The Cubs’ need for starting pitching is well known, but it remains somewhat unclear how much flexibility the team has in addressing it, Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Chicago would optimally add a controllable-but-established arm, per the report.
Of course, cost-controlled starting pitching is among the game’s most sought-after commodities, so they won’t be alone in that search. The club appears to be looking at a broad range of options as the trade deadline comes into focus, as a source tells Wittenmyer that Chicago has cast a wide net.
The Cubs have reached out to a number of clubs, among them the Mets and Angels, in search of a match. Interestingly, per the report, one prospective swap was disrupted when young infielder Javier Baez suffered a broken finger a few weeks back.
Pursuing an upgrade certainly seems a reasonable strategy. With Tsuyoshi Wada down for an unknown amount of time after leaving his last start early, the team can turn back to Travis Wood, though that duo has been underwhelming. Jacob Turner is working his way back to health and could soon be available, but he has much to prove at this stage of his career.
It remains conceivable that the Cubs could look to acquire a serviceable, short-term veteran to add innings, but the possibility of a more significant addition remains tantalizing. While Baez appears to be on the table, at least if he can get back on the field in time, Wittenmyer says that the club does not appear inclined to move its blue chip assets to strike a deal.
Adding impact pitching without parting with top prospects is obviously a tall order, though we have increasingly seen teams utilize their wallets to facilitate deals. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein indicated that the team’s overall financial situation has not changed significantly, with the club’s current budget already determined by “anticipating some of the new revenue streams, new revenues and expenses as well.” Of course — and this is my speculation — Chicago may have more capacity to take on future obligations.
Addison Russell for Steve Matz + Jon Niese + B/C level prospect…how quickly does Theo hang up? Does he hesitate just a little bit? Alderson would get back into Mets’ fan good graces if he could pull of that heist, too bad it is highly unlikely.
That’s two GMs who want to get something good by moving spare parts, mostly mediocre ones and who hold on tight to better prospects. Highly unlikely is right.
No hesitation at all. Russell, one of the 2 or 3 youngest position players in the league, is already a top 10 2B. Hard to imagine any reasonable circumstances where the Cubs move him for an arm.
Not just any arm. It’d be the top lefty in the minors.
I think the mets hang up, steven matz is not being moved.
Mets should be signing the papers immediately if that deal is on the table, theo is not that stupid nice try
There’s no like button, so +1 to this.
The mets fans don’t want to give up any of their pitchers it seems unless the cubs give them their whole farm system. Hopefully their GM is more reasonable towards trades.
You have that backwards. Most Mets fans are more than willing to move arms. Alderson doesn’t want to. The question is whether or not the Mets will hang up. Any fan who is paying attention knows the Mets would.
cubs don’t want an unestablished arm. certainly not for the top prospect in their system. plain and simple.
Russell not going anywhere. Niese is not better than Travis Wood at the moment. Mets don’t want to move Matz
The swap with Baez was interrupted with which team?
I was wondering that too. I always thought it would be with the Mets (not sure if we have ever heard who has been tossed around from the Mets side but Baez has to do a lot more to build solid value back.
“Baez has to do a lot more to build back his value”.
Such as?? The kid is within 9 months of the top 2 draft picks from this years draft in age and while they were playing in college, he was hitting .314 .386 .536 .922 in AAA???–so he had a bitter cup of coffee in the majors at 21….he plays the same position as the TOP 3 draft picks and in AAA had an .OPS of over .900, slugging above .500, average….well–you see the numbers–sorry about your luck but the market dictates value and the market for young, hitting, and controlled middle-infielders(specifically ShortStops) is at a premium—you want Baez then it’s Matz + another A-/B prospect—you’ll probably get a low A-ball with decent ceiling prospect back as well.
Twitter/elsewhere says the Mets. Baez’s value is down, though if the Mets can get him for B-level prospects (Plaw et al.)..then that’d be a good gamble for the Mets. Syn, Matz, Conforto, and Rosario should all be off the table.
Baez isn’t getting traded for B level prospects… He’s still an A level prospect. Every team has plenty of B level prospects, they have no worth. The Cubs don’t need B level prospects, they need a TOR to middle of the rotation starter.
