The Cubs, buoyed by a weekend sweep of the Pirates and a dramatic walk-off victory Tuesday, are likely to approach the trade deadline as a buyer. However, president of baseball operations Theo Epstein tells Patrick Mooney of The Athletic (subscription required) that “it would take a special deal to sacrifice the very top of the farm system.” Epstein plainly states that while his goal is to win in 2019, the team is simultaneously trying to build its farm back up after years of aggressive, win-now deals. Epstein himself doesn’t list specific untouchables, though one can presume that players like Miguel Amaya, Nico Hoerner, Adbert Alzolay and Aramis Ademan will be tough to pry away. The Cubs have recently been linked to left-handed bullpen upgrades, and manager Joe Maddon spoke recently about his desire to add a more consistent veteran bat to the lineup.
More Cubs rumblings…
- Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times dispels some speculative theories following the Cubs’ surprise acquisition of Martin Maldonado. Adding a third catcher to the mix doesn’t indicate that Willson Contreras‘ foot injury is worse than has been suggested. To the contrary, Contreras said he expects to be cleared for full baseball activity by the end of the week, calling his injury a “bruise” after a visit with a specialist. The Maldonado trade was not made with the intent of either shopping Victor Caratini or optioning him back to Triple-A, Wittenmyer further reports. The Cubs have a history of acquiring a third catcher in recent August waiver periods — Bobby Wilson in 2018, Rene Rivera in 2017 — but there’s no opportunity to do so now that August trade waivers have been eliminated. “You can never have enough good catching, especially catching that is playoff-experienced and respected by veteran pitchers and coaches alike,” GM Jed Hoyer said following the Maldonado deal.
- An early August return could be in the cards for lefty Cole Hamels, Wittenmyer writes in a second piece. Hamels will have a mound session today after a previous pair of throwing sessions from flat ground. The southpaw conceded that while he “hates it,” he’ll need to make at least one minor league rehab start because it’s the “smart thing to do.” If today’s session goes well, that could put him in line to reclaim his rotation spot on Aug. 3, tentatively putting his total absence at a period of about five weeks. Hamels, 35, had pitched to a terrific 2.98 ERA with 8.8 K/9, 3.2 BB/9, 0.81 HR/9 and a 51.1 percent ground-ball rate in 99 2/3 innings when he landed on the IL late last month. He’d been doing his best work of the season prior to being shelved, making his absence all the more costly for the Cubs. In six June starts (37 innings), Hamels allowed five earned runs with a 37-to-9 K/BB ratio.
There were a lot of ex-Cubs in the All Star game this year.
Five on the AL roster. Your point?
If you can’t extrapolate the point then I’ll spell it out.
It means they’re no longer playing for the cubs, what value did the cubs get in return?
Montgomery for Vogelbach who if any player was blocked it was him.
Chapman for Torres.
Both helped to win the World Series.
DJ and Chapman were free agents signed by the Yankees.
A minor leaguer for LaStella. It would be nice to have Tommy instead of Descalso, but would you expect him to get more playing time than Bote or Zobrist and Russell. The Cubs value defense.
I can live with those deals. This is the golden age for Cubs baseball.
I feel Theo and Jed did both Tommy and Monty a solid by trading them where they could get more playing time.
And to add to that – you could do that about every team.
Trading DJ LemMahieu even though it wasn’t theo was one of the worst trades in Cubs history. not Lou Brock bad but still bad. LeMahieu for Ian Stewert. great job jim Hendry
kyleschwarbersmomkyleschwarbersmom: Yes, 3-month rental Aroldis Chapman “helped” the Cubs win a World Series in 2016. He and Gleyber Torres might do likewise multiple times for the Yankees as well as continue to receive All-Star honors.
