Cubs Rumblings (MLBTR)

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Cubs Notes: Feldman, Draft, Marmol, Stewart, Jackson

http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/05/cubs-notes-.html

By Tim Dierkes [May 7 at 9:41am CST]

Spoiler

The Cubs are 12-20 on the season, good for the second-worst record in the National League. On the plus side, four of their five starting pitchers have performed well, and the team has shown surprising power in the early going. The latest on the North Siders:

Scott Feldman is a name to keep in mind leading up to the trade deadline and in free agency after the season, writes ESPN's Buster Olney, after the 30-year-old pitched seven strong innings to defeat his former Rangers teammates last night. Feldman has a 2.70 ERA through his first six starts, but should his peripheral stats remain steady, SIERA suggests something around 4.30 would be a better bet moving forward.
The Cubs have not missed a start from college righties Mark Appel or Jonathan Gray, but they have expanded their search beyond those two, GM Jed Hoyer told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM yesterday. The Cubs draft second overall next month, and despite Hoyer's lip service, they're widely expected to take Appel or Gray after the Astros pick.
Asked by reporters why reliever Carlos Marmol continues to get chances, Hoyer instead offered that Marmol has been "ridden hard by a number of managers here" as an explanation for the former closer's struggles (via Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com). Given his $9.8MM guaranteed salary, the Cubs are presumably reluctant to release Marmol.
Asked whether $52MM man Edwin Jackson is a candidate for the bullpen when Matt Garza returns, Hoyer ducked the question, noting that surplus starting pitching "always seems to take care of itself and we're a ways away from having to deal with that kind of issue." Rogers feels that allowing Jackson to stay in the rotation due to his contract, at the expense of a better-performing starter, sends a poor message to the team. I wonder, though, what kind of message would be sent to future free agents if the Cubs make a large four-year commitment to a pitcher and demote him to the bullpen after fewer than ten starts. Regarding Hoyer's comment, the Cubs are really only two healthy weeks away from having to deal with the rotation surplus, as Garza should be ready to return after two more rehab starts.
"An apparent lack of commitment" is behind Ian Stewart taking his allowed 72 hours to report to the Cubs' Triple-A Iowa team on his optional assignment, since Stewart had already been playing with the club on his rehab assignment, opines Rogers. Stewart, earning $2MM this year, recently finished rehabbing a left quad injury.
Padres third baseman Chase Headley "would be perfect for the Cubs," suggests Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Cubs have three premium position player prospects in Javier Baez, Albert Almora, and Jorge Soler, and for me it's difficult to picture a Headley trade without one of them and equally difficult to imagine Hoyer and Theo Epstein parting with one during a non-contending season.

 

[patg006]

Cubs Notes: Feldman, Draft, Marmol, Stewart, Jackson
By Tim Dierkes [May 7 at 9:41am CST]

The Cubs are 12-20 on the season, good for the second-worst record in the National League. On the plus side, four of their five starting pitchers have performed well, and the team has shown surprising power in the early going. The latest on the North Siders:

Scott Feldman is a name to keep in mind leading up to the trade deadline and in free agency after the season, writes ESPN's Buster Olney, after the 30-year-old pitched seven strong innings to defeat his former Rangers teammates last night. Feldman has a 2.70 ERA through his first six starts, but should his peripheral stats remain steady, SIERA suggests something around 4.30 would be a better bet moving forward.
The Cubs have not missed a start from college righties Mark Appel or Jonathan Gray, but they have expanded their search beyond those two, GM Jed Hoyer told Jim Bowden on MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM yesterday. The Cubs draft second overall next month, and despite Hoyer's lip service, they're widely expected to take Appel or Gray after the Astros pick.
Asked by reporters why reliever Carlos Marmol continues to get chances, Hoyer instead offered that Marmol has been "ridden hard by a number of managers here" as an explanation for the former closer's struggles (via Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com). Given his $9.8MM guaranteed salary, the Cubs are presumably reluctant to release Marmol.
Asked whether $52MM man Edwin Jackson is a candidate for the bullpen when Matt Garza returns, Hoyer ducked the question, noting that surplus starting pitching "always seems to take care of itself and we're a ways away from having to deal with that kind of issue." Rogers feels that allowing Jackson to stay in the rotation due to his contract, at the expense of a better-performing starter, sends a poor message to the team. I wonder, though, what kind of message would be sent to future free agents if the Cubs make a large four-year commitment to a pitcher and demote him to the bullpen after fewer than ten starts. Regarding Hoyer's comment, the Cubs are really only two healthy weeks away from having to deal with the rotation surplus, as Garza should be ready to return after two more rehab starts.
"An apparent lack of commitment" is behind Ian Stewart taking his allowed 72 hours to report to the Cubs' Triple-A Iowa team on his optional assignment, since Stewart had already been playing with the club on his rehab assignment, opines Rogers. Stewart, earning $2MM this year, recently finished rehabbing a left quad injury.
Padres third baseman Chase Headley "would be perfect for the Cubs," suggests Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Cubs have three premium position player prospects in Javier Baez, Albert Almora, and Jorge Soler, and for me it's difficult to picture a Headley trade without one of them and equally difficult to imagine Hoyer and Theo Epstein parting with one during a non-contending season.