Mets fans…
Hmmm, I dont want to trade any guy that’s on our active roster, I’ll give you guys Matz for Bryant, Rizzo, and Baez…..
Yeah right……
Not just Mets fans. All fans.
Completely agree.. I don’t understand why Mets fans all of a sudden view Baez as a bust.. The guy has always struggled when he gets promoted and after he settles in he starts mashing.. Its obvious that the Cubs still see loads of potential in him.. Look at Jesus Montero a couple of years ago.. When received his call up with the Yankees he raked and as soon as Cashman got a solid offer for him he sent him packing.. Look how that turned out.. It is just another example of why you can’t judge a prospect by his first taste of the bigs.. A prime example would be the Cubs 1989 rookie of the year Jerome Walton.. His first full season he had a 30 game hitting streak and the Cubs could have traded him for about anybody.. After that first year he was mediocre at best and mostly a reserve outfielder.. Then look at someone like Ryne Sandberg.. His first cup of coffee in 1981 he hit an outstanding .167 across the board with a .333 OPS.. The Phillies basically just threw him in on the Bowa/DeJesus trade afterwards..
It’s a funny game. many guys who won rookie-of-the-year awards flamed out. Several like Bob Hamlin, Marty Cardova, Joe Charboneau and Mark Fydrich faltered big time. Then you have guys like Mike Schmidt, Lou Brock, Greg Maddux and Randy Johnson who took a few years to find themselves and eventually winding up in the Hall of Fame. It’s a crapshoot.
Anyone who thinks Baez’s value is down because of a rough 2 month stint in the bigs at 21(2 years before Bryant reached and the same age as the top 2 draft picks) do not understand the current market climate.
Baez is a 22 year old SS who was hitting .314 .386 .536 .922 in AAA prior to his injury…that variance between avg and OBP shows a terrific adjustment in approach—so while the top 2 draft picks were playing against college talent, many of which will never sniff AAA ball, Baez was dominating AAA ball…he has plus defense and base-running as well–you want Baez? It’s Matz +
Nooooo. Keep Baez. Castro to the Indians for Carrasco. He’s struggling so it should be possible. Castro could fill Clevelands need at 3B. Russell can move to his natural SS. And we don’t have to deal with that lazy SOB.
If you trade Castro then who is going to get all the clutch hits for us to win games? Herrera?
That’s the good part about being an up-up-and-coming team. As those prospects mature and become better hitters Castro’s “clutch” (and I use that term hesitantly, it’s really only been this year) bat becomes less and less valuable. He’s at the height of his trade value, and in my mind isn’t part of our future. Cash out.
Completely agree.. His contract would be perfect for a team like the Reds.. Somebody has to go as far as Cubs middle infielders and Castro just seems like the most likely to go..
Castro is not clutch. 3 clutch hits this year. 2 walk off hits. Otherwise is a 6-4-3 DP or 5-4-3 DP. Castro should be the odd man out. He’s reached his peak of potenial. He wont exceed 15 HRs or 85rbi. It’s bad enough he never runs out a ground ball ever. You gotta get rid of that dead weight. Shame Ramirez was ignorant and refused to get traded. It was because Piniella and Baker allowed his laziness. And his laziness rubbed off on Castro. Castro is supposed to be one of the top defensive SS in baseball. He’s shown he’s not even ranked.
if Castro is traded at this point, I will be truly saddened as a Cubs fan. he was the first piece of the young core of players they have right now. if Cubs do big things, he should be along for the ride. he is a consistent all-star caliber short stop, which is hard to find. why are so many people jumping ship on him? for a slow couple of months? if they move him for a guy like Carlos Carrasco I might even just stop watching baseball for the rest of the year. that would be a devastating blow.
Being a back up to the all star games isn’t really all that good. 3 all star game 4 errors ZERO hits in 4 ABs. He’s lazy as F*** when was the last time you saw him beat out a groundball to 3rd? He was suppose to be the savor the only saving he did was save Hendry’s job and not Hendry is completely out of baseball which isn’t a bad thing.
I hope they can bridge the gap til Jacob Turner is back from rehab, his upside is a lot better than most of the “inning eaters” that can be had for lower level prospects.
