By Tim Dierkes | at
Calm down, this is a family trade rumor site. I am referring to Steve Phillip’s latest, found via RotoWorld.
The idea: Jason Jennings to the Cubs; Jacque Jones, Carlos Marmol, Paul Maholm to the Rockies; Brad Hawpe to the Pirates.
If this one is legit, Dan O’Dowd lied to Brad Hawpe’s agent.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Ken Rosenthal reports that the Cubs have discussed a trade with the Rockies: Jacque Jones for Jason Jennings. The Rox would then spin off Jones in another deal.
While I am not a huge fan of Jennings (I project his ERA at 4.62 next year), this would be a fine move for the Cubs if complemented by a Julio Lugo signing. At the least Jennings would be likely to eat up 200 innings and go deep into games.
My guess is that Jim Hendry would need to include another player to make this work, given the scarcity of decent cheap pitching. It’s a good time to trade Jones, who has two years left on his deal for just $9MM total. He had his best season since 2002 last year.
By Tim Dierkes | at
It looks like Dave Roberts is going to be a Giant. This will save San Francisco fans from self-immolation over their front office’s apparent inability to make stupid deals, and ensure that the Giants theme of "oldsters in the outfield" remains intact even with Steve Finley and possibly Barry Bonds on their way out.
In other news: Woody Williams got a two-year deal with the Astros for $12.5M. That seems remarkably sane, though I wouldn’t plan on drafting Woody for your fantasy team. He had an okay year in Petco, but he’s moving to one of the unfriendliest parks in baseball for pitching. If the short porch in left is going to do wonders for Carlos Lee, it’s going to hurt Williams nearly as much.
Phil Rogers offers a plethora of random thoughts: the Cubs want to move Jacque Jones; Jones or Geoff Jenkins would be an improvement for the White Sox (so he says); and the Sox could send Scott Podsednik and Juan Uribe to San Fran for Omar Vizquel (much less likely after the Roberts signing, I’d imagine). Emphasis on "could": he’s obviously just making stuff up.
Speaking of making stuff up: now that most of the center fielders out there have found homes, it’s time for the second basemen to start falling into place. There’s been more news lately of Adam Kennedy, who is likely to land in St. Louis, or possibly Toronto. The market for Kennedy, Ronnie Belliard, and others may depend on whether Julio Lugo and/or Ray Durham end up as outfielders, which would shrink the market for those teams who need second basemen.
By Jeff Sackmann
By Tim Dierkes | at
Critics of Jacque Jones have backed off this season, given that he’s currently hitting .296 with 13 home runs for the Cubs. He’s been one of very few decent hitters on the team this year. Nonetheless, this trade rumor from the New York Daily News is a breath of fresh air amidst a dismal Cubs season.
If the best Jim Hendry could do for Jones was a bag of baseballs, he should make that deal. Even if it’d be kind of dumb from New York’s point of view. Jones is owed $9MM for 2007-08, his age 32 and 33 seasons. Baseball Prospectus figures him to be worth just a touch over $4MM over that span. Now is the time for Hendry to sell high. Jones has a mediocre but excellent for him OBP of .329 right now. It’s entirely propped up by his .296 average, which is highly unlikely to last when he’s putting the bat on the ball less than 80% of the time. One would also expect his .522 slugging percentage to plummet, as he hasn’t been over .500 since 2002.
The Cubs’ outfield replacement options at Triple A are grim: Michael Restovich, Buck Coats, Felix Pie, Luis Montanez, and Brandon Sing. None are good options this year, but it’s a lost season. Just shed the Jones contract and take another crack at fielding a decent outfield next year. Hendry failed this past offseason in that task, and can consider options like Kenny Lofton, Cliff Floyd, Luis Gonzalez, Carlos Lee, and Alfonso Soriano in the upcoming free agent market. Adding a second Lee to the middle of the lineup should definitely be a major consideration.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Some interesting items for Cubs fans in Phil Rogers’s column today.
Rogers calls the Cubs’ decision not to exercise Jeromy Burnitz’s $7MM option a gaffe. He points out that Jacque Jones is basically Burnitz’s equal in right field. That’s true, even when you take fielding into account. In my opinion, letting Burnitz go was a smart move. However, signing Jones for three years is a poor way to solve fill the vacancy. At least, that’s been my stance on this site.