The Cubs new front office of Theo and Jed didn’t have the foresight to recognize the Gold Glove and batting championship potential of 22-year old 2B DJ LeMahieu, trading him for 26-year old “bust” Ian Stewart. in December of 2011. It was one of the first transactions the pair did after joining the franchise earlier that October (take that ElMagoN9ne!). They also had an opportunity to sign LeMahieu as a free agent this past offseason and finally fix their leadoff hitting woes since the departure of Dexter Fowler following their championship season. LeMahieu could have also solved their 2B problem this year that began with wife beater Addison Russell still on the suspended list but the F.O. elected to keep the domestic abuser instead of launching him last summer.
We don’t know how much “heads-up” information the Cubs had regarding the Ben Zobrist divorce situation before he took his leave of absence in early May just as Russell was returning from his suspension but even if it hadn’t occurred 38-year old super-sub would not have been a full-time starter in the batting order or at 2B.
Btw: The Cubs won’t just have to deal with the All-Stars mentioned here. This conversation will continue for years when Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease become selections for the AL team as members of the White Sox.
“He and Gleyber Torres might do likewise multiple times for the Yankees” There’s a big difference between “might” and “did” man. The cubs did win the world series in 2016 in large part due to Chapman. Theo did trade DJ away but every exec has bad misses, is that the point of your comment or did you just want to rub your ability to use Google in someones’ face? Gleyber looks like a really good player but I would make that trade 100 more times given the opportunity. Also, per Ken Rosenthal, Aroldis said he “One million percent” plans on opting out of his deal after this year so I don’t think he’s going to be helping the yankees win multiple anything… It’s also way too early to tell on Cease. Eloy looks good at the plate but is worse than Schwarber in left field in every single metric which is impressive. I would still take that trade back unless Quintana is a major part of a Cubs world series this year, but your comment keeps coming back to what “might” be instead of dealing in reality.
DJ was trade by Hendry, not Theo. I’d rather have Hammels over DJ, that’s the decision they made. 2b looked good at the time with Zobrist, Delscalso, Bote. Zobrist would have been the lead off hitter regardless of what position he played.
Still more hits than whiffs for Theo and Jed.
We’ll have to wait and see whether the Cubs can pull off another championship in the next three postseasons. Or if the Yanks or Sox can do it in the 2020s.
Is Eloy another Jorge Soler or Carlos Quentin? Or is he a Carlos Lee or Magglio Ordonez? I don’t know.
I do think Cease will be at least the value of Quintana. That’s the one guy I wish wasn’t traded away.
And be careful with the term “beater”. He was definitely an abuser, but do we have any proof of any beatings.
the DJ trade actually was by Theo. It was one of his first moves with the Cubs.
@ElMagoN9ne Theo Traded away DJ, not Hendry.
What value did they get?
Uh, a world series victory. Dude.
Makes no sense how foolish cubs fans are about their team. Just admit Epstein makes mistakes with personnel. It’s not the end of the world. Speaking of Epstein, you cubs fans might want to factor in his penchant for strict adherence to analytics and how it influences Maddon’s daily lineup decisions. If you’re one of these cubs punks who give Heyward’s “speech” so much credit for winning in 2016, you may as well give Epstein credit for some of the weird roster moves and lineups over the past 2-3 years. And seriously, moving Torres for a Chapman rental was not the only path the cubs could have taken towards acquiring a good closer. They could easily have traded Torres for a closer with years of control left on their contract. cubs fans share Theo’s lack of creativity when it comes to improving a declining roster.
It was Theo who traded him. It was one of his very first trades with the Cubs
the LaMehieu deal was one of the first moves Epstein made as GM. He’s admitted plenty that hed like that one back.
Reason you traded for Hamels was because neither Darvish nor Chatwood worked out very well. Neither did Quintana or Morrow either.
Stop trying to defend Addison Russell. He is an irresponsible dope who not only was a domestic abuser but has sired 3 children from three different women by the age of 25 including with another girl friend following the altercations with his wife that led to his suspension.
Not defending his personal life. Just be careful writing stuff under your real name that may get you sued.