Don’t hold your breath that Turner is the cure. My guess is if he hadn’t gotten hurt in spring training he would have been ourighted off the roster to start the season. If he made it through waivers he would have spent the whole year in AAA to start very 5th day with the hope that a full seaosn of starting in AAA might get him going.
I’d take a chance on Baez if I were the Mets. They can get the deal done without Matz or Syndergaard. Niese can be the controllable, but established arm in the deal and a sweetener can be added. They can put Baez at 3rd until Wright gets back. He can play OF too right? I thought I heard that somewhere.
Niese is controllable but not desirable.
I was hoping nobody would notice.
Well said
If I am the Cubs and I can get Syndergaard for Baez, I would do it in a heart beat. He has struggled a bit but is the type of young arm the Cubbies need to slot behind Lester and Arrieta. I really do see the Cubs getting one of Price or Zimmerman next year in the offseason.
Niese is terrible and no one is going to trade something with the upside of Baez for him.
Baez is not going to be moved for anything less than a top of the line prospect SP like Syndergaard. You’re talking about a guy who has struggled significantly at every level of play in his route the majors before he completely raked that same level. The Cubs and all the GM’s know full well what they have in Baez. Don’t kid yourself.
@Rally lol
@tommets this isn’t one of your fantasy baseball leagues. the Mets aren’t trading with Rick from a couple cubicles over who is only in the league because he hates his wife and needs a hobby. if Baez is moved it will be for a premier pitcher like Hamels or Cueto, not a batting practice pitcher like Niese.
Pretty sure he’s a free agent at the end of year, but I think a trade with the A’s to get Kasmir and Zobrist. Cubs wouldn’t have to give up any of the top top guys but I be willing to give back McKinney, add Vogelbach, couple Lower level high upside guys.
The A’s would say no since they would receive two draft picks next year. So, the Cubs would have to give up a top top guy to get both of them. Baez alone wouldn’t get it done.
I went through the entire process of registering for an account on this site to reply to this comment. Baez alone wouldn’t net Kazmir and Zobrist? Are you kidding me? I like Kazmir a lot and Zobrist has long been one of my favorite players in MLB…but we’re talking about two guys who enter FA on Nov. 1 and the acquiring team won’t be able to receive comp picks for them. Kazmir is a nice option, but he’s got a 3.72 xFIP and fWAR has him as the 50th-best SP so far this season (fourth-best on his own squad). Zobrist remains a decent player, but in 40 games, BR has him at 0.1 WAR and Fangraphs at 0.0 due to missed time and poor D.
At 34, the Cubs wouldn’t have much interest in giving Zobrist the type of term and AAV he’ll want to resign, whereas Kazmir, at his best, is a No 2 or 3 type and still has the durability question marks.
Maybe a GM in need of keeping his job deals Baez for those two…but not those two, not right now. Baez isn’t even a guy I love, but let’s not lose sight of his potential as a power-hitting middle infielder simply because of some 200-MLB ABs.
Gee…
I find it hard to believe the A’s would say no to their own number one pick from just a couple years ago who has excelled and is the youngest player in AA and currently hitting over .300 and a 21 year old on the verge of AAA with a career slugging of .485 and OBP above .360 in Vogelback + 2 A ball prospects for players on expiring contracts just to get 2 supplemental picks–you cannot get value like that(4 palyers, 2 high-probable prospects) in the supplemental round.
Niese is a solid 4 on most teams, the Mets just happen to have more pitchers than spots. He has an upside 3 on a weak team, but more likely a 4. His rotator cuff scares teams, but he is still pitching and generally well. His body of work + being a lefty makes him a serviceable 3rd tier option for teams. he isn’t in the Kazmir grouping, but he should be ahead of Burhle (who is living off of reputation this yr).
Am I the only one here who thinks Dillon Gee would be a low risk, high reward option? I know he has kind of floundered this year, but after being placed on waivers, it would not take much to get him away, if anything. I think the Cubs should at least put in a claim.
As an aside, it’s nice to be on the other side of the comments in the vein of “Let’s offer our scrubs for a blue chip player! That will be enough!” Bryant, Russell, Soler, and Schwarber are not going anywhere except for a king’s ransom. And Castro is not going anywhere except for a top-flight starting pitcher (think 1 or 2).