Interesting stuff. I actually think Thoyer is gonna pull a quick one on everybody and take Kris Bryant with the 2nd pick, unless he goes first. Somebody compared him to Evan Longoria so the :fap: fest started, plus alot of cubs beat writers saying Cubs following him around a lot lately.

Feldman......sigh. I have no idea what they're going to get for the guy, but he's outperformed my expectations. I wont hold my breath though.

Dont see them Chasing Headley

Marmol might get DFA'd, hopefully somebody stupid claims his ass. By the way, idiots who say Dan Haren sucks, he just went 8 innings giving up 1 run against the Braves last outing.....had another solid one prior to that going 6 and giving up 2 runs.

 

[X]

Interesting stuff. I actually think Thoyer is gonna pull a quick one on everybody and take Kris Bryant with the 2nd pick, unless he goes first. Somebody compared him to Evan Longoria so the :fap: fest started, plus alot of cubs beat writers saying Cubs following him around a lot lately.

Feldman......sigh. I have no idea what they're going to get for the guy, but he's outperformed my expectations. I wont hold my breath though.

Dont see them Chasing Headley

Marmol might get DFA'd, hopefully somebody stupid claims his ass. By the way, idiots who say Dan Haren sucks, he just went 8 innings giving up 1 run against the Braves last outing.....had another solid one prior to that going 6 and giving up 2 runs.

fwiw, I believe most Cubs posters on here were upset that trade for Haren fell through.

 

[CSF77]

"An apparent lack of commitment" is behind Ian Stewart taking his allowed 72 hours to report to the Cubs' Triple-A Iowa team on his optional assignment, since Stewart had already been playing with the club on his rehab assignment, opines Rogers. Stewart, earning $2MM this year, recently finished rehabbing a left quad injury.

What a tool. Dude take a 3 day holiday to celebrate his demotion. Talk about a scab.

Padres third baseman Chase Headley "would be perfect for the Cubs," suggests Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. The Cubs have three premium position player prospects in Javier Baez, Albert Almora, and Jorge Soler, and for me it's difficult to picture a Headley trade without one of them and equally difficult to imagine Hoyer and Theo Epstein parting with one during a non-contending season.

Acquiring Chase would put the team on the fast track. I'd sell Baez at this point. Soler has more of a over all game. Takes walks hits for power. Has speed. Good arm in RF. Baez has a big swing but walks are low. SO's are alarming. SS is taken with Castro and he is committing errors at a higher rate to boot. Almora has not played a game this year. He wouldn't have built up much value.

Asked whether $52MM man Edwin Jackson is a candidate for the bullpen when Matt Garza returns, Hoyer ducked the question, noting that surplus starting pitching "always seems to take care of itself and we're a ways away from having to deal with that kind of issue." Rogers feels that allowing Jackson to stay in the rotation due to his contract, at the expense of a better-performing starter, sends a poor message to the team. I wonder, though, what kind of message would be sent to future free agents if the Cubs make a large four-year commitment to a pitcher and demote him to the bullpen after fewer than ten starts. Regarding Hoyer's comment, the Cubs are really only two healthy weeks away from having to deal with the rotation surplus, as Garza should be ready to return after two more rehab starts.

The message would be we are a winning team.

 

[CSF77]

Interesting stuff. I actually think Thoyer is gonna pull a quick one on everybody and take Kris Bryant with the 2nd pick, unless he goes first. Somebody compared him to Evan Longoria so the fest started, plus alot of cubs beat writers saying Cubs following him around a lot lately.

The draft will be telling on what they do going forward. 3B and SP are two key needs.

Feldman......sigh. I have no idea what they're going to get for the guy, but he's outperformed my expectations. I wont hold my breath though.

He only has this year of control to a team. Don't expect a Maholm type return. Expect a team's 20-30 ranked prospect.

Dont see them Chasing Headley

Like I said it is going to depend on what they do in the draft. If they take Bryant then no they wont and expect the long road. If they take Appel then I wouldn't be surprised. It makes perfect sense then. Draft a fast to the team SP. Then trade for the teams' biggest need.

Marmol might get DFA'd, hopefully somebody stupid claims his ass.

