Twitter).
- Jim Bowden of ESPN.com examines the rosters of potential sellers, including the Cubs. Most scouts believe Bryan LaHair has legitimate late-blooming power like Nelson Cruz and Jose Bautista, according to Bowden.
- Some executives believe Ryan Dempster could be traded early, perhaps even before the All-Star break, according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). The Dodgers are interested in Dempster, who is in the last year of his contract.
- An American League exec likes the looks of Dempster, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe reports (on Twitter). "He's pitching well and he'd give you a good character guy/leader," the person said.
- David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution lists off a number of reasons why the Braves may not pursue trades for veteran pitchers like Dempster this summer. The new collective bargaining agreement could impact the Braves’ interest in making a deal, and Kris Medlen gives them an additional internal candidate for the rotation.
That team is a absolute mess. If Theo is able to turn this team around in even 5 years then he’s a genius.
That’s a great move. Offense struggling? Fire the best hitting coach in baseball. He’s the problem, not the players.
Jaramillo’s philosophy and the new regime’s philosophy don’t match. Jaramillo preaches and aggressive approach at pitches hitters like and think they can handle, Theo & Co. preach patience and selectivity at the plate.
It’s a pretty obvious mismatch.
Now that you mention it, it makes perfect sense as to why Castro and Soriano were the only two who could hit under Jaramillo, actually.
Jaramillo is also more of a guru when it comes to fixing hitting mechanics. (Brett Jackson may have benefited). Like Loganbowes said, when it comes to preaching patience at the plate Jaramillo is not the guy.
Sooo…. if another club brings in Jaramillo for the rest of the season, and I don’t know what he has left on his contract, how does that work? I’d imagine the Cubs are on the hook for the rest of this year’s salary, at least.
I believe this was his last season under contract
Nobody could have gotten offense out the Cubs current lineup, but the team’s OBP has gone down every year under Jaramillo (and five straight years overall). Jaramillo preached a more aggressive approach at the plate and that was in direct contrast with the new front office’s work-the-count approach. He was in the last year of his deal and wasn’t part of the future plans, so it was time to make the move.
The second half of the year should see the Cubs bringing up some of their prospects and they’ve all been working with Rowson in the minors. No sense in having Rizzo and possibly Jackson and Vitters work with a lame duck hitting coach and then start over next year with a new one.
I say the Cubs will win a WS w/ in 5 years of being run by Theo.
I’m saying that is beyond wishful thinking. Cubs are still playing catch up with their farm system. Even if they revamp their system how many prospects turn out to be great? By the time they do have the top tier prospects teams like the Braves, Nationals, Marlins, Padres, Diamondbacks, and basically every young NL team in 5 years their players will be hitting their prime years.
My question is how long of a leash will Epstein & Co. get. I mean realistically what are Cubs fans expecting a World Series in 2 years or in 8 years? If ownership is willing to to put that amount of trust in Epstein & Co. that’s great. But whats a few years when its been 103 since the Cubs have hoisted a trophy over their heads.
The way Theo is going about his business and talking about the future, I’d say his leash is rather long. I doubt the Ricketts or Epstein expect to even be competitive for the next couple years. Guys like Almora and Soler (assuming they sign) won’t even see the Big Leauges until 2014-2015 at best. And obviously a team full of rookies, even really good ones, is not likely to go deep into the playoffs.
Dempster could be a good addition for a team, like Fister was last year.
Wonder if Demps might go to the Rangers now that they’ve lost Ogando and Holland.
Let’s just say that Theo and Jed are moving the team in the right direction, they have 4 great outfield prospects, a young infield plus Rizzo, and a draft of some good pitching prospects. If the Cubs can get some good pitching prospects for Dempster and Garza they will be in the mix in 4 years.
They need a 2B and a 3B as well, perhaps a catcher too, but they can fill a few holes with the big-market payroll when the time comes.
you have a small definition of “great”. Cubs have 2 great OF prospects, and have their 1B of the future. They need help everywhere but 1B and SS basically. It’s going to take time but theo and jed will make them a contender.
And they’re currently in a position to land one of the top draft picks in next year’s draft which has a substantially larger amount of talent in it than this year’s draft.
i like Dempster this season. but really he a older vet. who remind me of ted Lilly just with more speed on his pitches
What’s the problem there? Ted Lilly’s pitching to a 3.14 ERA (3.87 FIP) at 36 years old this season. Make him a righty (lesser numbers from righty hitters), add some velocity, and make him a year younger, and you have Ryan Dempster. You can reasonably draw the conclusion that Ted Lilly with more velocity and a year younger would be better than the current Ted Lilly, which Dempster is.
I think that’s a good thing, as Dempster is pitching well, as is Lilly.
Can LaHair play an effective LF?
If he were to play in the outfield he would most likely go to right.
He’s played LF before so he might be decent at best.
Who’s leaving and whose staying I want to know
No Cubs trade rumor summary is truly complete without a Matt Garza reference. Update coming?
Update: The Cubs need to stop being delusional and trade Matt Garza.
They will- if they get a package they like in return. His contract extension was probably just posturing.
I’m thinkin’ he goes to Detroit for Turner and Castellanos. I know its a lot to give up but Garza is not a rental player and he is still young and can survive in the AL. Turner and Castellanos are prospects, not proven ML players. They could both end up as busts.
Ehh, I don’t even have any interset in Turner. I think he’s a back-end starter, #3 at best. He is 21 at AAA, and his peripherals are HORRIBLE (5.25 K/9, 4.25 BB/9). Those numbers look like they belong to a fringe prospect, not a trade centerpiece. Even his AA numbers last season were rather unimpressive (3.68 FIP).
Castellanos is now 20 and just reaching AA, and he’s not hitting for any real power (though I would expect it to develop into HR power in his prime). I like him more than Turner, but I’m not sure if I like him any more than I like Javier Baez.
If I’m talking about only trading Garza for a package I like, then I’m wanting a legitimate #1/2 SP prospect as the headliner. Gio Gonzalez had less of a track record than Garza, really, and he got a lot more than just a #3/4 SP and a 3B who is 2+ years off, most likely.