Starlin Castro is not being traded for an ace pitcher, he currently sports a negative WAR! Since he started in MLB in 2010, there’s 16(!) shortstops who have a higher WAR including Asdrubal, Lowrie, Aybar. Stephen Drew is better than Starlin Castro.
Castro is a legit scrub. You are high if you believe otherwise.
Careful, the most vehement arguments I’ve ever seen on this site have involved Cubs fans talking about Cubs prospects and players, particularly Starlin Castro. I was recently told that Starlin Castro is a lock for 3,000 hits.
That’s a two time all-star you’re talking about!
Three-time.
WAR is a stat for people who don’t watch players play. if you really believe the majority of players on that list are better than Starlin, you’ve only watched a handful of games and don’t know the impact he has with his bat. you can keep all those journeymen you named who have been nothing more than “serviceable” career shortstops at the dish. there would be no reason for you to look at some nonsensical equation of a stat if you actually watched games. it’s that simple.
Castro has tons of potential, and he’s shown glimpses of it, but Russell is the better SS. Bryant is a better 3B. And there’s a good shot Baez is a better 2B. It’s hard to understand the fanaticism with which Cubs fans defend the solid but non-elite player that is Castro.
The only people who disparage WAR in the way that you are are people who don’t understand it. I guarantee you that people that cite WAR watch *plenty* of baseball.
Starlin Castro’s bat has ‘impacted’ to the tune of a .640 OPS this season. It’s funny that people who seem to stick up for Castro pay zero attention to any stats that don’t fit their narrative. This is the 2nd season of the last three where he has hit *terribly*. Could he rebound? Sure. With every week or month that he hits like this, that looks less likely.
This only shows that you know nothing about stats. Castro has been one of the better hitting SS in the game over the past few years but even the most ardent Cubs supporter would admit he has been a bad hitter this year so far, and the numbers obviously back that up.
He’s a 12(11.9) Wins Above Replacement Player the last 4 years going into his 25 year old season on a team friendly contract. Perspective-check. Pablo Sandoval is a 13(12.9) WARP the last 4 years and received a 5 year/95 million dollar deal that concludes when he’s 33–Castro is entering his prime and on a contract that owes him 34 million through 2019 with a TEAM option for 16 million in 2020…or roughly half of the overall contract IF the team elects to pick up the option…I think you may have trouble understanding where the market currently is…a player with almost identical WARP who can play SS,2nd, or 3rd and is owed half of a player who just landed 95 million and is 3.5 years younger—ya–Castro has value–a ton of value…
Let’s stop pretending Castro is some star. He swings a good bat, but he’s not even the best shortstop on the team. His value is the highest now it’ll ever be. Deal him for pitching. If we can get a decent young arm (I’m really pushing for Carlos Carrasco) that’s controllable, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Not saying he’s a star, but he’s not a scrub either. The fact of the matter is this: Starlin Castro is a young infielder (I don’t think, Cubs or otherwise, that he sticks at SS) who has already proven that he can hit major league pitching. If you don’t think that’s a rare ability, I invite you to look at the litany of touted prospects who have failed at doing exactly that.
Furthermore, Castro is under team control for 4 more years, with a team option for 2020. That’s a great deal.
My point is not what he SHOULD be traded for, it’s what he WILL be traded for, if he’s traded at all. The Cubs will not trade a valuable asset (we can quibble over his exact value, but he is valuable) for a number 3-5 starter that can be acquired in almost any FA year. That’s not how this works. They will also not trade Castro just to trade him. They will look to get something of value in return, most notably something they do not have (or have enough of). In the Cubs’ case, that would be top-flight starting pitching.
Again, not saying Castro will get dealt, but if he is, that is my bet on what would come in return.
I guess the point we’re disagreeing on is the value of Carrasco (or a similar young pitcher). The fact is proven, controllable starters don’t get traded that often, and certainly not for a 3B or 2B (Castro is not a SS) with no power.
So we need to take a gamble. I travel back and forth to Cleveland for work and love Carrasco. The kid throws fire, and if they can get him out of that defensive dumpster fire that is the Indians, I think he can be a legit #2 starter. Look at the run he went on last year if you don’t believe me. Plus he throws inside hard. I droll when I think of a hard fastball brushing back Carpenter or Holliday.