Na, He wont close again. But looking at the over all BP it is mostly cast offs anyways. Outside of Russell.

 

[SilenceS]

What a tool. Dude take a 3 day holiday to celebrate his demotion. Talk about a scab.



Acquiring Chase would put the team on the fast track. I'd sell Baez at this point. Soler has more of a over all game. Takes walks hits for power. Has speed. Good arm in RF. Baez has a big swing but walks are low. SO's are alarming. SS is taken with Castro and he is committing errors at a higher rate to boot. Almora has not played a game this year. He wouldn't have built up much value.



The message would be we are a winning team.

I would rather hang on to Baez. I rather use Baez for a bigger trade or keep for his ceiling over a couple of good years from Headley. Baez is still considered to a be a top ten prospect after this year. The K's are alarming but we are not really sure of the problem. It could be a maturing thing. I dont think his swing has major flaw. I hear there are some hiccups but not major.

Also, I think the Stewart thing just justified what I read from Colorado. His team mates and management got over his stuff very quickly. It seems he doesnt have much heart to play the game. He is just looking for a check. I know all players play for a check, but a lot of them are uber competitive and truly love the game. Sure, they can get complacent sometimes but the good ones always want to win and will work hard to win.

 

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@ Rice - my bad. MLBTR use to auto-link at the bottom of a copy/paste. I guess they quit doing that.

 

[SilenceS]

I also agree with the Jackson thing. To put him in the bullpen after such a small sample when the numbers behind scream bad luck. I just think it would be to hard to put him in there. I truly believe that the Cubs may be wanting Villanueva to have a couple of bad outings so they can use him as that swing man they always wanted. His numbers suggest he has been getting lucky. I like the guy, but other teams fans say he fades as the season goes on. Still, the Cubs at least 2 weeks before this all goes down so it is still up in the air.

 

[KBisBack!]

fwiw, I believe most Cubs posters on here were upset that trade for Haren fell through.

Many on CBS didn't and started the apologyfest of how smart it must have been to back out on the trade and that Haren was clearly injured so it would be dumb to pay his contract, blah, blah, blah.

 

[Rice Cube]

@ Rice - my bad. MLBTR use to auto-link at the bottom of a copy/paste. I guess they quit doing that.

Don't let it happen again

I also agree with the Jackson thing. To put him in the bullpen after such a small sample when the numbers behind scream bad luck. I just think it would be to hard to put him in there. I truly believe that the Cubs may be wanting Villanueva to have a couple of bad outings so they can use him as that swing man they always wanted. His numbers suggest he has been getting lucky. I like the guy, but other teams fans say he fades as the season goes on. Still, the Cubs at least 2 weeks before this all goes down so it is still up in the air.

I think they should quietly start shopping Villanueva around to teams that are a bit desperate, like the Dodgers.

 

[SilenceS]

Don't let it happen again



I think they should quietly start shopping Villanueva around to teams that are a bit desperate, like the Dodgers.

I am not opposed to that either.

 

[CSF77]

I would rather hang on to Baez. I rather use Baez for a bigger trade or keep for his ceiling over a couple of good years from Headley. Baez is still considered to a be a top ten prospect after this year. The K's are alarming but we are not really sure of the problem. It could be a maturing thing. I dont think his swing has major flaw. I hear there are some hiccups but not major.

He was ranked at #16 by Mayo. This maybe his high water mark.

But this ties into the team direction.

If they go the long road. It will be acquire more spit wads to toss on the wall. Sign more trade chips and suck the fan base dry.

Or change things for the better.

From what Theo was saying he gets that the fan base is not going to put up with the crap for years while they take their time stocking up a farm system.


IMO the best method of turning this team around:

1: Draft Appel and fast track him to the team. ETA July 2014.
2: Trade for Headley. Lock him into a extention.
3: Extend Garza.
4: Promote Soler the same time Appel makes the team.

This would put a middle of the order of Rizzo, Headley, Soler With Castro to boot. Not a bad situation to be in.

Rotation: Garza, Shark, Appel, Wood. Again not a bad situation to be in.

Now on the the other hand they could go after Price and draft a 3B. 3B may take 3 years in the system. Price would have to pitch for a bad team. It just seems to be less likely.

The other road is again tossing spit wads against the wall. That has been the status que and it is getting old.

 

[Boobaby1]

He was ranked at #16 by Mayo. This maybe his high water mark.

But this ties into the team direction.

If they go the long road. It will be acquire more spit wads to toss on the wall. Sign more trade chips and suck the fan base dry.

Or change things for the better.

From what Theo was saying he gets that the fan base is not going to put up with the crap for years while they take their time stocking up a farm system.


