Earlier this week we learned that the Red Sox have expressed preliminary interest in Cubs pitchers Matt Garza and Ryan Dempster. Dempster is on the hill today against the Diamondbacks and it might just be his last start in a Cubs uniform. Here's the latest out of Chicago..
- Alfonso Soriano's 14 homers since mid-May should have teams interested, but it seems like no one is ever showing interest in the pricey outfielder, writes Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. One rival GM surmised that Chicago could move Soriano if they absorb $44MM of the $46MM owed to him through 2014. One scout suggested that the Rays might be a fit for the 36-year-old.
- General Manager Jed Hoyer is looking to make moves for the future but still wants to keep a quality product on the field, writes Doug Padilla of ESPNChicago.com. "That’s where you sort of have to have that long view to make those moves,” Hoyer said. “But that’s why being in that position isn’t one you want to be in very often. You feel like, yes, you can make improvements for the long term but there is a reason there are teams calling, because there are good players. I think that is never a good feeling.”
Owing Soriano 2 MM over the span of 2 and a half seasons is a bargain. Theres still some value left him him.
I agree. I think if a generic, unnamed player with Soriano’s stats was on the open market, he’d get more than than a 2-year, $2 million contract.
Agreed. It would be different if he was a cancer to the team and not producing. There’s no reason to trade him if you’re going to get back nothing more than a player to be named later. Truth is he actually helps Rizzo in the order.
If they have to pay 44 of 46 mil then keep him as a bench player. That rival GM is very dense to think that the cubs would do that without a top 10 prospect in return.
Soriano shouldn’t bring back more than a ham sandwich, with 46 million owed to him, the Cubs hold no cards in this trade. The worst news for his stock was the Orioles signing Thome.
Sori is a much better player than thome at this part in both their careers. If the cubs ate most if not all of his deal they could get at least one top ten prospect from a team. That producer could easily be a 19 year old on low a ball but if the
Cubs could get one prospect it’s all good sori is a sunk cost so any thing they cab get is a win
Even Thome, at his advanced age, outhits Soriano and gets on base more than Soriano.
Thats a steal if the Cubs are ganna eat 44mill
As a Cubs fan I’d be fine with eating that much of his contract, but teams have to understand that at that point we would actually expect a good return. Soriano isn’t a bad player, he’s just grossly overpaid. Ever dollar we eat increases the value we expect in return.
Exactly. If they eat that much of it they better be getting a good prospect in return. If not, if all their saving is 2 mil, then keep him.
As a Cubs fan, I’d be fine with eating that much of his contract. But, since I’m not the Cubs owner, it’s not like I’d be the one paying for it. So it makes sense to try to maximize the return.
If Cubs are willing to eat that much of his salary, the Indians NEED to take a gamble. Left field has given us zero production this year, the Johnny Damon experiment has obviously failed.
He’d be a great fit in that line up especially for next year. I don’t know who you guys have coming up through your system in the next year or two but he would buy you guys some time to let your outfield prospects mature and for a pretty reasonable cost too.
I think he is still worth 3-5M a year, there is honestly no point in trading him if they have to eat all but 2M of his salary. Say what you will about him being very overpaid and declining, but he is still useful enough to be paid more than a million dollars.
I’m fine with eating the money, but it’s the notion that they’d have to eat that much AND take little back for players.
I think Tampa’s issue with him is playing the OF and the Thunderdome, which he would have to with Luke Scott as the DH.
For those not familiar with the turf there.. It’s a lot like that brutal, hard turf at the old Expo’s Exhibition stadium.. Just watch a flyball bounce off the turf.. They just bounce HARD on that field and imagine Soriano’s knees taking a pounding on that field.. It wouldn’t take long for him to be on the DL.
Luke Scott sucks. They’d be MUCH better off just benching him and playing Soriano.
No matter how much you think Luke Scott sucks, the Rays don’t think he does. Second of all, they’re not paying Scott 5M to sit the bench (expensive in terms of our payroll). Besides if the Cubs are looking for a top 10 prospect in return, forget about it, Friedman won’t do it.