Admittedly, I have not seen enough of Carrasco to get an idea of what he could do with a decent D behind him. If Carrasco has the upside of a number 2 guy, I could see that being a deal. The other question I would have there is whether Cleveland would want Castro.
Completely agree.. Although I don’t see him going for and established 1-2 he will certainly command a potential 1-2.. Yankees fans will probably jump all over me but I could see Castro for Severino even up.. The Yankees get a decent hitting shortstop who can move over to 2nd if Mateo pans out and the Cubs get their potential 1-2.. If Refsnyder was the Yankees answer for 2nd he would have replaced Drew by now.. I just don’t see how that is a loss for either team with the Cubs gambling the most.. Although, it seems like since the Yankees actually have solid prospects again their fans view every one of them as the next Pedro Martinez or Mike Trout and expect Cashman to hold on to all of them like they were made of solid gold.. Even though they were all around to remember prospects like Joba, Brackman and Montero..
IMO, if the Cubs truly did have an offer out there on Baez, that tells me that they see Castro as their keeper. But … with the draft and sign of Ian Happ, we could see Russell at SS and Happ at 2B in a couple of years.
Also, if you look at 2014, Castro had a much better 2nd half than 1st half. I expect the same for this year.
Gee is a depth guy/space filler. I don’t see him being any better than Travis Wood right now and if the Cubs wanted him they could have claimed him on waivers and just taken on the money.
Zobrist + Kazmir for Schwarber + Baez – slight overpay for Cubs with the sure thing in Schwarber but Baez is still an unknown K machine at MLB level. Keep in mind the Giants gave up a sure thing in Zach Wheeler for a rental in Beltran, so its not like anything like this has happened before. Plus Zobrist + Kazmir are absolutely on fire right now so the two all-stars for the prospects should be enough, plus on top of all that, the Cubs owe the A’s one for Russell
Cubs aren’t giving up Schwarber + Baez for half a season of Kazmir. A prospect like Schwarber could be the foundation of a deak for Cole Hamels or at the very least Cueto
I wrote Zobrist + Kazmir for Schwarber + Baez. You argue Schwarber + Baez for half a season of Kazmir. Ok. Reading. Comprehension. Get. Into. It.
I mean its not like MLB is wide open this year or anything and the Cubs could actually try and make the WS this season or anything – nope 😉
was giving up russell worth 1/2 a season of Shark?
1 and 1/2 seasons of SHark and it still wasn’t worth it for the A’s
It would have been worth having the best rotation in the playoffs had the normally-good Jon Lester not been pathetic vs the Royals. Remember the A’s were 6 outs away from advancing and having Shark eat up the Angels in the next round. Sometimes you have to take a risk, and that risk didn’t pan out, but it was worth giving up Russell to have the best SP rotation in the 2014 playoffs…they didn’t get to use it, but that’s what you have to do.
I know you Cubs fans haven’t been relevant in a long time, but that’s what you do when you have an asset who can improve your team so you can even get a shot at the title.
How does half a season of Zobrist really sweeten the deal? Also their is a reason the article is called “Cubs Canvassing Market For Starting Pitching,” the Cubs need PITCHING. The best Zobrist could do is push Castro to the bench.
And seeing as Castro is a -0.5 WAR player right now, that’s an extremely valuable thing.
Is it though? Because Zobrist is a -0.1 WAR player right now. Not much of an improvement.
The Cubs haven’t been relevant for a while. They have built an outstanding farm system. The Cubs could have a chance to win a wild card spot but I really don’t see them selling one of their pieces of the future that even you claim is a ‘sure thing’ in a deal for 2 rental pieces. The Cubs have a good amount of money to spend in the offseason and can use it to lock up one of Price, Zimmerman, or Greinke (if they all make it to FA). It may not be such a hard sign anymore seeing how this year if they keep their record in the thick of it to potentially make the playoffs, FA’s will look at the Cubs as a more serious destination.
“Every season is precious.” – Theo Epstein
If they could get 1.5 years out of Kaz and Zobrist with an option on the year after, it wouldn’t be a bad idea but for only half of a season? Psh.