But after perusing the right fielder rankings from 2005, I had to ask myself: what alternative would I have proposed as Cubs GM? Nobody ranked above Jones/Burnitz was ever really available, at least not for a reasonable price. Looked at in that way, Rogers is right. Better to have one year of Burnitz and see if Felix Pie is ready in 2007. However, given the almighty power as Cubs GM, I would’ve traded for Craig Wilson and stuck him in right.
Rogers also weighs in on the Tejada trade possibility:
"If Hendry really will give up Mark Prior or Carlos Zambrano—and he would be nuts to deal Prior—there’s a deal to be made. The Orioles should soon realize that."
There’s been pages of debate on this site, but I think Hendry would be truly nuts to trade Zambrano. Z is just 24 and has quietly become one of the best starting pitchers in baseball. If he ever gets a handle on his walks, he’d be downright dominant.
Finally, Rogers mentions Alfonso Soriano as a trade possibility. I shudder at the thought. Remember when Hendry mandated the callups of Matt Murton and Adam Greenberg? It seemed like he was forcing some OBP guys onto Dusty Baker and that was that. I thought the organization had turned a corner and embraced on-base percentage.
By Tim Dierkes | at
Let’s see what we’ve got going on today in a potpourri-style format.
As predicted, Eric Byrnes was non-tendered last night. I can’t possibly think of a better way for the Cubs to turn the Jacque Jones signing into a positive. If you sum up Byrnes and Jones’ salaries, you’ll be getting solid stats from RF for the price. Assuming Dusty Baker understands what a platoon is and how all that works.
Of course, it’s probably one more roster spot than the Cubs wanted to use on this type of thing since they already have John Mabry. But Mabry can back up Aramis Ramirez, and the Cubs can carry one less pitcher and make it work. I put a word in to a Cubs source of mine, and he agreed that the idea makes sense (who wouldn’t agree) and mentioned that the Cubs have liked Byrnes in the past.
UPDATE: Just talked to a second Cubs source, and he echoed the sentiment held by many readers of the site: Hendry didn’t give Jones $16MM to platoon him. He’s a full-timer for the most part.
Kirby Arnold reports that the Mariners offered Gil Meche to the Cubs for Corey Patterson. At first, I said, "Sure, why not." But then I looked at Meche’s numbers, and I realized there’s no way he can help the ballclub. When a pitcher loses his ability to strike batters out, as Meche may have, he has to counter the increased hits he’s surrendering with good control. Or the ability to keep the ball in the park. Meche appears to have none of these traits, and would be a frustrating spot starter who would allow tons of baserunners. I might rather have Josh Fogg at this point. There’s got to be something slightly better out there for the Cubs.
Alfonso Soriano won’t move off second base for the Nationals and is pretty much raising a stink about being dealt to Washington. Let’s see here, are there any teams with GMs dumber than Jim Bowden who might make a trade for Sori? Dan O’Brien’s club doesn’t have a need for a 2B; Placido Polanco is firmly entrenched in Detroit…maybe Littlefield is interested?
Is Millwood really getting a five year deal from someone? Insane. Incredible timing to have your 2.86 ERA season. Best timing award for the NL: Todd Jones.
My Mets guy is saying the club is still talking to the Dodgers about Jeff Kent, but right now it’s a "pipe dream." Doesn’t seem like the two teams will agree on anything. The Mets still have some faith in Victor Zambrano (or maybe they’re just trying to save face), but Omar feels that after adding Julian Tavarez his bullpen will be pretty much set.
The Mariners seem desperate to get rid of Jeremy Reed after pushing hard to obtain him for Freddy Garcia. I guess they don’t understand that center fielders are hard to find and Reed will get better. After the masterstroke that was the Johjima signing, Bill Bavasi has taken a step backward with Jarrod Washburn.
By Tim Dierkes | at
The Cubs cornered the market on guys who sound like they’re French but aren’t by signing Jacque Jones to a three-year, $16MM deal to play alongside Juan Pierre. Rounding out the French wannabe All-Star team are Alexis Rios, Joaquin Benoit, and Xavier Nady.
I’m guessing Cubs fans will be less than thrilled with this signing based on the initial reaction. That the deal was for three years only adds to the anguish. Here’s how lboros at Viva El Birdos put it:
"Encouraging news out of the Windy City, per Sun-Times: the Cubs reportedly have made an offer to Jacque Jones. A double gift — like having a tornado just barely miss your house and instead tear the roof off your obnoxious neighbor’s place."