IMO the best method of turning this team around:

1: Draft Appel and fast track him to the team. ETA July 2014.
2: Trade for Headley. Lock him into a extention.
3: Extend Garza.
4: Promote Soler the same time Appel makes the team.

This would put a middle of the order of Rizzo, Headley, Soler With Castro to boot. Not a bad situation to be in.

Rotation: Garza, Shark, Appel, Wood. Again not a bad situation to be in.

Now on the the other hand they could go after Price and draft a 3B. 3B may take 3 years in the system. Price would have to pitch for a bad team. It just seems to be less likely.

The other road is again tossing spit wads against the wall. That has been the status que and it is getting old.

Appel, Wood? Great to smoke pork butt with. Sorry!

Don't forget about Soriano in the middle unless he is traded.

As for drafting a 3B, Hunter Dozier out of Stephen F Austin is intrigueing, and Eric Jagielo of Notre Dame is not too bad either. I would suspect that the Cubs are going to draft a 3rd basemen in this years draft somewhere.


Here are Hunter Dozier's stats

AVG OBP SLG H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB
.413 .515 .789 45 14 0 9 28 23 19 10

Scouting Report

As you can see just looking at the picture, Dozier is a big kid and will end up at third base in professional baseball. But that doesn't take away from his increased status heading into the draft.

Dozier's swing is long, which could give him problems against velocity on the inner half of the plate as he moves up the ladder, but he manages to make it work thanks to plus bat speed. He also has good loft in his follow through and projects to have above-average power.

While he isn't a burner on the bases, Dozier is a smart runner and can find 10-15 steals per season if he wants to. He profiles as an above-average defender at third base, with plus arm strength and soft hands.

Projected pick: Early-Second Round

Here are Eric Jagielo's as well:

AVG OBP SLG H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB
.392 .515 .667 40 7 0 7 28 19 19 2

Scouting Report

Eric Jagielo is a third baseman right now, but he could end up shifting to first base or a corner outfield spot in the pros because he doesn't have the softest hands or the most accurate throwing arm.

Regardless, what Jagielo does really well is hit. He controls the strike zone well, thanks to good pitch recognition, solid hand-eye coordination and plus bat speed. He also projects to hit for plus power.

Even if he has to move to the outfield, Jagielo's bat fits the profile. He may not have ideal power for the position, but he can hit for average and provide 20 home runs.

Projected pick: Early-Second round

 

[CSF77]

Appel, Wood? Great to smoke pork butt with. Sorry!

lol

At one point you are going to have to stop and look at Wood and see that he is a decent SP.

His career WHIP is 1.22. So his 0.91 is not a fluke. It could just be his maturing as a starter. He is only 26 and is putting up some solid numbers going into his prime years.

Don't forget about Soriano in the middle unless he is traded.

Not considering him long term. After 2014 he is gone.



On the 3B's. I can see them taking a flyer on one later round. But the over all team need is in quality arms that can be taken in early rounds.

Team depth they have Vitters, Lake, Villanueva and Candelario. Last thing they need is another spit wad toss to the wall that is 3B to see if one pans out.

Get Headley.

 

[Jntg4]

I want Gray (assuming Appel to HOU), and Jagielo (even if he doesn't fit in positionally), would be great to pick up a comp balance pick in between as well.

 

[patg006]

I want Gray (assuming Appel to HOU), and Jagielo (even if he doesn't fit in positionally), would be great to pick up a comp balance pick in between as well.

I want to see Appel, and I think the cubs will get the shot to when Houston becomes fiscally conscious and takes Gray. I'm expecting Kris Bryant.....with 3B being a huge premium, I think Jagielo and Dozier get taken before the 2nd round pick. After Bryant, another slew of pitchers and a catcher maybe in there.

 

[CSF77]

Only shot at a comp pick for the Cubs is if they play the same game with Garza they did with A-Ram.

 

[Jntg4]

Only shot at a comp pick for the Cubs is if they play the same game with Garza they did with A-Ram.

WTF are you smoking?

A-Ram was two years ago, not even the same rules for that, now it is the whole qualifying offer system and that wouldn't get us a pick for this draft anyway, you know, since we're already in season? Competitive Balance Picks can be traded for.

 

[CSF77]

Got ya my bad. Still same situation affecting next draft. Sorry watching Theo and co wrecking this team is irritating. A-Ram IMO was a mistake in not offering him a extention when there was no replacement at 3B. All for another roll of the dice on the draft. Rather have had 3 more stable years at 3B where one of the projects forces A-Ram out vs what happened and is continuing to happen. Saw a bit on the Cubs site pumping up Valbuena. Garbage writing to justify pumping a replacement player.