Iowarockeyes has made the first decent comment i’ve seen on here in some time. Why would the Cubs give up prospects when they can probably sign David Price in a few months? Likely they will try to trade Olt, CJ Edwards, or maybe Castro for a decent pitcher like Kazmir. Not much cost.
What’s Theo supposed to say, Hall? “Some seasons, it ain’t even worth getting out of bed to come into the office…”?
Can you imagine the Cubs with a rotation of Price (although personally I think they go after Grienke because he will require less years and they probably don’t want to be paying both Price and Lester huge salaries during their declining years when their young core starts hitting free agency) Lester Arrieta and hopefully Hammel staying strong at #4? With their lineup getting the rest of this year (and hopefully a taste of the playoffs), a full spring and all of next year to gel together and to continue adding players like Schwarber they are going to compare to those Yankee teams of the late 90’s.. Cubs fans will be rioting in Chicago very soon..
There is no chance Schwarber is getting traded. Especially not for anyone like a mid rotation guy.
new chat system–same ol crazy mark-
Look at this years draft—you really think any of those teams would trade one of the top 3 picks for Kazmir AND Zobrist?? Absolutely, positively not…Baez is hitting .314 .386 .536 .922 in AAA this year–a bad 2 months at MLB level at 21 means nothing—he is the same age as the top 2 picks and was crushing AAA pitching while they were playing against non-draftee players…Baez will not go for anything less than controllable, top-flight pitching and Schwarber won’t go at all—you do not have any clue what you are talking about on these asinine proposals you make. If i didn’t see you making them consistently I’d think you were a troll.
That’s still terrible.
your out of your mind….Schwarber is gonna be beast and Baez is still a young stud……Kazmir on a one year deal and injury history and a 34 year on his last year….we’ll take the salary and give u some organizational depth
Fine, have fun missing the playoffs by 1 game then. That’s totally an ok strategy, it’s not like you guys even know what thats like anyway, just have another year as an also-ran or never-was. Schwarber will absolutely help your 2016 team if you are ok with punting this year, but seeing as this post was made, it appears the Cubs are not doing that, and trying to contend. In which case, they have to give up prospects to do that.
Epstein even said this year that their projection for truly competing is 2016. I think (as part of his plan) they would be ok with missing the playoffs this year because they know how good their prospects could be and the FA class for pitchers next year is stacked.
Schwarber has hit over 35 hrs in less than a full season in the minors…thats middle of the order power at a premium position. That sets up a team for the next 6 years….not worth the minimal impact of the two starters you offered…we could get similar talent players from other teams without giving up any Blue Chip prospects….Schwarber in my opinon is an untouchable for Theo (anyone can be moved for the right price) but unless its for a Chris Sale type pitcher he’s gonna be on the north side for a long time
Im pretty sure there are other teams than just the A’s they could make a deal for. Thats a horrible deal that you propsed, no way the cubs would even think about it.
We aren’t going to miss the playoffs because we don’t have Kazmir… Come on.
Of course you have to trade something to get something. However, most teams have at least one untouchable in their system. Right now, that guy for the Cubs is Schwarber. If he can become a regular catcher his bat makes him elite at that position and a rare assest. If he does wind up in LF long term, he will still be an offensive force though not as rare a commidity as a LH hitting catcher with 25 plus homer power. You are correct, the Cubs haven’t won in a while but the rebuild isn’t about making the playoffs one year and then stinking for 3 or 4 more years. They aren’t going to trade a piece they see as part of their future for a rental player who may be at best a complementry piece. Kazmir would improve the rotation, sliding in behind Hammel as the #4 but you don’t trade an elite prospect for him at this stage of the team/organization’s development. Two years from now as you look for that final piece, you might pull the trigger, but not this season.
so two of the best power prospects in the entire league for half a year of a no. 3 pitcher, and a half a year of a LF that’s actually statistically no better than Chris Coghlan right now?
this would be one of those situations where the Cubs switch to speakerphone so the A’s could hear the entire room laughing at the proposal.