Listen there Erin”slap ya” sapoznik, dont be such a hater, calm down and breath…. whose ur team anyways? I bet we(cubs) win a W.S. before your team… im guessing the Cards maybe? The point is trades dont always work… but we did what we had to do to win a W.S and succeeded…. So stop trolling the cubs….
Ok. I’ll contribute to your GoFundMe legal account in the minute chance it comes to that.
These sox fans need to stop hating, face it (your gonna suck “FOREVER”) shut up and hop on our bandwagon dummy
As most regulars here know by now I have been a lifelong die-hard fan of both Chicago baseball teams since the early 1960’s. I want both teams to win but will continue to intelligently criticize either organization when it is warranted.
Oh, please, nobody felt that way at the time. DJ’s bat was still two years away from waking up.
Chapman NOT opting out.
it was, in fact, theo and jed. get your facts straight
Honestly they should have gotten Chapman and andrew Miller straight up for torres. But brian Cashman has always been known as a shark and that’s a good thing. If the indians dont get Miller. Ross doesnt homer in his last AB. If the cubs win he still gets carried off. Which honestly was one of the best parts of that series.
He has 3 kids with 2 women. His gf when they were 18 and his wife when he was married. Not a big deal. Theres no 3rd woman involved. But the bottom line is he needs to go. I don’t care what they get for him..he’s still a reliable defender. That plays 3 infield spots. Two of which hes In the top 20
Excellent post. If you aren’t a Cubs fan you will never understand most fans would trade anyone for just one ring.
Theres a former Cubs player on probably every single team. Ot at least from their farm system.
Years ago, there was a report on which team had the most “formers” on other teams. This was in the 90s, I believe. Guess who led the list?
Again, what’s your point?
The point is the cubs have always made the worst roster moves in the history of the sport. They have traded away or lost future HOFers for no good reason since I can remember. I had seen enough as a very young cubs fans (12) when they let Greg Maddux walk. How’d that work out? Same for Sutcliffe, Smith and a bunch of others. Meanwhile, the cubs threw trash rosters on the field in the aftermath, with guys who played like they should be in street clothes bumbling around the bases like morons. Seems like not much has changed.
Sammy Sosa. Every GM has good moves and bad moves. Theo said he would build a team that gets to the playoffs every year because that increases the chance to win a World Series. He’s done that. When the White Sox get to the playoffs 4 years in a row, check back in.
And what was a good trade for the SOX? George Bell for SAMMY SOSA…. good point
Why don’t you worry about the fact that no viable free agent wants to sign with the team you support. Better yet go and keep drinking Jerry’s kool-aid when he tells you they were in till the end on free agents then after the leaks come out you find out they were off by $50 million.
Sogard for Happ.
As a Jays fan I approve this message.
And as a baseball fan, I have to laugh.
Sogard or Galvis would be fine. Play Happ in CF, drop an OF to Buffalo for Bo Bichette. Sounds good.
Make Contreras your everyday left fielder it will extend the career of a very good hitter then trade Schwarber for lefty reliever or high average/OBP guy to bat at top of lineup.
The Scwarbs won’t get that return. They have been trying for years.
wrong
Willson Contreras has the athleticism, arm and bat to fill a corner OF position in MLB. He could probably do the same at 3B with more reps. But why would the Cubs want to take a player with the ability to be an All-Star at the game’s most premium defensive position and reduce his overall value at those other spots?
Contreras and the Cubs would be better off trying to refine his skills behind the plate, particularly his pitch-framing ability, than waste their time making him a regular at a corner position. They could revisit that option years down the road when his skills as a full-time catcher might diminish.
I think they may try it a few more times this year just to keep Contreras fresh-er, especially now that they have a third catcher and he’s been banged up a couple times, but yeah, nothing long term.
Willie has an owie on his foot. Can’t run, can’t play the outfield.
Maybe the Cubs keep him on the bench for “intentional walk” situations.
