Cubs center fielder Dexter Fowler recently passed through revocable trade waivers unclaimed, reports Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link). Nightengale also notes that the Cubs have yet to put struggling shortstop-turned-second-baseman Starlin Castro through waivers.
Fowler, 29, is in his first season with the Cubs after coming over from Houston in an offseason trade that sent Luis Valbuena and Dan Straily to the Astros. That Fowler would clear waivers is at least somewhat of a surprise. He’s hitting .245/.341/.402 with a dozen homers and 17 steals, and a number of teams looking for outfield help could benefit from the addition of the switch-hitter. Of course, some clubs may simply have neglected to place a claim, expecting that the contending Cubs wouldn’t be overly anxious to trade a player that has appeared in 113 games for the team and been worth about two wins this season.
The Cubs can now freely explore trades for Fowler, who is earning $9.5MM in 2015 and owed about $2.49MM of that sum through season’s end. Moving Fowler, however, could create a notable hole in the Cubs’ lineup, as Arismendy Alcantara is struggling in the minors this season, and Matt Szczur hasn’t hit to this point in the Majors. Chris Coghlan could theoretically shift to center field, but he hasn’t played there since 2013 and is not a good defender at the position. Then again, Fowler himself has traditionally graded out as a poor center fielder. He’s drawn average marks in Ultimate Zone Rating in 2015, at least, but some may still consider him to be a better fit for a corner spot.
Fowler joins a growing list of players that have cleared waivers, but he strikes me as a less likely trade candidate than the majority of other names to have cleared. Teams routinely place a significant portion of their roster on waivers — if not everyone on their roster — so news that Fowler has been place upon and cleared waivers doesn’t indicate that Chicago will actively seek to trade him.
As it stands now, this is a trade the Giants could do well to make… if for nothing else than to put someone not named Ryan Lollis in the outfield while they wait for Pence & Pagan to return.
Again, I’m laughing at this..
why exactly? He’s saying it would help the giants not that it’s going to happen or that it’s realistic. Simply makes sense from a Giants standpoint
Great intellectual comment. Thanks for the valuable insight you’ve added to this conversation.
…cause nothing says ‘trying to win’ quite like trading your leadoff hitter to the team chasing you.
I said it would be a trade the Giants would be good to make. The Cubs, obviously, have reasons to not trade… or to ask for a hefty price in return.
@nate I’m with you on this. No need for ignorance when obviously it makes sense for the giants to trade for fowler but also obvious for the cubs to either a. not trade him or b. ask for a huge return since it would arguably give the giants a chance to jump them. No need for people to disrespectful towards a completely valid team
This makes no sense with the way Fowler and the team is playing. The current roster has no one with CF speed, but Fowler. The Cubs’ OF is just fine right now. You don’t fix what is not broken. Now relief pitching we can talk about.
Teams put most of their players on waivers so this really isn’t surprising at all. As the article says, they more than likely aren’t gonna trade him anyways.
I wonder if the Cubs are also gauging the interest teams have in Fowler so when it comes time for them to make him a qualifying offer they can decide the odds he signs the qualifying offer or leaves via free agency. I doubt the Cubs want him back at $15-$16 million which is what the qualifying offer would be if he accepts it.
Matt Szczur has never been up long enough to hit consistently in the majors. They bounce him back and forth between Iowa and Chicago like a yo-yo. I bet he didn’t even have time to unpack before he was sent back down the last time. I think if he was given a chance to settle in, he would be better than he has shown so far. .As for Fowler, waivers or not, I don’t see the Cubs trading him at this point. The team has good chemistry going and Fowler has been doing his part to keep them in the hunt for a play off spot.
Mckinney will/could be the new CF for next year as long as he recovers from his kneecap issues. He does have the speed. As for Sczcur, I would love for him to be with the Cubs as I respect football guys, but I doubt his bat is MLB ready. I would trust Coghlan in CF just as much. Maybe Almora is part of the equation as well. I’ll even bet that Castro could play CF. He chases down pop-ups as well as I have ever seen someone do it.
I wouldn’t bank on Mckinney being ready to take over at any point next year. There is a difference between putting up solid minors numbers and being major league ready
Hopefully ncastro2doesn’t get a chance to play cf for the cubs.. His defense is already weary as it is..
I cannot imagine Fowler on the 2016 opening day roster. Moving him depends on their comfort with a combination of Couglan, Castro and Soler in CF, or with Szcur or even Baez in CF. Fowler’s OBP has been very disappointing although he does get on in streaks,
Moving him at this stage is a gamble and it’s hard to imagine moving him to an NL team.
Why would they out Fowler through waivers before Castro or at all.. He’s having a decent year. Castro is lost cause it could have brought in Utley. The Dodgers didn’t need him. At all. Hopefully they trade Castro this winter and Baez becomes very2thing they hoped he would.
This is what I have been saying about Ricketts being Greedy, he broke all the records for profits in 2013 taking home something north of 30 million, 2014 he sucks out something north of 70 million more than doubling the old record…
Look what the Dodgers owner took home in 2014 while they are not trying to sell themselves as “Rebuilding from the “Farm Club” up”… A FAT NEGATIVE 12 MILLION!!! And, the Dodgers make more than the Cubs EVERY YEAR in total receipts…
This is not how to BUILD a WORLD SERIES CONTENDER… This just plays on the minds of a team like the Cubs who is shuck full of Rookies!!! I have been saying a long time that THEO’s Game Plan is basically let the Diehards just keep pouring in those Dollars in Support for LAST PLACE TEAMS… The Business Office just loves the FIRST ROUND DRAFT CHOICES they get FOR FREE!!!
When it comes time for Big Money Contracts, when these Free Drafted High Potential Rookies want to be paid their real worth… Ricketts will dump them for a even huger WIND FALL!!! That SUCKS for us Fans because we will always be struggling just to feather this Billionaires Pockets… WHATS ENOUGH RICKETTS??? No Offenses Intended with exception to Cubs Front Office