The above is just LOL funny. The Cubs are NOT going to give up two cost controlled top flight prospects for a guy who will be a free agent at the end of the year and a guy in his early 30’s who likely won’t play every day. For craps sake, everyone thought A’s got RAKED when they traded Russell and a prospect not in the same stratisphere as Baez or Schwarber for Shark and Hamels last year.
What? Cubs immediately hang up. In fact most of the things you’ve said is rubbish
The Giants took Beltran thinking he would provide the last piece of a World Series puzzle. The Cubs aren’t at that stage yet so this is far too much for a pair of veterans on the wrong side of 30 about to become free agents
Baseball is supply and demand – if you look at top free agents for this offseason (that are pure cash, no prospects) it is pretty much all top level pitching – no hitters and no power. It will cost more to obtain power hitters than top pitchers. Theo Epstein is in the driver’s seat.
The Cubs are having a good season and if I am Theo- call up Billy Beane and offer up Schwarber, Baez, and 2 other great prospects for Clippard, Gray, Fernando Rodriquez and Chavez.
Gray and Chavez would immediately make that staff better and Clippard gives them stability at closer. Chavez is controlled for next season, sonny gray is controlled till 2020.
The A’s get their cost controlled high upside guys in Scwarber and Baez and some nice pieces like maybe Cj Edwards.
Could happen on the A’s side. Seems like somewhere during the last offseason Billy Beane accidentally logged into the team management side when he thought he was logging into his fantasy team.
this is the best comment I have read in long time–literally LOL’d in my office–
to get sonny gray… man.. i gotta think it would take more.
To land Sonny Gray alone the Cubs would basically have to let Billy Bean pick any two players not named Bryant or Rizzo.
Completely disagree- The A’s dont have funds, Sonny Gray is going to be David Price-type expensive throughout arbitration–what did David Price net again?- 2016-maybe not, but by arbitration it will be time to move him–he can net a little more than David Price because of having 2 and a half years of arb left come deadline of 2016—if you use the Price deal as a starting point and add value then you’re talking about Baez, Edwards, Ian Happ, and Vogelbach—thats a killer return–Baez, Edwards and Vogelbach are all in the majors in 2016 for the A’s and Ian Happ is close–
Cubs side, I am unsure if I would do this as I may hold out for Duane Underwood in High A—but that is the type of package–not “any 2 players other than Bryant or Rizzo”
Better to just fly out there and meet up with Billy, get him drunk, a few hookers and mayyyyyybe you get him to agree to that.
I see no problem trading Schwarber for a guy like Gray… I’d do a package for Clippard, Gray and Chavez. I don’t see the point in picking up Rodriguez.
Schwarber, Baez, Vogelbach, CJ Wilson, Billy McKinney, Underwood and Albert Almora.
That’s a huge package on both sides and I think a fair trade.
Yeah…Thats not happening..Depleting essentially your whole farm for gray..Not gonna happen..Gray is good and cost controlled,but he isnt Roger Clemens in his prime.
Sonny Gray is the only thing that the A’s have that Theo would be interested in.And he would cost alot as he should.Schwarber reminds me of a young Mike Piazza with better speed.He still has a ways to go behind the plate,but his bat is probably the best on the Cubs right now.
Don’t worry the A’s are not trading the best young starter in the AL who is 4 years from FA. Second Theo would love to have Reddick in his outfield better than the 3 outfielder the cubs have. The A’s rotation is having a much better season than the cubs rotation.
Yeah, the A’s are 5th, and the Cubs 6th in team ERA… They’re not that much better.
Best young SP in the AL is Chris Sale. I like Gray, but there’s definitely a package of Cubs prospects that would make Beane deliver Gray in a heartbeat…we’re talking about a guy who isn’t a K machine with 7.95 career K/9.
Reddick, too
The way I see this:
1) Cubs perspective – souring a bit on Baez, plus not having a place to play him long term. Maybe there’s a GM out there in love with Baez and willing to move a high end cost-controlled pitcher. But probably not going to happen.
2) Other teams perspective – some teams on the bubble of being sellers (Angels, Mets) enticed by the possibility the Cubs will grossly overpay for an arm (Schwarber or Russell). But probably not going to happen.
Bottom line, no blockbuster is imminent. Just GMs setting a line out there in case a GM is in Tony Reagins Crazy Mode.