Happ for Tony Watson
I’d be down with any one of Happ, Russell or Edwards for Watson
Please folks. Lets be logical and sensible here when it comes to Cubs trades. Now, I’m completely on board with obtaining a quality reliever. Preferably a lefty. Another quality hitter would help as well. But the reality is no logically thinking GM/Front Office is willing to give up a quality player, regardless of that players contract status for the likes of Happ, Russell, Edwards, Obviously, sellers will go with the best offers and if the Cubs offer the above mentioned players it’s not going to happen. The reason for these players not being able to get a decent return in a trade are quite obvious. That being overall quality performance at the major league level and even minor league level in Happ’s case.
I don’t think Tony Watson is bringing back a haul of prospects. Happ for Watson isn’t crazy. Giants throw anything at the wall to see what sticks in their OF. They should try the same at 2B.
It may not be crazy, but it’s not enough. Watson is a quality left handed reliever and Happ isn’t doing particularly well in AAA, you think someone won’t offer more than what seems to be at the present time a typical AAAA player?
Schwarber for what…
Who wants a 220 lifetime hitter, who hits only fastballs from righties.
Slow, basically comically inept chasing down balls.
Maybe john Jay.
Oh no, not the troll from the Feder column. I had to stop reading the comments there.
He had a walk off home run last night off the red closer.
Yes first walk-off hit of any kind in his 5 year career?!!
So what. It takes some players 15 years to do that. There was one last year. 13+ year career never had a walk off home run.
Likely will be Scwharb’s only walk off in his short career.
MR. Schwarber has a better slash line in the playoffs than Reggie Jackson. Show respect when you utter the guys name, he is MR OCTOBER. The guy hits when we need it. His defensive metrics last year put him as the best defensive left fielder in the NL only trailing Alex Gordon for the top spot in the MLB. Those numbers are per fangraphs not some guy who’s green with envy.
Now after a day of sitting back and looking at this deal I find it very shrewd. They can take a big work load off of Contreras by using Maldonado and Caratini to catch and still have Contreras play OF,. Caratini can give Rizzo and off day and pitch hit.. I think your trade bait become Ian Happ who can be the center piece of your trade for a starter or top end reliever.
Ian Happ should have been traded last year when he had some value. Worthless now.
I’m a CWS fan and I’d take Happ and a low level minor leaguer for Colome right now! A 23 yr old with some pop that bats LH and cam play 2B/OF. I’d be fine with a Happ/Robert/Jimenez outfield in 2020.
Not with 4 K’s per game.
Verses running Yolmer Sanchez out to 2B everyday?!
You must have been saying the same thing about Yoan Moncada last year, right? Worthless and 4 ks per game? Oh no you just troll the Cubs? Right.
Exactly – until Nick Madrigal takes over.
And Madrigal seldom strikes out.
The Chubs won’t even play Happ.
Happ appears to have bad attitude. Not a team player. Wouldn’t accept move to minors without whining after striking out 4 times per game.
Can’t become one of Ricky’s boys – who don’t quit.
Ian can play 6 positions. Too bad he doesnt play SS. white Sox can use an upgrade.
“Jack of all trades, master of none”. Plus Happ strikes out 4 times per game.
Timmy will be back soon.
so he would be an upgrade for the white sux
I’d rather see Rick Hahn call the Braves and discuss a deal for 28-year old lefty hitting Gold Glove CF Ender Inciarte who has 3+ years of control remaining on his contract including a 2022 $9M team option with a $1.02M buyout. The White Sox could hit the talented and speedy Inciarte 9th once Luis Robert and Nick Madrigal make their MLB debuts later this season or by next April. Robert could move to RF where he would profile just fine with his 5-tool ability.
The first place Braves would also have some interest in acquiring Alex Colome to help stabilize the back end of their bullpen for the next two seasons and the playoffs. They could also rid themselves of Inciarte’s remaining contract which would be steep for a part time player in their OF and replace it with the dollars owed Colome for the rest of 2019 and his 2020 “arbitration” salary which would be a near “wash”.