In a totally unrelated Cubs subject, I was looking at Geo Soto’s ROY season, and Joey Votto came in second… What? Look at how things have changed, in a bad way
Soto has a serious case of Joe Charbeneau/Dave Stapleton… Itis
I think if the cubs only gonna save 2mil they should keep him as a pinch hitter
IMO for what players are getting….. I would say Soriano is a 8-9mil/year player
Eh, I’d say 5mil max.
5 million max for a guy on pace for 30/100?
He’s on-pace for that, but that’s not who is is as an established player. You’re more talking 25-80 with a .260-.270 average. At his age, and with the knee issues, he’s $5-7 million.
There’s no reason to keep Soriano on the bench or as a pinch hitter.
He still has value with that bat. However, to the Cubs his value is in eating that contract and obtaining a couple of decent A ball arms with a high ceiling.
During the playoff push, there’s no reason a team will pass on Soriano for only a few million a year.
And depending on their organizational depth, I bet the Cubs get a solid return.
In fact, if we’re practically willing to buy prospects in exchange for Soriano-
The return will probably be better than what we get for Dempster.
It doesn’t say the Cubs would pay that, but that they’d have to, which I can’t understand. Soriano’s not worth $19m per year, but he’s worth a lot more than $700k. I doubt the Cubs move him unless some team’s willing to contribute around $12m. That’s a fraction of the remaining contract.
All depends on the return. $12MM a year is still a pretty expensive player, regardless of whether or not he’s worth it, so that makes it harder to get teams to pull the trigger. If we can eat more, get more teams involved and get a better return I’m all for it. The money is a sunk cost at this point.
I think he meant $12 million total. That’d be around $4 million for 2012 and $8 million for 2013, which is too much. I say eat it all (the Cubs have the money and aren’t spending it anyway), then get the best prospect package that you can.
My bad, $12MM total is more in line with his actual value. But I still agree with you, if eating more gets a better return then do it.
I think he meant $12m total, not per year. $12m total is a bit more reasonable. $2m for the remainder of this season, $5m/year the next two.
the rays should just go for quentin, im sure they’d be interested in wade davis
On the open market as a free agent, Soriano would like receive a two year $10 million dollar deal. So if a team only has to pay $3 million of the balance of his contract. Then a team is getting about $10 million worth of contract value over the next 2.5 years.
A team needs to send a legit prospect or two in order to obtain said value.
Everyone here seems to miss the point about Soriano. The 46 million the Cubs owe is a sunk cost. They aren’t going to compete over the duration of his contract, so trading him away and getting quality prospects is the only logical choice. To get quality prospects they must also send 40 million along with Soriano to any team that wants him (they were going to pay that money anyway).
In terms of Soriano’s value to other teams….he’s going to be one of the better bats available for the price it is going to cost. But he is going to have to go to an AL team so he can DH for the most part. I say he gets dealt and the Cubs get a good prospect or two in return.
Dempster went 6 scoreless tonight. He’s got a league-leading 1.86 ERA and a 33-inning scoreless streak. He’s definitely worth some good pieces at this point. I’m hoping his increase in value makes up for Garza’s decrease in value due to poor performance.
If the Cubs get rid of Dempster/Garza without some HUGE returns they’re just plain stupid. I’m the biggest Cubs fan I know but I can’t see getting prospects that may or may not turn out to be a bust worth Dempster/Garza leaving. They’re having near career years and all everyone can say is get rid of them. As for Soriano I could really care less if he stays or not but it does kind of seem like he’s been putting up the numbers we’re paying him for. Unfortunately I’d think it’s too little too late. As for eating all that money, yes we’d better get at least a top 5 prospect for the $44MM that reports are saying we’d be eating.
LOL! Why on earth would the Cubs move Soriano and eat 44 of the 46 million owed to him? That’s just laughable. If you’re going to absorb that astronomical cost, why wouldn’t you keep him?
I think paying 44 mil just to move sori to another team is just plain stupid ! Why pay that much for him to help another team. It would be the all time worst deal in baseball history! Just plain stupid and Hoyer dosen’t seem to be a stupid man.