Cubs Notes: Trades, Veras, Draft

Here’s the latest out of Wrigleyville …

• At this early stage of the year, Cubs GM Jed Hoyer says that there is very little action in terms of trade discussion, tweets Bruce Miles of the Daily Herald. As Miles writes in another piece, Hoyer also said that the club “should be better than [its] record,” but has suffered through some tough losses. Of course, barring a big surprise, the expectation all along has been that Chicago would shop several of the veterans on its roster, and the team’s current nine-game division deficit only increases that likelihood. Pitcher Jason Hammel, the versatile Emilio Bonifacio, and of course staff ace Jeff Samardzija are all off to starts that make them look like attractive trade targets.
• One other player that seemed destined to be a July mover was reliever Jose Veras, who the Cubs inked to take over the closer role. But his struggles on the mound and with an oblique injury have clouded both his outlook as a trade chip and the team’s closer situation, as MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat writes. The team will look to “develop a closer from one of the guys we have on the roster,” says Hoyer. The GM added that Veras’s struggles “show[] you the perils of free agency,” though he added that he hopes the 33-year-old veteran will sort himself out.
• The draft is no doubt the focus of the Chicago front office at the moment, as the team holds the fourth overall choice. While we heard recently that the club would take the best player available, it will surely be enticed by the possibility of adding a top-flight pitching prospect in a draft that has several at the top of the board. As Muskat writes, aiding Hoyer and president of baseball ops Theo Epstein in breaking down the young arms will be former Cub standouts Kerry Wood and Ted Lilly. “The plan is to have those guys in the draft room when we convene,” said Hoyer. “It’s good for us to hear their opinions, and it’s good for their development to go out and see these guys.”