As was LaStella a year ago…and your beloved Moncada. I know you like to crystal ball things but development isn’t linear.
then why do losers like you try to say Happ for any other player if he is so useless
I think despite what this article says, the maldonado move makes caratini a trade chip. He could be a headliner of a package for a lefty reliever to a team who wants major league ready talent, or he could be one of many pieces they would need to give the royals for merrifield. Some of the trade suggestions for whit merrifield I’ve seen on here from cubs fans have been absurd. I’m a cubs fan and I know it’s gotta hurt if we want merrifield. Headlining the package for Whit with amaya and hoerner would make the cubs really competitive to get him but I dont want them to trade hoerner personally. If we can get it done with amaya, caratini, alzolay, and then another of the cubs top 5 or 10 prospects I would do that deal, but if it’ll take marquez or hoerner I personally would not like that move. Add happ/russell/almora to that package if it’ll help, but those guys arent headliners like too many cubs fans on this site believe.
It would probably have to take Hoerner and one of the catchers and a couple more lesser prospects for Merrifield.
Happ, Edwards, Almora, Russell, and Kyle all have more value to the Cubs right now than any other team.
Well that’s fine, I understand the royals would definitely ask for hoerner and amaya, I just wouldn’t trade both of those guys for whit. If that’s what they ask for, just go see if the pirates would trade starling marte to the cubs for less prospect capital and hope garcia/bote/russell/descalso can get the job done at 2nd. Marte has been a plus defender in center this year and unless almora is included in the package, he would turn into a late inning defensive replacement where you move marte to left. Marte also has performed pretty well offensively and is even due for positive regression given his quality of contact numbers, etc.
I think if your in the minors or hitting below .250 and OBP under .330 with no gold gloves your replaceable.
Well, yeah, the Cubs can trade Happ if they feel are getting a good return. His value as a replacement player for any possible catastrophe to any current Cubs outfielder is better than other options.
Bote and Caratini for Bummer.
Then the Sox can deal McCann.
Ummm, not going to happen.
It’s a bummer when everyone sees your comments
Bote, Russell, Happ and Maldonado Eloy Jimenez. that’s basically what your asking for. White sox pay 15 mil for 5 years of Botes. And 25% of Jimenez contract too
Why trade caratini? He has been great this year for the playing time he has been getting. The Maldonado trade was unnecessary and they could have picked up a good lefty for motgomery instead of trading him for an unneeded veteran catcher who cant hit.
Caratini can’t catch and can’t be trusted.
Standard discussion board for a Cubs story: half the people hate the Cubs and feel the need to just be rude, the other half are Cubs fans with unrealistic expectations. I used to think the Yankees were the most polarizing team in MLB, but apparently it’s the Cubs…don’t know why…though I am sure some expert will explain it to me in a reply.
There was plenty of cheap quality veteran right and left handed relievers on the waivers this off season. The Cubs failed miserably. Now they are discussing trading for guys that could of easily been had prior to the season starting, insane. I think hitting and sp is good enough to win but this bullpen is not very good. Fix the bullpen!
Cubs looking for outfield lead off hitter. Let’s face it, they have a lot of blown starting pitching contracts they can’t get rid of. Mets want to hit the do over button without starting from scratch and just blew it by waiting too long to deal Wheeler. If I’m Theo I start sniffing around a bad contract swap of Darvish for Syndergaard and get them to include Conforto for Happ, (insert catcher name here), Alozay, and whose that second baseman that literally warms the Cubs bench?
Torres and Jimenez will be free agents someday and cubs could always pay to get them. DJ was this year and cubs passed on him. You can’t $ keep everyone . No way Baez Bryant Contreras Rizzo Torres and Jimenez could have all stayed on team.
Baez,Rizzo,Bryant, and Contreras will however be on the same team for 12+years. hopefully this winter they lucky all of most of those guys up. KB is proving he deserves an offer of at least 250 million.
I would put the feelers out on the value of Caratini. His trade value is probably the highest it will ever be, with him having a good first half. No need for 3 catchers. Caratini is the most obvious choice, Cubs need a leadoff hitter plain and simple!