The Cubs haven’t soured on Baez. If anything their fire for him is burning brighter based on this year’s minor league stats before the broken finger. It seems like the only “souring” on him are armchair GM’s trying to value him as a throw-in player.
hopefully the angels are offering weaver and shoemaker while they still have any value left
I’m worried Weaver’s value has already passed below the zero line, considering that 84MPH “no-seam” fastball velocity and the ~$29 million owed him for the rest of ’15 to 2016.
yea, sadly i feel this might be his last year starting. Shoemaker on the other hand might still have value considering he just came off of a great rookie season
It is just as likely that the Baez injury prevented the Cubs from moving Castro….Castro gets moved. Russell moves back to SS …..Baez comes up and plays second.
Any interest in Shelby Miller of Atlanta? Controlled for the next 2.5 years through arbitration, young and would be amazing for the rivalry.
Cubs get Cole Hammels
Phillies get Javier Baez, Dan Volgebach, CJ Edwards and Victor Cartini. Phillies have to take Edwin Jackson and Travis Wood (even out the money)
Pelphrey and Santana for Baez and a lower A-ball pitcher. Think it would benefit both clubs……
I don’t see Pelfrey as a significant improvement in the rotation. He is a back end pitcher and not a guy you trade away a top prospect for. Santana is screaming utility man at best…easy to find those. Baez for those two is an overpay
It was clearly a joke
Interesting you don’t hear Hamels name with the Cubs. It would seem Cole and Lester would be a good 1-2 punch.
The Cubs are 6th in team ERA, they’re not in dire need of pitching at the moment. They’re in the bottom 10 in runs scored though.
One thing to keep in mind with any trade is the stage the organization is at. For the Cubs, they are still building while trying to contend this year. That means they won’t gut their system of key guys they believe will be part of the team long term for a short term fix. It also means they will trade prospects but want a guy who they can control for a few seasons. They may like Ben Zobrist but they won’t be swapping a top prospect for him. Last year, The A’s were in the win now at all costs mode so they gave up a top prospect in Addison Russell for 1.5 years of Samardjzia and a 1/2 season of Hammel. They went for it and if they had won the World Series, it would have been worth it. They didn’t so it’s easy to critize the deal now (which at the time was lauded as a great and bold deal). They could have kept Samardjzia this year but made a decesion as an organization to go in a different direction and made the deal with the White Sox. The Cubs will balance now with the future in any deal they make so thoughts of Baez for a rental or Schwarber being moved at all should be tossed out the window.
Another thought (doubtful it would happen, but a guy can dream) but I would LOVE to see Tanner Roark in a Cub uniform. He has proven he can start, has good stuff, and keeps the ball down. Also a local kid (Wilmington, IL and UIllinois), so might appreciate the chance to pitch in front of family and friends. Given that he is the 6th man in the Nats rotation and on the last year of his rookie deal, it might not take a king’s ransom to get him. I think he’s an upgrade over Hendricks in the 4 spot, with the potential to be a 3 man ahead of Hammel. A front 4 of Lester, Arietta, Hammel, and Roark would make for a pretty darn good playoff rotation.
Completely agree.. I don’t understand why Mets fans all of a sudden view Baez as a bust.. The guy has always struggled when he gets promoted and after he settles in he starts mashing.. Its obvious that the Cubs still see loads of potential in him.. Look at Jesus Montero a couple of years ago.. When received his call up with the Yankees he raked and as soon as Cashman got a solid offer for him he sent him packing.. Look how that turned out.. It is just another example of why you can’t judge a prospect by his first taste of the bigs.. A prime example would be the Cubs 1989 rookie of the year Jerome Walton.. His first full season he had a 30 game hitting streak and the Cubs could have traded him for about anybody.. After that first year he was mediocre at best and mostly a reserve outfielder.. Then look at someone like Ryne Sandberg.. His first cup of coffee in 1981 he hit an outstanding .167 across the board with a .333 OPS.. The Phillies basically just threw him in on the Bowa/DeJesus trade afterwards..
Keep in mind that Mike Schmidt hit .196 with 18 HR’s his first full year in Philly. He led the NL in homers the next three years and is in the Hall of Fame.