Yep, that pretty much sums it up from a Cards fan point of view. I’m trying to find a silver lining here for Cubs fans. Jones was exactly as good as Jeromy Burnitz in 2005 – tied for the 9th best RF in the game. Slight positive note: Jones is a slightly better player once you even out their playing time. I’m really grasping here, but if Jones somehow returned to his 2002 level – .300/.341/.511 – that would be on par with what Jorge Posada and Jorge Cantu did in 2005. OK, that was weak.
The best Cubs fans can hope for is that Jones gets platooned at some point in the near future. Here’s his line against righties for each of the last three seasons:
.268/.348/.466
.258/.310/.465
.317/.342/.492
So that’s tolerable. Let’s see here, are there any available lefty mashers who can play the outfield? Here’s a short list of available outfielders and their lines against lefties in 2005.
Kevin Mench .296/.380/.600
Craig Monroe .303/.360/.549
Preston Wilson .262/.336/.571
Eric Byrnes .344/.406/.599 (2004)
Byrnes might be non-tendered tonight by the Orioles; why not take a flyer on a fun, hardworking player who can hide Jacque’s inadequacies? Such a move would greatly redeem Hendry in my mind, and he’d look less dumb too.
By Tim Dierkes | at
As I flipped through the Chicago Sun-Times today, I noticed a funny caption under Jacque Jones’s picture: Strikes out a lot. It’s funny that the editors decided on that as Jones’s defining characteristic.
Calm down, Cubs fans – Jones isn’t the answer in right field. Jim Hendry might toss out the Jeromy Burnitz offer -one year, $4.5MM. But unless Jones has little regard for money or security, he won’t become a Cub. Jacque reportedly has a three-year offer on the table, and requires at least a two-year pact.
Jones and Jeromy Burnitz were essentially the same player in 2005. Solid glove, decent pop, little plate discipline. Jones may be younger than Burnitz, but he’s not on the upswing. Hendry is clearly looking to upgrade, and two or three years of Jones just wouldn’t serve the purpose.
With so many names tossed around for the vacant Cubs RF spot, I’ve provided this handy list. One of these 17 men will be in right field on Opening Day for the Cubs.
Bobby Abreu – Phils want Prior or Zambrano; out of the question.
Juan Encarnacion – Another low-OBP guy with OK power. If all else fails, it could happen.
Cliff Floyd – Hasn’t played RF since 2002; a better overall LF than Manny Ramirez in ’05. Has interested the Cubs for years, but Mets can’t spare outfielders right now.
Jay Gibbons – Still won’t take a walk; set a career high SLG. Probably not worth trading anyone for.
Shawn Green – Can and would veto a trade to Chicago.
Aubrey Huff – Recent decline worrisome; asking price (Angel Guzman?) high.
Geoff Jenkins – GM Melvin denied Jenkins trade rumors, but said the same about Overbay. Same division deal unlikely.
Jacque Jones – Lackluster option could be a Cub if Hendry gets silly and gives him two years.
Austin Kearns – Likely to stay put now that the outfielder logjam has been alleviated.
Kevin Mench – Plenty of teams are after Mench, who can play right or left field. His power would be useful, and he comes cheap.
Craig Monroe – See Juan Encarnacion.
Trot Nixon – Viable option; should be platooned with a lefty masher like Monroe or even Sosa.
Gary Sheffield – Wouldn’t happen unless Hendry gave the 37 year-old a two-year extension and dealt Pie, Guzman, or Hill.
Reggie Sanders – Probably wouldn’t accept the one-year deal Hendry might offer. Has played plenty of RF in his career though.
Sammy Sosa – As scary as it sounds, tossing Sosa $1MM to platoon with Nixon or Reggie Sanders could work out OK.
Ichiro Suzuki – Won’t come cheap and doesn’t provide power. Mariners aren’t dumping salaries this year, anyway.
Craig Wilson – Wouldn’t be pretty in the field, but the Cubs could use Wilson. Doesn’t fit in the Bucs’ plans, either.
I think the likely options are Huff, Mench, Monroe, Wilson, Encarnacion, and Jones, in that order.
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